Story continues at A & E

Dawn finally arrived.

I laid in my bed the whole night practically watching the clock ticked away. It's 5.30am. Nurses strolled in switching on all the lights, waking up all the patients. I asked the nurse, no wards yet? I was dying to be transferred to my B1 ward as the A&E ward was getting so cramp with about 10 patients in the tiny room. If I needed to be warded, I must stay in comfort! Period!

To my disappointment, the nurse said " No, have to wait. Full house!"

As I did not expect to be warded, I did not prepare any toiletries. Tried approaching the "forever busy looking" nurse for one. " Sorry, we don't provide!" She replied with a sheepish smile. A very sweet looking nurse...was wondering if I could bribe her into getting me a set from convenience store downstairs. She breezed off before I got the chance to propose. Oh, so sick.

It's alright, will get hubby to get me the toiletry set when he comes later. I can survive this temporary discomfort of messy hair, face and unrefreshed mouth. Wanted to go loo badly though. However, I was very reluctant to buzz for help. I felt perfectly fine! Seems rediculous to seek assistance. I struggled to reached for the drip from the stand and get off from the bed that I have laid for the last 10 hrs.

Noticed the sign at my bed indicating "Fall Precautionary". What exaggeration! I thought.
However, the moment I stood up, I fully agreed with them. Gosh! I felt the room spinning! Okay, perhaps it was because of lying down too long, Told myself, be calm. I stood like for 2 minutes looking down to the floor. True enough, after a few moment, I stopped seeing stars! Really understood the meaning of "seeing stars" now. A first for me!

A nurse suddenly came in at this moment. " Aiyoh, Ms! You are not suppose to leave your bed without our assistance!" She said. "Don't worry, I am fine." I said. After some bargaining, she succumbed to my persistence. Ha ha !

I carried my bottle of drip and started out of the room. Looked at the sign board and realised the washroom was further down at far end of the corridor. Along the way, beds with moaning patient were parked neatly along the corridor. Real bad, not much privacy. Luckily, I had a secluded corner. Got to stop complaining...

Hubby finally came at almost 11am. I did the wash up as best as I could with one hand holding the drip and felt slightly more human now. Purging/vomiting has stopped. Besides the floating feeling, everything else felt alright. Perhaps I could charm the doctors into letting me discharge later.

2 hours later, doc came. " Is your blood pressure all time low?" he asked. "Nope!" I replied. Oh no, got a bad hunch that I will not be able to work my charm. "You need to be warded as we need to observe you on the extremely low blood pressure." he said to me with such warm and gentle eyes. I was charmed by him more...haha..

My stay begins.....

Nightmare

I must have dozed off...

Someone was pulling my hand and trying to put on a band on my arm. I opened my eyes and saw a male nurse tugging my hand. "Sorry Ms, need to take your BP" he quipped. Why didn't they have female nurses doing this?! Felt kind of funny having a stranger touching you in the middle of nite..especially a man. "BP no good!" he commented.

I dozed off again...

And was woken by sharp pain shooting thru' my hand. Opened my eyes and found nurses/doc standing besides me. Doc explained: " Ms, we need to increase the flow of glucose as your BP is too low for comfort". I could not speak, just nodded feeling the fear now. Took out the hp and sms my hubby...told him to look for a nice woman so that she can take care of him and boys...if something happens to me. His reply: "siau ah!" haha...

Dare not close my eyes now...for fear i could not wake up. Started to observe around me...GOSH! Room was still so packed! One lady shouted for the nurse to off the lights, another said no as she is afraid of dark. Nurse was starting to feel agitated. I gave her a smile...telling her i understand how she felt. She came to me...and muttered softly" one want this, one want that...aiyoh".

Finally, lights were off. Only streams of it shoned in from the corridor... I was bedded right at the corner and got a good view of the traffic along the aisle. It felt like watching ER right before you!

