On Flickr: Hospital Hallway
Sorry for my long unexplained absence (of which I’m trying to make up for now) – it all started with a big-ass diarrhea case on Tuesday evening, followed by fever that very night and then it developed into a full-blown illness taking care of everything I can think of – vomitting, diarrhea, fever, muscle aches, dizziness, numbness at the extremities, blurred eyesight, extreme nausea, giddyness and etc. That’s a mouthful!
A bad start
After suffering in silence two days worth of paracetamol-insensitive fever and chomping on paracetamols (I was still staying within recommended dosage since I’m well informed of the dire consequences of overdose), I drew the last straw on Thursday and headed for the doctor. Surprisingly that morning I felt a lot better, the doctor just prescribed me some basic medicine (more paracetamol, carbon tablets and one that stops me from throwing up) and said that I’ll be fine. No.
Later in the evening I tried to eat something, but none of the food went down well – I ended up feeding them to the toilet bowl instead. In the night the fever came charging back like thunder, rapid and unsettling. Sweat came rolling down from my face, soaking the pillow and blanket. I spent the rest of the night shivering on my bed, praying that I will make it to the morning.
Friday morning. I struggled to get out of bed to catch the earliest shuttle bus to the university clinic. I remembered that as I walked from my room to the bus stop, my limbs were all trembling and the numbness is overwhelming. The tingling sensations got even worse, and I nearly ended up puking by the roadside. That day I saw a different doctor, and I described all the symptoms to him as accurately as possible. He nodded with great seriousness, and told me to trash all the medicine given to me yesterday. He gave me two injections, one on my butt and another on my arm for the vomitting and fever respectively. I felt instantaneously better.
Hospital woes (in short: NUH sucks)
Later in the afternoon I didn’t feel well again, and mom, simply being herself, tried to coax me to travel 4 hours back home and get admitted in the hospital in Malaysia. She was definitely thinking a little too much but I guess that’s just the natural reaction of a mom to a sickly child. I grabbed the doctor’s note and rushed myself to National University Hospital of Singapore (NUHS), headed for the A&E department and prepared to get admitted. I was wrong.
In the end, I spent 5 hours waiting for nothing but my blood test results (which were out in the first 2 hours) and for the doctor to communicate with his boss about my admission. The nurses doesn’t seem to be bothered with me sitting on a couch, wheezing like a madman, shivering violently and without a proper bed to rest. I had to admit that I was extremely miserable and feeling very horrible because of the neglect. When my mom managed to phone my uncle at arond 11.30pm (I went to A&E at aroud 7pm), he rushed over and managed to get me admitted by 12.45am. My aunt threw a minor hissy fit at the counter nurses for ignoring my repeated pleas to be admitted. Seriously, thinking of it, this incident gave me a huge discount on the ‘Singapore efficiency’ that NUH thinks it has. All I can say is, if you are heading for the A&E department of NUH, get an assertive adult or be prepared to head over to another hospital if possible. The way how NUH handles A&E patients simply sucks big time.
Oh, and I can’t help but be constantly reminded that it was Friday the 13th.
Warded
Finally, I was admitted into the Extended Diagnostic Treatment Unit (aka the observation ward), a ward for patients who the doctor doesn’t have any idea what to do with but just to observe for 24hours before taking any further action. There were 7 beds in the room, I was assigned bed number 4 (a very inauspicious number in my culture, but heck). I don’t know who was sleeping at Bed 1 and 2, but I know for sure that dude sleeping on Bed 2 is a helluva good snorer (what a pig) because he was part of the reason why I kept waking up every 30 minutes throughout the night at the ward. Bed 3 was a wheezing guy with a gall stone growth – he kept burping throughout the night, when he spoke, when he coughs and everything. He would go like, “Nurse, I *burp* need to *buuuuuurp* go to *burp* the toi*buuuuuuuueeaaaararaaaaaup*let.” Poor guy!
Bed 5 is a stocky hairy guy with hair extending down from his hairline to his back (there wasn’t much distinction of a hairline already), whom I heard suffered a minor head injury although I see no bandages. On the next morning he insisted that he should go through some checkup but the doctor brushed him off and said he’s as fit as a fiddle. Perhaps he just sorely needed a break off his job.
Bed 6 is a young guy, probably a year or two younger than me who’ve got swollen eyes and lips. I didn’t see his face properly when I was warded because of the darkness, but the swelling subsided the next day. He suffered an allergic reaction to something which I can’t remember. Last, but not least, on Bed 7 is the one and only female patient in the ward. The next day I learned that she felt really miserable and kept vomitting but she was very quiet the whole night… I sympathise with her and hope that she can make a speedy recovery.
