Hospital Once More

The top of my thigh next to the groin is still sore from the angiogram which was done on last Saturday morning. The process was simple and you are conscious of the whole process, you were even allowed to watch the TV
screen to see what was being done by the heart specialist during the process. The only pain that you felt was when the Doctor injected local anesthetic at where he was about to puncture the blood vessel to insert his tube and his probe to your heart. That was at the top of the thigh just to the right of the groin. This was a fascinating process.

On the Saturday morning I was given a sort of ‘straight jacket’ to wear, very thin, almost see through. The process of shaving the pubic hair I already did yesterday before I entered the hospital ward. I did it myself, I do not want
the nurses to do it for me. Even then the Nurse had to examine me to ensure that I shaved properly, and in the process she has to look at my ‘bird’ and
I did not like that. Anyway she was only doing her job, she was probably married, pretty and her name was Siti Salmiah.

That morning they wheeled me on the bed to the operations theatre. It was a pleasant ride, you on the bed and a trainee nurse pushing and guiding
the bed, by lift, 4 floor down. I was not really ill but anyone looking at me
would think that I was really ill. In the theatre the Doctor, a Class when we
were at school, and whom I have known for the last about 30 years was there with his Nurses. And I was asked to move into the theatre/operating bed. Funny though, the operating bed was warm. And while they did the probe,
I felt warm every time they injected the dye into me. And they did a good
job. After the operations, the puncture was depressed to keep out blood from spitting and bounded tightly with elastic bandages., And in the process the Nurses had to push aside my ‘bird’ and I was too engrossed in what had been done to care. Then I had to get back into the original bed with which I came.
I was pushed back to the ward where I was originally bedded. I was wheeled
up. I was told to sit in bed, and very still for 6 hours. The idea was that they
did not want the blood to spit out of the punctured blood vessel at the groin.
If it happened I would have been in real trouble. A couple of nurses had to examine the bandage and in the process they must have spied on my ‘bird’,
not much of a sight though as I was in such a state that I was not even excited.

As I said earlier in my earlier blog I did not even expect that my heart
problem can be that serious. On the Monday after the operations when I
went to see my friend the Heart Doctor he showed me that I have the Main Artery blocked and secondary artery narrowed. The third important artery,
he did not photograph that but he presumed that it was OK. Not only was
my Main Artery blocked but it also had calcium and the three sub arteries
from it also blocked at their beginnings. That is serious. I cannot even ask
my friend to do angioplasty on the blocked Arteries, he advised that I have
to do a ‘bypass’. So now he said maybe the Surgeon I have to use the LIME artery for the main bypass, small branched arteries for the branches from
the Main Artery and another artery for that part to bypass the narrowed
second artery. If you do not call that major, what is? And he says it would
take about 3 hours to complete the surgery, two days in ICU and one month
to recover properly. Major isn’t it? And 3 months with no driving. Wow wow, big problem. He recommended many hospitals in KL, and also many Heart Surgeons, whom he says he has complete trust in. And the cost,? Well I may need to sell off one of my cars to pay, plus probably to get a loan from some kind people so that I can pay for the operations and everybody involved. After that what? I will still have to get back to work, if my current work has not
been given to someone else in my absence. Anyway I have to arrange with
some friends to take over my jobs in the Kuantan area.

For the purpose of my original investigative angio I went into the Gleneagles Medical Centre in KL on Friday. I checked in late, there was no hurry. And the operations was only done the next morning. Actually I have not been feeling very well before Friday but I was still good. On the Wednesday I went with a group of old friends to visit a power station at Port Dickson. I was able to
climb about 40 steps to get into the control room. There was a lift but I
hought I had better walk up the stair case. I felt the pain in my chest but I
did not really bothered. And on Thursday I visited a few places in the course
of my work.

Let me tell you about the hospital. From outside its like a Hotel but the inside
is very averaged. I went into a 4 men room, my room mates were an almost dying man from Kelantan, a man with watery lungs and a man from Hong Kong who came to seek medical treatment here (I think). So the room was pretty quiet, except for the wheezing of the man with the watery lungs and
the off and on noise by the Hong Kong man. The Kelantan man died the next morning. And the air in that ward was rather sombre the two days I was
there. But now and then the man with the watery lung played his radio
pretty loud and also speaking aloud on his hand phone. But that was all.
His daughter who came to visit him was quite civil.

The nurses, well as usual they seemed to be very busy, but one thing I
observed, there were many Trainee Nurses. And they seemed very keen.
But of and on I hear them arguing about the diagnosis of certain diseases, talking about how to treat those diseases, talking about the medicines and
how to go about and what to do in those circumstances. But I suppose there must have been a Trained Nurse with them all the time so that what ever
they wanted to know were resolved then and there.

I noticed though that the Hospital have one Coffee House and a Cafe. Eating
in the Coffee House is expected to be expensive and I did not go in there but eating at the Cafe was also very expensive. Somehow, they have taken the opportunity, with no other eating shops nearby where patients and visitors
can have their meals especially at odd hours of the day and night. And the
ood in the hospital? Not to my liking. I asked my wife to buy food from the outside. Anyway I was only there for 1 night.

I was so happy to receive a SMS from my daughter in UK. The SMS goes
like this;
Doubts sees the obstacle,
Faith sees the way,
Doubts sees the darkest night,
Faith sees the day.
Have faith in Allah so that your darkest night can be filled with shining light.
Glad it was successful you know that laughter is the best medicine so keep smiling and may Allah fill your days with sunshine. Ameen.

To shout back, e-mail: mylias@tm.net.my