When It Rains...

In the last three weeks, I’ve been a constant visitor to the hospitals.

First, it was my mother who had to undergo a retina re-attachment on 27th July. She was complaining of poor vision on her left eye and was having difficulty focusing that her doctor in Ipoh advised her to see a specialist in UH. Upon examination, my mother was diagnosed as having “retinal detachment”, it was serious and should be corrected as soon as possible.

So the next day, she was admitted into the hospital and was immediately operated on. The surgeon had to make an incision into her left eye and insert a small gas bubble to put the retina back in place. Was it painful? Oh dear… it must be! My mother was crying and was holding tight to our hands (me & my brothers) the moment she woke up from the anesthetic. I couldn’t bear to see her in pain like that.

It took her two weeks of “face down” after the operation to make sure that the retina is properly engaged in its position. Alhamdulillah, she’s ok now and only need to visit the doctor one last time this Friday. She could see clearly now and doesn’t need to use her glasses anymore!

One week after that, my husband pulak was admitted into the hospital. It started with a tooth ache on the night my mother was admitted into UH. That night, he complained of a severe pain on his lower left molar and went to see his dentist the next day. He was given a filling but the pain didn’t subside.

The next day, he drove down to JB for work. Since the pain was still there, he went to see another dentist in JB, who took out the filling to release the pressure and prescribed him with antibiotics and pain killer. He said he felt much better, but it was still painful.

On Friday, he came back to KL and reached home at 1 am. At 5 am, he woke me up and asked me to send him to the hospital because he couldn’t stand the pain anymore. His face was swollen and so was the part underneath his tongue. I’ve never seen him in such a situation before!

Upon reaching the hospital, the MO on duty advised him to see his dentist as he couldn’t do anything about it. At 10am, we went to see his dentist at Gleneagles who immediately admit him because she feared the swelling might block his windpipe. He was quickly put under drip and that began the episode of my husband’s 7-day stay at the hospital.

He was operated on Monday, 3rd August. The dental surgeon had to remove the abscess first to stop the swelling. One cut underneath his tongue and another one just under his chin. The one underneath his chin was left open with a rubber tube attached to it to allow the abscess to drain out after the surgery.

Kesian dia.. tak boleh makan apa. Cuma minum air for two days. Everyday I stayed with him at the hospital. He was released on Friday, 7 August and was given MC for a week. Gigi yang sakit tu had not been treated yet at that point of time.

Last Thursday, we went to see a root canal specialist (recommended by his dentist) to see if the tooth could be saved. Upon x-rays and what not, he said the tooth could not be saved because there was a crack evident. It had to be extracted, no choice.

And so my husband was admitted again last Saturday. The extraction had to be done under GA because the surgeon said it was going to be painful. Plus he had to suture the old wound, both inside and outside the mouth. Poor guy… had to go under GA again for the second time in two weeks!

The operation went well but my husband said, it was more painful than the first one. Nak buat macamana, yang…. Sabar je lah.

For someone who loves eating good food, my husband finds this a real challenge for him. I feel sorry for him when I saw him eating just soup and barley water instead of a good piece of steak that he loves so much. Tho’ he managed to cheat a little to satisfy his craving, it was not the same, he said.

The doctor said tak payah pantang apa, he can eat anything he wants but slowly. So yesterday, he had nasi lemak for breakfast and when my MIL heard about this, she gave me a long lecture on why I shouldn’t give him nasi lemak!

Lessons learnt:

1) Always go for your dental check up, don’t skip or wait until sakit baru nak pegi
2) Always have spare cash for emergencies like this, or make sure you’re covered by insurance.
3) Be very patient. Dealing with a sick husband is not an easy job. Dia nak lebih manja sikit.
4) Dealing with your MIL when your husband is sick is even trickier. Always take a back seat whenever she’s around. Never show that you are a better nurse than her.

Before I end this note, I just want to say that my cat, Austin, was also hospitalized on the same day my husband was first admitted at the hospital, for swelling on his face due to a cat fight. Muka dia sekarang dah berjahit sana sini!

And my SIL (my youngest brother’s wife) has just been admitted to the hospital this morning coz she’s expecting a baby anytime soon.

When it rains, it really pour, huh?

Comments

Kak Teh said…
Mrs N, it certainly poured! I hope everyone, including Austin, is on the road to recovery. And thanks for the time you spent with us, inspite of the rain.
MrsNordin said…
K.Teh,

It was a pleasure meeting you. It was like seeing a rainbow after the rain.. :)

Everyone mentioned are recovering well. At the time of writing, the sick man is out having lunch with his brother, the sick cat is still hiding under table, and the sick mum is fussing over her daughter in law who still hasn't shown any signs of labour.

So I guess, everyone is alright then!
wanshana said…
Hi BJ,

So glad Nordin is okay now :) Risau jugak when I read your FB status over the weekend hari tu.

I can just imagine how frustrated he is - not being able to really makan a feast. Nak-nak lagi minggu depan dah nak puasa, kan?