I was constantly kept awake by Bed 2′s snoring and Bed 3′s burping and wheezing, while the nurses kept switching on the lights in the middle of the night to check on each of us. At the same time, all thanks to the experience (or rather, the lack thereof) of the doctor who treated me in the A&E department in the night, he didn’t manage to get my blood vessel for the first 2 pokes into my arm (and I’m already very skinny, the blood vessels should be, well, bloody visible). Because of that, the IV drip needle kept slipping in and out of my arm the whole night and the sheer pain and irritation from the needle kept me awake.
I survived the night and was overjoyed when the nurses finally switched on ALL the lights at 7am in the morning. I was already up since 5.30am waiting nothing but for breakfast to come. I remembered texting to Twitter a couple of times screaming for breakfast because I hadn’t been effectively eating since Thursday due to my constant vomitting. The nurse handed us a cup of pinkish liquid and my heart skipped a beat – is that the yucky liquid paracetamol poor little kids worldwide are forcibly fed when they’re down with fever? It turns out to be a scare instead since it’s just antiseptic mouthwash. We had chicken porridge in the morning and I couldn’t help but stare with great envy that the snorer on Bed 2 was enjoying his serving of tasty fried rice vermicelli. Darn.
I spent the rest of the day slipping in and out of alternate states of consciousness (aka sleeping and waking, nothing serious). Lunch was promptly served at 12pm and when I opened the box I saw… eggplants. I let out a muted scream – I’m not a particularly huge fan of eggplants (some people know it by the name ‘brinjals’), and this is going to be my first and last time in my life I’m voluntarily injesting a vegetable with everything of a vegetable except for the ‘green’ part (eggplants are purple, by the way).
The doctor came for the afternoon round and discharged me – I was too happy to get out of NUH.
Never going home… not
p/s: I robbed Fred (@fredyatesiv and @decowire) of this title because it’s just too nice!
I thought I was fine after being discharged from the hospital. The first night on my dorm bed felt really weird, as if something that was originally part of the spiritual ‘me’ is missing. I couldn’t sleep, tossed and turned in bed until it was 2am in the morning. The next day, which was a Sunday, felt even more rotten. I was sluggish, the fever is back with a small venegance (37.8 celcius at most). I was close to vomitting on my bed on one unfortunate occasion and that tipped me over – I’m going home to get some serious rest.
I initially decided that I should take a coach back, but my uncle and aunt decided otherwise and forcibly sent me to the airport instead. They got my a last minute ticket on MI616 from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, so that I will be home in 30 minutes instead of five hours (if I took the coach instead). I didn’t know whether should I be happy or sad.
Arrived home at 10pm at night, and went for another round of checkup at the local hospital, SJMC, on Monday morning. Our doctor gave me a 75% clear, with a dose of powerful antiseptic (it is the first time in my life I was prescribed an edible antiseptic) with a chemical name of… forget it, it’s 137 characters long and would barely fit in a tweet.1
So far I’m doing fine, resting well at home. Eating well too – although I’m getting bored with porridge, mom says she’ll be switching me over to solid food tomorrow. Then I can start on fruits and bread, then extend my food range to everything else!
And if you’ve managed to read the whole thing, thank you!
- (+)-(6R,7R)-7-[(z)-2-(2-amino-4-thiazolyl)-4-carboxy-crotonamido]-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azabicyclo[4.2.0]-oct-2-ene-2-carboxylic acid, dihydrate ↩
Hey, Terry, why don’t you tell us that you are sick? Are you feeling better now? Take good care and hope to see you back to NTU soon!
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Heya there, well, let me tell you know that I’m sick *laughs* in fact, it was a nasty case of intestinal infection (the bugs were already zapped by the powerful antiseptic whose name is 137-characters long), and I’m feeling never better :)
I’ll be back in NTU tomorrow (Thursday), so yep, see you around!
p/s: I hope the reconstruction of your blog is doing fine! Wah, you have FYP now and still very free haha! I’m envious of you.
Wow Teddy, what a ride it must have been. I’m disgusted at how the NUS A&E department actually let you wait 5 hours before your uncle and aunt had to stir a commotion to admit you in! How very insensitive of hospital staff whom you’d expect the most to care for you in dire times of suffering.
Your relatives, on the other hand, are amazing. An air ticket all the way back home because of a sickness? You’re a lucky son, Teddy! Then again, its understandable that any concerned parent would do that.
I could really relate to your condition because just a week or two ago my sister went to through the same thing as you when we had to rush her to the A&E dept and was then admitted briefly at an observation ward. I mean, it wasn’t me.. but seeing her trembling, throwing up, etc in utter discomfort is enough to feel the pain. Although yours was much more serious – lasting for days whereas my sisters’ got much better the next morning.
