SGH - Day 2 & Home!

Ahh, finally managed to catch my breath after a hectic day @ SGH.

Day 2 - 26 April 2007
We bumped into an old sunday school student of ours Dr Andrew Wong. Instantly
he recalled who I was, what a small world ain't it? Interestingly enough he was tasked to "plugging" Jo which he did a good job of.

Then we bumped into Dr Mark Tien, our Small Group friend who was working in the ward. Was really thankful that God had placed these people at strategic occasions for us. Mark shared the amazing testimony of a Mennonite pastor who recently passed on...we have been encouraged!

Protein Drip
Dr Darren Lim came by to chat a bit and said that Jo was required to have an Albumin (Protein) drip since her blood test showed low levels of this. The nurse plugged the yellow glass bottle and within 30 mins it was done. Albumin would serve to reduce the water retention in Jo's body.

"Albumin refers generally to any protein with water solubility, which is moderately soluble in concentrated salt solutions, and experiences heat coagulation (protein denaturation). Substances containing albumin, such as egg white, are called albuminoids."

Avastin Treatment
Nurse came by @ 3pm yesterday and it was done within the hour. No side effects post treatment so far though. Amen!

A few friends came by from late afternoon all the way to the evening. Thank you all for being with us.

Palliative Care Nurse
A nurse from Palliative Medicine came by and had a long chat with us - asking about Jo's current symptoms, sharing about pain management and current medication history.

Palliative care is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms or slowing the disease's progress, rather than providing a cure. The goal is to prevent and relieve suffering and to improve quality of life for people facing serious, complex illness. (Wikipedia)

Day 3 - 27 April 2007

Didn't really get a good nite's sleep since the aircon was freezing in the room. However managed to sleep outside in the common lounge area. Dr Leong finally came by this morning and discussed about her case. We will continue to see her next Friday morning. Dr Leong also mentioned if the bloatedness got really bad, that was an option to remove the liquid via small procedure.

Dr Alethia Yee

Dr Yee (Palliative Medicine) came by and had a long chat with Jo too. She chatted everything from pain management to discussing our treatment goals...as in what do we hope to achieve with Jo's current state of health - quality of life or etc etc. Importantly, she added another dimension in answering Jo's many questions about medication, treatment and home care options. Wow, it was a handful just taking all that in in one go, but it was very helpful.

Going Home

We finally checked out of the hospital @ about 4:00pm.