being a patient

quite a lot has happened since i last blogged. this mite be a long entry.

so first of all, it's 2010! had a pretty normal new years. nothing very exciting. hoping this year will be a good year, hopefully better than 2009. moving along...

im still yellow. sigh. in fact, things got kinda crazy last week. i noticed a new rash forming dat was unlike the original rash. it was predominantly on my hands and feet and VERY itchy. i had a panic attack dat it was erythema multiforme striking again. and i was also bruising in very odd places. more panic set in. informed the gastro reg. in the meantime, i was actually due to go back to timaru to start back at work. so i still went ahead and then while i was lying in my bed in timaru, i couldn't sleep cos i was itching like crazy to the point where id rather die. dat was when i realised i dont think i could start work and things were just generally shit. so in the end, i went to Human Resources and suggested taking unpaid leave for the rest of the quarter since my registration was already screwed anyways. they were surprisingly very understanding abt it and then i just finished up my day 2 orientation stuff and yea i get paid for dat day!

then spent my bday in timaru. my awesome flatmates threw me a yellow party in honour of my jaundice, not becos im asian (like wat someone thot. sigh.) even had yellow food! and awesome cookies.

then drove back to chch. was then informed dat ill be having a liver biopsy the following week with an appointment to see a liver specialist after the biopsy.

so yesterday i had the biopsy done. had to be nil by mouth at midnite, which wasnt too difficult. reported to medical day unit at 8am. was taken to radiology after 9am. (a lot of waiting) waited somemore. the procedure was done at 10.30am. was done by 11.15. taken back to medical day unit to recover. had to stay there for at least 4 hours then i could go home.

the whole process was an interesting experience. i had the oddest neighbour in my room. it was a 60 something year old man who was prob a very non compliant patient. he was a smoker and was not compliant with his meds. and i think he had cardiorespiratory problems too. cos he was on frusemide before. and he breathed very noisily. i think he also had sleep apnoea cos he was snoring really loudly. like really loudly. but he was the type of character dat wanted to be out of there. cos he kept saying he could go home even tho he had to stay in for observations. see? there's no privacy in hospitals. lol.

then i also had to get an IV line put in, just in case i started bleeding profusely and they needed to infuse me or watever. it was a nurse who put in my IV line but she was actually really good. she got flashback but the cannula wouldnt advance but she somehow managed to advance the cannula in using the saline. but anyways, the line was put in my antecubital fossa and omg, i never knew lines put there were soo painful and annoying. id rather have my line on my hand or forearm any day. permanent pain and unable to bend my right arm.

the procedure of the biopsy was something else. absolutely painful. i wasnt entirely sure wat i was expecting. but no one really warned me how painful it mite be. either dat or my pain tolerance is really low. the first part of getting the local anaesthetic in was the worst. tears started falling without me knowing. i wanted to swear like crazy. but fortunately i stayed pretty quiet and just cried. the next part of getting the biopsy done was also painful. the radiologist said it's like getting kicked in the gut by a horse. ive never been kicked in the gut by anybody let alone a horse. but i can now imagine wat dat would feel like. it really was horrible, like getting punched in the gut by a really strong person. and the pain would last for ages and then i got referred pain to the shoulder tip so my entire right side was in pain. i also felt like i couldn't breathe. maybe cos of the immense pain or possibly becos the pleura was irritated since the needle went thru between the ribs. i was in so much pain i needed IV fentanyl, which worked wonders. it's really amazing stuff.

after dat, the recovery in medical day unit wasnt too bad. it's just my noisy neighbour dat was annoying. and i can finally understand why patients generally dont want to stay in hospital. the constant noise. the constant interruption from having obs taken. i needed obs done every half hour. and the food isnt great. i had sandwiches, carrot cake (which im not a fan of), banana, and diluted hot choc. hmm. not great. the only thing i liked about being in hospital was the bed. surprisingly comfy.

so now it's just waiting for biopsy results. my liver function tests are steadily but slowly improving. the liver specialist said it's prob gonna taken 3 mths to recover so now im in my 2nd mth so hopefully will be fine by end feb which is when im due to start work. which means my registration will be delayed by a quarter but dats ok.

in the meantime, im planning to go back to singapore for holiday since it's chinese new year coming up soon and im on leave. but there are sad things abt going back to singapore which i shall talk abt in my next post. this post is way too long already.