Anyway, glad to know you’re slowly shaping up now. It’s great seeing your usual stream of tweets coming back in on Tweetdeck, heh! =)
I’m curious though, what exactly we’re you diagnosed with? Food poisoning?
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During the five-hour wait I was actually in a blur, somewhat near unconsciousness while seeing patients entering and leaving the waiting area. I only started to feel angry towards the end of the wait because that’s when I realized I had been kepting waiting for 4+ hours. They should seriously review their protocol. The nurses were constantly kept busy, the ones who were milling around the place. But those who were manning the counters were simply too busy talking. I just couldn’t understand why so. I thought this is, afterall, Singapore’s National University Hospital and it should be quite efficient. When my friends told me that they were kept waiting for 3~4 hours in a Malaysian (a country well known of the notorious lack of efficiency) public hospitals, I thought I won’t experience that in Singapore. Not.
My relatives are amazing indeed. They took really great care of me, helping me clear the warding procedures and even picking me up after I was discharged. They settled the bills for me too, before my dad pays them later. My aunt actually offered to let me stay over for a night but all I had in mind was to get back in my dorm and be prepared for school.
On Sunday, it was them who insisted that I was in no condition to take a coach back and therefore, sent me to Changi Airport instead. They’re just too nice!
I’m sorry to hear about your sister’s illness, I hope she’ve made a full recovery since then. What was your sister diagnosed with? I was diagnosed with a serious case of stomach flu – it’s more like a nasty bacteria infection of the intestine.
Haven’t been seeing you around on Tweetdeck, I can’t wait to read your tweets! I hope you’re coping well with the start of your new semester, good luck and God speed!
Wow that’s pretty intense? Are you okay now?
I’ve always wondered what having an IV drip in your arm feels like.. did it really hurt the entire time?
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Yeap, I’m doing fine now, no worries Katy!
By right having an IV drip shouldn’t hurt. Although it’s gonna hurt a little when the doctor inserts the needle, he will tape it up and secure it to your arm/palm (depends on whether did he insert it in your arm or back of palm). By then, it wouldn’t hurt until the nurse takes it out again.
Unfortunately for me, the doctor got my blood vessel the third time he moved the needle into my arm, and he didn’t secure it properly and so it hurt like hell for the entire night.
Wow, that was a long post, but I MANAGED TO READ IT ALL and sad to say, im proud of myself for doing that =)
But anyway, that sounded like a serious disease thing and im wondering hmm, i never knew females got to sleep with males in the hospital.. ooooooh suspicious. haha!
Get well soon if your not well! *does that even make sense to you?*
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Lol your second paragraph sounds ‘borderlinely’ (I made that up) wrong. Mine is a mixed ward, and anyway, there are nurses looking after us 24/7 so there shouldn’t be anyone taking advantage of anyone, just in case. Plus, most probably we’re too sick to do anything stupid :D
I’m doing well now, thanks!
ugggh, glad your eating again and feeling better, I hate being at a hospital.. gives the a feel of like dead people and aids..
Thank you! I’m feeling a lot better now, eating as per normal too. The stay at hospital didn’t really help much because of the lousy treatment they gave me. Staying at home felt a lot better!
Terry, NUH is No Use Hospital!! TTSH ( Tan T S Hosp ) is Tiam Tiam Si Hospital. NCH ( New Changi H) is Never Come Home, SGH ( S’pore GH ) is Sure Go Home, ….. be sure to choose your hospital carefully!!
Anyway, hope you will recover completely. God Bless.
Haha, so much word fun with the acronyms! In fact, I’m pretty much sure that I will not head for the hospital without an assertive adult in the future. They just take advantage of sickly people.
I’m doing fine now, thank you!
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Glad you are better now! See you soon :)
Take care ;)
Thank goodness you’re feeling better already! Whenever I get a fever or have an upset stomach, my mom would do the same. Porridge, Porridge and more Porridge. But I love porridge, so hey! :P
Is NUS Hospital that crappy? I’m curious since my brother *might* get a scholarship into NUS and yeah, being a thoughtful sister (once in a while) I care. I would definitely not want my brother to go through this horrible experience. We definitely cannot find anyone to run to him when he needs help since we’ll be about an hours flight away.
Anyways, take care of yourself and eat well!
