Odds & Ends

It's because I waited so long and after so much has happened before updating this blog that I kept missing out on stuffs. Probably, also the chemo mucked up my memory, yea, blame the chemo after it saved me from the jaws of death.

It was only after I had so much trouble breathing and had been dependent on oxygen that I realised that this is one of those things in life that I had taken for granted. I hadn't given much thought to the quality of air we breathe in though I really hated to be breathing in cigarette smoke and exhaust fumes.

My apartment is on the second level and very often we smelled cigarette smoke though none of my family members smoked. Sometimes it's from people smoking in the void deck below and sometimes I didn't know where they come from. When that happened, I would be so tempted to pour water down and drench that inconsiderate fellow below. After all, you were smoking me out of my home and poisoning me and my loved ones in your attempt, that should give me the right to drench you with water - just be thankful that it was not going to be some other liquid from the toilet. If I could have my way, that would be the evil in me responding.

Then, there would be the drivers who parked their vehicles with the engine running while they sit inside and enjoy the cool comfort of the aircon. Unfortunately, the sheltered boarding and alighting bay is located very close to my block and the exhaust would be in the direction of my kitchen and bedroom windows. Sometimes, I walked into the kitchen only to be hit in the nose by exhaust fumes. More than once, I went down and told the drivers to switch off their engines. More often than not, they complied after being confronted by a woman with a hat on her head, a sign of someone who has been through chemo. Perhaps I should consider facing them with my bald head and make them feel more guilty.

I digressed.

While on oxygen, every time I had to leave my bed for tests and x-rays, they had to fetch me in a wheelchair and hooked me up to a portable oxygen canister. Once, the tube came loose while I was waiting for my turn for some test. I couldn't breathe and I knew I had lost my oxygen supply. A staff reconnected it for me. The worst was when I had to be x-rayed. I had to hold my breath and I would feel like collapsing. Usually, I would remind them that I couldn't hold my breath for long.

When my breathing had improved somewhat, the onco staff allowed me more mobility. I wanted to shower and they got a portable oxygen canister on a trolley for me. I went to shower with the oxygen and all.

After I was independent of the oxygen and could go to the toilet to answer nature's call, nurse would be asking how many times I went and if it was a lot. Erm... do I have to take note and tell you? Yes, she explained, because of my condition (flooded lungs), all my output had to be recorded - doc's orders. They had no problem when I had to ask for the bedpan or commode. But when I became independent, they had to depend on me to keep track. So sorry, I wasn't aware of that.

The ward doctor had limited my water intake to 1 litre a day when my lungs were flooded. Nurse was also asking how much water was I drinking?

I hadn't mentioned this before, but when I was initially warded and had great difficulty talking, my friends, relatives and family members were kept up-to-date on my condition and progress through one person, my eldest brother. He had visited me practically everyday and also talked to my doctors, and so he could update a few and the information was passed on to the rest without me wearing myself out talking to everyone individually. What a way for my brother to spend his holiday here. I am also very grateful to all for their concern, prayers, support and everything.