Saturday, June 07, 2008
Today and yesterday has been sort of hellish.
I planned to spend the whole of yesterday studying for my SAT Chemistry exam. Plan worked until around 2pm, when my parents got a call from Indonesia.
Since my dad had an operation last Tuesday, he decided to send all his nurses to Bandung, Indonesia for a holiday.
And yesterday afternoon, they got a call saying that my dad's longest serving nurse, Aunty Cath, is in critical condition in hospital. The doctor said she got a cardiac arrest but they managed to revive her.
That changed the house environment a lot. According to the other nurses, Aunty Cath was already wheezing before they flew to Indonesia. She was in such a bad condition that she had to be wheel chaired to the plane.
Upon hearing the news, my mum cried for quite some time. My dad was also very shocked and tears filled his eyes as well. Aunty Cath worked for my dad for over 20 years. She even came to the hospital when my mum gave birth to me and my brother. She's also the person who never forgets to send an SMS on your birthday to wish you every year.
She's now more of a family friend then a worker.
My parents quickly arranged plans. My mum was to go to Bandung on the earliest flight she could get, and my dad while provide the funding for everything. He can't go himself because he's restricted by his recently-operated eye.
According to my dad's experience, he said in every case which he saved and heard of regarding a cardiac arrest, the patient eventually dies a few days later. If you didn't know, when you get a cardiac arrest, your heart stops beating, and technically you're actually dead. It's just that doctors can start your heart pumping again if they react quickly, but it usually doesn't last long.
My mum flew to Bandung today with Ah Meng Koko in the morning. Meanwhile, my dad took me to Metropolitan College so that I could sit for my exam. The exam was tough, but OK.
After my exam, our attention turned back to Aunty Cath.
From yesterday until today, we got calls from the other nurses in Indonesia, getting different news about Aunty Cath.
First the doctors there said it was a cardiac arrest, then the story changed to a respiratory arrest, then they said it was nothing because they managed to do an elective to stop the arrests (at this point I was thanking God that the earlier doctor who informed us about her was a dumbshit), but now, the final report we got from my mum there is that Aunty Cath did have a cardiac arrest.
Turns out the doctor I cursed earlier wasn't a dumbshit at all, even though he sounded like he didn't finish medical school and he can't speak English.
However, against expectations, Aunty Cath's current vitalities show that she's doing very well. She managed to wake up a while just now and she even squeezed my mum's hand. When my mum put her handphone to Aunty Cath's ear and she heard my dad talk to her, she even cried.
The Indonesian doctors and my dad are quite surprised at her progress. If she keeps it up, she has a big chance of surviving. It's against the negative predictions that the Indonesian doctors and my dad made through their experience, but we're all hoping for it.
But still, we have to wait a few days to see whether Aunty Cath's condition remains stable.
So until then, our hearts are with you Aunty Cath. Stay in there.
just posted the above
at 7:55 PM ;
