The week it was
Last week was one hectic and crazy week. It started off with Sarah having chickenpox and Sydnie hospitalized. To top it all up, I was sick myself and Hubby has gone back to Austin.
The highlight was of course, little Sydnie being hospitalized for the 2nd time since birth. No, it doesn’t count the time I delivered her. What I thought was a normal doctor visit ended up with her being hospitalized. Sydnie’s cough did sound different and a little scary to me. That was why I told myself that I definitely had to bring her for checkup before I go to KL. When the doctor told me he needed her hospitalized, my mind went blank for a moment. I had a thousand considerations going on at my mind; How are we going to make the arrangements with Sydnie in the hospital the fact that Sarah had to skip school for one week, my business trip, taking leave from work knowing that my boss isn’t going to be happy about it, and I have 2 major product releases scheduled at the end of the week, etc, etc. I looked at Sydnie’s big innocent eyes. I then told myself that I have to be strong knowing that I will have to face all this myself. So thereafter it was just a mad rush of getting her admitted, sending her for various tests, calling office to take leave, making work arrangements, cancellation of hotel bookings, attempting to reach Harby in Austin to ask about his company’s insurance coverage, etc.
I was relieved that Sydnie’s blood test and x-ray came out fine. Pead concluded that Sydnie was having bronchiolitis; the infection of the lungs. Poor girl. Sydnie had to be on the nebulizer on a 4-hourly basis and she really resented it. She would struggle and scream for the whole 5 minutes duration and she will end up with her face all red and her head literally drenched with sweat. 5 minutes was like forever during each session.
Her recovery seemed much longer than what her pead expected, hence the prolonged stay in the hospital. Since she still had a lot of phlegm in her lungs, she had to have it sucked out. It was a really traumatizing experience. My knees went weak upon hearing her scream inside the room. Frankly I could feel my head getting light and my breathing getting shallow. At that point, a nurse advised me to wait for her in the room. She said that if I stay there, I will end up crying. Sydnie came back to the room with her face pale and her whole body limp. My heart ached thinking what she had to go through. After 6 days and a huge medical bill later, we were finally allowed to go home. She hasn’t really recovered yet and still coughing, but I’m just thankful that she’s on her way to recovery.
The stay at Mahkota Medical Center was quite pleasant overall. The nurses were helpful and friendly. The food was surprisingly good too. There are 3 different menu to choose from for each meal, Malay, Chinese and Western. I had lontong and toast for breakfast on some days. =p
I was also lucky that Le Meridian was kind enough to allow changes to my check in date, which is supposedly non-amendable. All in all I’m just relieved that the ordeal was over and life is getting back to normal.
Thanks to all my friends who has given me the support throughout that 6 days. With all that was going on; being alone in the hospital, seeing Sydnie screaming and crying, being exceptionally attached to me, not drinking milk and losing weight, forcing medicine and water down her throat, Sarah missing her mummy, me being sick myself and pressure from work, it was very hard to stay strong. Your support had made things more bearable for me.
Some photos taken from my phone:
Sydnie checking out the new baby cot on the first day
Peek-a-boo
Sydnie: Not too bad; nice color and sturdy
Overall cot rating: Pass
A very tired Sydnie
Waking up feeling fresher
Red face - a side effect of the nebulizer
Sydnie looking much better
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Food ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eggs and sausage for breakfast
Black pepper chicken chop for lunch
Sweet and sour fish with rice for dinner
The highlight was of course, little Sydnie being hospitalized for the 2nd time since birth. No, it doesn’t count the time I delivered her. What I thought was a normal doctor visit ended up with her being hospitalized. Sydnie’s cough did sound different and a little scary to me. That was why I told myself that I definitely had to bring her for checkup before I go to KL. When the doctor told me he needed her hospitalized, my mind went blank for a moment. I had a thousand considerations going on at my mind; How are we going to make the arrangements with Sydnie in the hospital the fact that Sarah had to skip school for one week, my business trip, taking leave from work knowing that my boss isn’t going to be happy about it, and I have 2 major product releases scheduled at the end of the week, etc, etc. I looked at Sydnie’s big innocent eyes. I then told myself that I have to be strong knowing that I will have to face all this myself. So thereafter it was just a mad rush of getting her admitted, sending her for various tests, calling office to take leave, making work arrangements, cancellation of hotel bookings, attempting to reach Harby in Austin to ask about his company’s insurance coverage, etc.
I was relieved that Sydnie’s blood test and x-ray came out fine. Pead concluded that Sydnie was having bronchiolitis; the infection of the lungs. Poor girl. Sydnie had to be on the nebulizer on a 4-hourly basis and she really resented it. She would struggle and scream for the whole 5 minutes duration and she will end up with her face all red and her head literally drenched with sweat. 5 minutes was like forever during each session.
Her recovery seemed much longer than what her pead expected, hence the prolonged stay in the hospital. Since she still had a lot of phlegm in her lungs, she had to have it sucked out. It was a really traumatizing experience. My knees went weak upon hearing her scream inside the room. Frankly I could feel my head getting light and my breathing getting shallow. At that point, a nurse advised me to wait for her in the room. She said that if I stay there, I will end up crying. Sydnie came back to the room with her face pale and her whole body limp. My heart ached thinking what she had to go through. After 6 days and a huge medical bill later, we were finally allowed to go home. She hasn’t really recovered yet and still coughing, but I’m just thankful that she’s on her way to recovery.
The stay at Mahkota Medical Center was quite pleasant overall. The nurses were helpful and friendly. The food was surprisingly good too. There are 3 different menu to choose from for each meal, Malay, Chinese and Western. I had lontong and toast for breakfast on some days. =p
I was also lucky that Le Meridian was kind enough to allow changes to my check in date, which is supposedly non-amendable. All in all I’m just relieved that the ordeal was over and life is getting back to normal.
Thanks to all my friends who has given me the support throughout that 6 days. With all that was going on; being alone in the hospital, seeing Sydnie screaming and crying, being exceptionally attached to me, not drinking milk and losing weight, forcing medicine and water down her throat, Sarah missing her mummy, me being sick myself and pressure from work, it was very hard to stay strong. Your support had made things more bearable for me.
Some photos taken from my phone:
Sydnie checking out the new baby cot on the first day
Peek-a-boo
Sydnie: Not too bad; nice color and sturdy
Overall cot rating: Pass
A very tired Sydnie
Waking up feeling fresher
Red face - a side effect of the nebulizer
Sydnie looking much better~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Food ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I didn't get to take a lot of photo on the food as most of the time I only had very little time to gobble everything up. I am always the last person finishing my food because I have to wait for Sydnie to sleep first before I could eat, or wait for mum and dad to come over. The food here changed my perception of "hospital food". :)
Eggs and sausage for breakfast
Black pepper chicken chop for lunch
Sweet and sour fish with rice for dinner
Comments
Oh yes, the food... It taste as good as it looks. If only I had the chance to take all the photo of the meals I had in that 6 days :p.