Double Happiness

It is with great pleasure that I announce to everyone that the doctors at KK Hospital have decided to discharge me yesterday, ending my 18-day stay at the hospital. The decision was made based on 4 factors – 1) my cervical length has not shortened, showing that continued bedrest may be sufficient to prolong pregnanacy; 2) babies are at 31 weeks which, while still far from the ideal 34 weeks, is still viable; 3) 18-days of careful monitoring shows my condition is quite stable (in terms of uterine contractions, babies’ heartbeats, my blood pressure and temperature); 4) my commitment to be disciplined and continue the same horizontal bedrest at home.

I gave Tim a call and he came down at 1pm to fetch me and my tons of worldly possessions home. I said bye to the nurses, many of whom have been very patient and kind to me. I managed to write a long feedback form to the KKH management, applauding some of the doctors (Dr Taufik, Jazlan and Kenneth Kwek), nurses (esp Nurse Manager Poh whom I have a deep respect for as she is so devoted to her work), caterer and cleaning personnels.

At the same time I also gave my honest feedback on two areas they can do better – 1) the food (oily breakfast, Kellog flavour soup, jelly and cakes instead of fruits) and 2) attitude of a few of the doctors – without giving names of course (not taking time to listen to patient queries, more interested in finishing rounds, brushing aside concerns, insensitive choice of words). Now that I think back… perhaps I should not have said so much because one of these doctors may be operating on me… Sheeeesh… sometimes one does something silly only to regret it later. However, I vouch by my comments – they are my honest observations, not born out of vengence or high-handedness.

The first day back home was like a dream. I get to caress my cats, lie on our king-size bed in absolute aircon bliss, sit on the sofa (with my legs propped up horizontally, of cos), shower in the familiar bathroom without the stale smells, make phone calls from our landline without worrying about the high outgoing-call costs of mobile phones and bad connection, play music without worrying about disturbing others, and watch TV on a giant LCD screen instead of the 9cm x 5.5cm Cowon (which has served my very well, but still!). These are all things that one tends to take for granted, it is only when you are deprieved of them do you realise how blessed we are to be surrounded by these daily conveniences.

Our next major task is to engage a domestic help, one who can start work on 1 April. Today I flipped through the papers and made a few phonecalls, then Tim did the legwork to go down to the agencies and collect the biodata of suitable candidates. Now that I’m bedridden, there is limited help I can give to all the tasks that still need to be done to prepare for the arrival of the babies. Tim’s tasklist has lengthened correspondingly as a result, my poor husband… Perhaps this may help him to unconsiously lose a few pounds =)