Banyak pahala jaga husband sakit, insya Allah :)

Take care, dear.
Naz in Norway said…
I read your entry with omg, omg, and more omg.
So I'm so glad to know that everybody is recuperating by the end of this entry. Well, except for the expecting mom who is still expecting lah!
YOU...take care OK :)
DadaIQ said…
BJ
Kena banyak2 bersabar and berdoa. Glad everything is back on track now and life is back to normal for you and your loved ones.

Salam Ramadhan Al-Mubarak,
Kama At-Tarawis said…
Glad to hear he's on the mend and the rest are progressing well. selamat berpuasa.
MrsNordin said…
Shana,

I was tired of waiting for him to come out of OT at that time. I had his Blackberry with me masa tu, that's why I posted that status. He came out after 2 hours, sapa tak suspen! Kata cabut gigi saja, why did it take so long? Nasib baik everything was ok. Thanks for your concern.
MrsNordin said…
Naz,

Thanks! It was kinda challenging for me too. Both physically and emotionally. Luckily I was pretty calm and didn't panic easily. Otherwise, I pulak yang boleh masuk hospital!
MrsNordin said…
Dada.

Yes, memang kena banyak sabar. Banyak dugaannya tu... luckily it's over now, almost.
MrsNordin said…
K. Puteri,

Thanks for your well wishes. Selamat Berpuasa to you and family too!
MrsN, poor your mum, Nordin and Austin. Glad to know everyone is recovering well.

Also terlebih kesian kat Nordin lah sebab by the time he has fully recuperated and is able to eat his steak, etc - Ramadan pun dah sampai. Kesian...
KG said…
BJ,
Certainly agree wt you on nos 1, 2 3 and 4...and I definitely mengambil iktibar from kisah Mr N ni...coz, I hate going to the dentist. The last time I was preggers wt Hajar, I was in S'pore CommunicAsia and my molar sakit giler..survived by taking paracetamol, came back buat root treatment, completed and was supposed to do the crowing....but procrastinated until am preggers wt muhd, the molar tak sakit, but it cracked, the day before I beranak, only managed to do a "temporary" job and am supposed to go after this. And it doesn't help, according to Haqlah that I so lurve caffein in my coffee, that depletes and hinders the absorption of calcium!!!
Lepas ni, let's jamu Mr N...err you nak suruh I masak apa?
MrsNordin said…
Gina,

Thanks. Betullah, lepas baik, terus puasa! Tak apa... elok untuk menguruskan badan. I think, as of now pun, he has lost some weight. Baju macam longgar je.. :)
MrsNordin said…
Hi Yani!

Tak sangka pulak you also have the same problem. Must get it done quickly before it gets worse.

Nak jamu MrN? Hee.. hee... that sounds like a great invitation! But I won't impose on you. Even his own wife tak masak for him. I'm a hopeless wife!
tireless mom said…
Hi BJ

Alhamdulillah, glad that the pour has stopped. Sorry that you have to go through it, but I am sure MrN realized how lucky he is to have you as the other nurse.

Hope MrN dah boleh makan already.
bella said…
Hope all is well with everyone. I can understand the feeling, macam rasa helpless and wish it is us having the pain kan. Take care, and if you wanna go for a little retail therapy, do sms me!!!!hehehe...
Anonymous said…
glad all is well now.. just in time for ramadhan. take care and hope you have a wonderful ramadhan & eid.

fulltime mom
Unknown said…
HI BJ,

Hope ur mum and MrN recovers soon from their respective ops.

Hope after the birth of ur SIL, there won't be anymore hospital visit for a while.

HUgs.
Spices of Life said…
dugaan ... omg yes.. you are indeed a strong woman.. alamdulilah that your mom, hubby as well as austin are well.
i hate go to dentist but haven't you notice that all female dentists in malaysia are simply gorgeous.
busymum100 said…
Kesian you, MrsN.

I hope now dah sort of "back to normal"?

Selamat berpuasa...
Mama Rock said…
MrsN...it must have been a really heavy rain!
I'm due for my dental check up too. but now still on MC since last monday...i think I will wait a bit before i see my dentist, in case it is more than just a routine check up. i think i am jinxed to routine check up ;)
nahiella said…
hopefully everyone's ok. especially Austin. Ye la, yg tu tak boleh mengadu, so kena sayang lebih sikit!
Kmar said…
BJ,

Good to know that Mr Nordin is recovering. Kasihan pulak especially bulan puasa ni.. so many kind of delicious food.

I like ´lesson to be learned´.. especially no 2.. get ready with extra saving especially when it involve health matters. We have dental insurance but only cover 30% from the dental cost. Everytime gi jumpa doktor gigi, mesti ada ´extra´ things nak kena buat...pfff.. Getting older means getting more things to be fix!!

Take care.. and selamat berpuasa. Btw, did Mr Nording loose a bit of weight then?? (soalan cepu mas.. ha.ha..).. just teasing..
Mrs N

the worst friend in the world is saying hi and hope your household is better.....austin austin sekali

Jab had a detached retina too and he had a buckle put in.....he now tells me he chose to have a buckle in because he didn't want to put his head down!

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