Dad entered the clinic and went into the doctor's office. He was in there for several minutes, while i waited outside. When he came out, he told me that the specialist in SJMC was not available, as was the doctor in Damansara Specialist. After making a few calls, we were on our way to the General Hospital. The specialist there said she would wait for me.
It was a quiet ride to the hospital. Neither dad or me spoke much. I remember asking my dad, "How could this happen?" He said, "Exposure to chemicals, lifestyle, who knows?" When we arrived at the hospital, we went straight to the Hematology clinic. There was a sister who greeted us, and sat there holding my hand while we wait for the doctor. She hugged me once, and i remember being uncomfortable, though i felt greatly consoled. Other than with Z, i am rarely the touchy feely kind of person. I would later find that I would have to get used to it, when the streams of visitors came and gave me hugs and kisses.
after a few minutes of waiting, the consultant finally came out to see me. I could see that she already had my blood test report and referral with her. She said I would have to get admitted immediately for blood transfusion. My mom arrived and brought me up to the ward while my dad sorted out admission issues. I was given a double room. Next to me was an old lady who was sleeping. (I found out later that she was actually much younger than my dad!) A nurse came to ask me if i knew my blood type. I told her I didn't, and she took some blood to get it tested. I think she was going to take it anyway, because the lab has to do cross matching before they can give the blood to me.
a medical officer came later to ask me a few questions, e.g. if i had any fevers (no), when did i start feeling tired (since a month ago), if i had any bruises (yes), and few million questions more. then she listened to my lungs, checked my eyes, throat, and felt my abdomen. After that another nurse came to insert an IV needle in my vein. My very first one, ouch!
the cross matching results took a while to come back. I didn't get my first pint of blood transfused until around midnight. I developed a fever in the middle of the night, probably a reaction to the blood transfusion. A couple of paracetamols got rid of the fever.
24 hours later, i completed the blood transfusion - 4 pints altogether. I got up and tried to jump up and down to see if I get tired easily. Nope. My blurry vision became clear. I was feeling much better.
the next day the consultant came to check on me. She said she would try to organize a bone marrow aspiration for me on Monday. She told me that the pain would be similar to getting my tooth pulled. I said OK, though i have no idea how it feels to have a tooth pulled. All my teeth came off at home. At this point, i just wanted to get over with the bone marrow aspiration so I can hear the doctor tell me that I don't have leukemia and I can go back to my normal life.
Every single experience was a new one to me, and i was quite the snobby patient back then. Complaining about how the room did not have a TV, complaining about the food, the condition of the hospital, the nurses and a whole list of other things. One night, at the nurses' station, while a nurse was trying to insert a new IV needle on my hand, she introduced me to two patients who have been there for quite a while. She smiled and told me, "These will be your new friends soon. You'll be staying here for a long time, dear." I looked at her and didn't smile back. I said, "I don't intend to stay here for a long time." Boy, how wrong I was.
to be continued...
