bronchitis

today was an interesting and very kancheong (anxious) day.

you see, for whatever reasons, i decided to drive today instead of taking public transport. i went over to visit mum early and decided that i should cook her favourite zhi cha noodle for her. she loved it and ate every bit of the noodle. after that we spend some good time chatting as she watched her favourite tv programme. mum was really cheerful and chatty. i left after that at about 12.15pm to meet up with damien for lunch at lot one. and i decided to get a haircut there too, something that i have never done before. we walked around the place before we left. and as i walked to the car park, i chanced upon my ex-colleagues and ended up chatting with them for some 15min. it was then that i got a call.

it was a call from my domestic help. she sounded very kancheong. she said my mum wanted me to bring her to see our family gp at marine parade and that she wanted me to bring her there. she then passed the phone to my mum to speak to me. mum's voice sounded really course and she was breathing really hard. she asked me to pick her up immediately. i was so lucky to have my car and to be still so near to my brother's place. i rushed over right awar. when i arrived, mum was wrapped in a towel. she said she was very cold. i took her hands. they were very warm. i sensed something wrong. looking at her, i decided that i should sent her to the sgh a&e immediately. but mum had a mind of her own. she insisted on going to the gp so that she could ask for a `simple injection'. i managed to `coax' her out of this along the way. i constantly kept watch at her as i drove. it was obvious that her condition was deteriorating very fast. her face was getting paler by the minutes and her breathing was getting very erratic. as i drove, i have to sound calm and behave normally. i told myself i could not afford to make her, or for that matter, the domestic help, panic. yet i was worried deep inside that she might just faint in my car. despite this, i joked. i chatted. i cajouled her to talk. i had to continue engaging her in the conversation despite her breathlessness. i was worried she might get unconscious.

we arrived at the sgh a&e and the medic that came out immediately wheeled her to the triage. she overtook the long queue and was immediately attended to by the doctor-in-charge. in no time, mum was rushed into the critical care ward where another doctor took over her case. she was put on warm oxygen immediately and given 2 injections to stabilize her condtion as they did more tests. initially, they suspected it was a heart attack, or pneumonia, or fluid in her lungs, etc. whatever the case, we were told that she would need to be warded. she was sent for several tests including chest x-rays, ecg, blood tests and so on. it was not until 5plus when the doctor-in-charge came out and gave me his assessment. the blood tests results were not out yet. but the x-rays showed her lungs to be not much different from the last time (dec 09). the ecg also showed her heart to be ok. the initial assessment was that it was bronchitis. they needed to keep her to monitor and treat her.

by the time i did all the warding admin and settled her into the ward, it was way pass 7.30pm. it was rather exhausting. but i was happy that mum was ok. thinking back, i thought it was more than a coincidence that i decided to drive, that i decided to spent so much time at lot one... well, i guessed it's mum's good karma that all these happened. for now, she is resting well at the hospital. i hope she gets well soon.

:-)