Every other min, new bed trolley was pushed in. Everyone seems to be walking up and down the corridor...there were shouting, moaning...a lady shouted...to be let off...sounded wacko. Can see nurses pushing her onto the bed and strapping her. Real scary!

3am now...and i am still wide awake! How!? Could not get down from my bed, they have put up the rail for fear i tried to walk on my own. Kept telling me to buzz if i needed to go toilet. How to buzz for them when all seems so busy?!

The nite seems so long...

My 1st encounter at SGH A & E

...was having a bad case of stomach flu. For 2 days, there were countless purging and vomiting. On 06 May 2008, 4.20pm: Told myself, better do something or it will be too late. Was breaking out in cold sweat...the pain in the stomach was getting severe...the room seems to be spinning..i reached for my hp placed underneath my pillow and dialed for my hubby's number...

" Dear, tin i shld admit myself. I am feeling terrible." I said." Gosh, i can't be released...you able to take a cab there?" he replied. " Okie. i will try." I hung up and thought for a few seconds who else to call...Oh yes, should try my sister who is working nearby. Within 20mins, i was in her car to SGH, A&E.

Clutching my stomach, i entered the "so crowded" A&E at SGH at exactly 5pm. " Sit here and wait" my sister commanded in her usual authoritative tone...I collapsed into the nearest chair and closed my eyes...After a few minutes when i feel better, started to observe my surroundings..amazingly, all looked calm and i would say rather comfortable. I probably looked the most sickly one there. My sister was walking up and down making calls and looking so busy..finally when she sat down with me...she told me she has activated her "Self Group" to pray for me. I nodded my thanks..but was muttering to myself i needed to see the doc fast...these prayers don't help at all. But its comforting to know ppl are praying for you even though they have never met you.

After what felt like eternity, a doc came out personally looking for me. He muttered something like "short of rooms.." so gotta bring you to another observation room. Who cares...i was thinking. One look at me and he said, "Oh, you are severely dehydrated." Straight away, he inserted a needle into my veins and created what the medical term said" a line" meant for drips, medicine, blood samples and so forth. Thereafter he injected some medication and told me to wait for nurses arrangement. I was wheeled out feeling slightly better. Wow, medication was reacting fast...okie..maybe just needed to finish 1 bag of drip and i can go home..i thought.

After what seems like 30 mins later, i was still waiting and starting to feel dizzy..perhaps becos of the medication? Or something else? I don know...my sister was nowhere in sight. There was this foreign worker in wheelchair like me complaining of being so cold. ..i looked around, no blankets. Nurses were all so busy walking past us....i wanted to help him but i could not speak as i was holding back my own nausea spasm. Oh...i saw my sis! She was walking so fast..and she past me without realising...i was too weak to shout..i quickly took out my hp to sms her.

"oh my goodness! I was looking high and low for you". she shouted when she finally saw me. "The stupid nurse told me you were already warded...." I realised later she was doing the admission which took her so long. Anyhow, i was then wheeled to A&E ward. It was freezing cold. I climbed onto the cold bed and just grasp the pillow and blanket. Despite the coldness, it was such great relief to be able to lie down as i was on verge of fainting. My first bag of drip started...

I calculated. The drip shld end soon...and doc said once done, he will need to just observe another 2 hrs and i can go...yeah! Told my sis, you better go. I will just rest and hubby will pick me later. She left at 9.30pm. My hubby came...i was feeling ok. Ward was packed. There were like 8-10 beds all lined closely with hardly any walking space. My hubby was told to wait outside as its was late..and room was too packed. okie...hubby suggested he wait in his car...

15mins later, doc came, took a look at me and some files (on my record of BP, temp) and declared that i cant go home. BP has dropped tremendously, need to pump in more supplements...since then, i lost count of the number of bags of drip i have had. The hand with the "line attached" doesn't seems mine anymore...it was perpetually laid on a pillow for countless hrs..in the same position.

My hubby left after receiving the sms from me. My 1st nite in A&E begins....