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Yea, feeling never better now. It’s nice to have mom to cook simple food for us when you’re sick – it reminds me so much that it’s very lucky of us to have someone to look after us when we can’t take care of ourselves due to illness. And after telling you all this, I feel so warm and fuzzy inside as I munch on the sausage my mom bought for me *awww*
NUH is indeed, a little bit bad. I’m not sure others’ experiences with the hospital, but I’m sure that the experience last weekend left a really bad taste in my mouth.
If your brother gets into NUH, it’s quite normal for them to admit him to NUH in case of an emergency. But if he ever has the choice, he can always pick another hospital for treatment. I guess it will be fine. All the best to your brother – I hope he can snag the scholarship!
Thanks for your best wishes! I will be fine.
take care!!
good grief, that sounded like quite the ordeal! Ugh. I hope you’re feeling way better now with lots of TLC at home. *hugs*
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it really makes people cherish normal food, once they have had food poisoning once. i had a minor case lately myself. so hopefully you’ll move on to solids soon. and take care
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noob you better take care k? and please tell me the next time when u are sickkkkk! dont tell me after you are healed, defeats the purpose noob! and reply my smses faster=p haha
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@nann nann biaoyi: Losing that 3kg of precious body weight is heartbreaking. You know me, it’s so hard for me to gain weight already, heh. I will be stocking up after the exams, I hope! Thanks!
@Jas: Thanks! We saw each other today already. In fact, it was for the entire evening! Thanks for bringing us to the Japanese place – the noodles are really simple and nice.
@med: Thank you!
@WanCing: I will, no worries!
@letti: Yea, it was pretty much a nightmarish scenario. I’m so afraid of going to that hospital again – thank God, there are other hospitals for me to choose from in the future. I guess I shall stay away from NUH unless I learn how to be assertive and demanding enough (but then again, if I’m sick, I will just sit there and do nothing). Resting at home for 4 days is the best thing ever – now I’m kicking alive, back in my university busy catching up already.
@jason: I start to appreciate how much good food we are actually blessed with! I pity those who are chronically ill and have to stick to a diet of soft food and porridge. It must be very hard on them to let go off normal food :(
@Chongx: Okay, in the future I will keep you updated before anything bad happens! This time the sickness was a little too overwhelming and I didn’t have time to inform everyone until I was hospitalized, lol! Thanks for being such a helpful and concerned friend, anyway :) we shall meet up for lunch someday. Perhaps this weekend or something!
Hey teddy! I’m glad you’re fine now. Sorry for not commenting for so long– I was kinda MIA off the net.
I was really sick last week– and yesterday– too! I went swimming, had sushi and got very full, had a DQ blizzard, had icecream, had soup. Right after the soup, I started coughing and everything came out. :( I’ll spare you the details, but I thought it was kinda funny for some reason. :P
So welcome back! :D Feel free to email me too if u wanna talk. :)
Hey Grace! Your presence is so sorely missed… and I’m glad that you’re back! Looks like you’re preparing your site for a new blog with new content, I can’t wait for it to be launched. If you need any help with XHTML and CSS (those are the only things I am better at), feel free to contact me.
Sorry to hear that you were sick last week too – you did too many things in too little time, haha! Greedy you. I hope you’re feeling a lot better now, take care!
pls takecare urself.. and if it doesn’t get well.. try to find a good specialist take all kinds of bloodtest specially on blood cells.. tkcare
ouch. hope you are feeling much much better now. take care!
Not a big fan of NUH. I prefer SingHealth hospitals like Changi. I get much better treatment there. :S
Eeek! Hope you’re feeling much better now. Take care!
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I’ve learned a lesson – the hard way. I’ve also heard from my other friends that SingHealth hospitals are better. I swear I’ll never try NUH again. What a horrible (but memorable) experience, heh.
I’ve made a full recovery already, no worries!
TGIF! Have a great weekend ahead!
What hell that must have been for you. :| I read through your comments and thankfully read that you are now okay and doing well! What a relief. I am so sorry that you had to go through that. I remember last year when I had a stomach virus, I had a lot of the same symptoms as you had — it was horrible. Worst sickness I had ever had.. the constant vomiting & weakness/jitters was the worst.
Hmm, at least you got a cool picture out of all of this? :P In all seriousness though.. great to hear that you are doing well now! Are you back on normal foods or still progressing?
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Yea, it was a pretty nightmarish experience, but I’m glad that I survived it. I’m doing very great now, no worries! Stomach viruses are indeed something hard to tackle because it makes you queasy all the time and makes your tummy completely not responsive to many medication (because you keep throwing up).
I’m back on normal food. In fact, I had McDonalds for dinner on Friday night!
@unknown: I will, no worries. I don’t think we need to call in the specialists though, since I’ve made a full recovery already. Thanks!
@`eunice: I’m feeling never better – thank you!