ooopps! i've been out of the blog-loop for two weeks already and i so missed my rubbish ramblings. well it was not because i was busy with work (i wish), or was on vacation (i wish more), but i was so unfortunate to be locked-in for torture in the hospital.
it all started on mid-february when i began to feel some on-and-off pain all around my abdomen. i often feel gassy and constipated, too! but the thing that got me more worried is the pain on my lower right abdomen that comes and goes. my first guess was appendicitis but since the pain is just the simple "kirot", i tried to brush it off my mind for two weeks.
on march 6 (friday), hubby accompanied me to new medical center for a consultation coz i got him worried already. the pain still comes and goes. i had my urine sample tested as i told the indian doctor of my history in urinary tract infection. after waiting for another 30minutes, the result says that i only have slight infection and it's very unlikely that it causes the pain. so she said that it might only be gastrointestinal disorder then gave me a prescription my constipation and flatulence.
on march 7 (saturday), i was all okay as me and hubby went at deira city centre to meet cousin tony. we had a delicious lunch at 3pm, bought a book (Princess by Jean Sasson), then watched Watchmen at 5pm. Watchmen was ridiculously hyped by movie magazines here when it hardly satisfied me and hubby.
march 8 (sunday) is a non-working holiday for the public sector, but since most of our entities in the middle east are also on holiday, our company opted to have its offices closed for today too! hubby went for work while i stayed at home sneezing (achhuuu!) and reading Princess the whole day. by midnight, i was already having a temperature.
the next day, march 9 (monday), even if i was having fever, i still went to work to meet some reporting deadlines. before lunchtime, i was already feeling very chilly and shivering uncontrollably. can't even hold the mouse steadily. my colleagues suggested that i should just leave work if i'm not feeling well. so after eating my lunch, i left the office and hailed a cab going back home to sharjah.
when hubby got home at 6pm, we decided to go to another doctor for consultation. so we went at prime medical center and had my urine and blood tested again. my temperature says 39.5 degrees Celsius. the indian doctor here is more convincing than the previous doctor as he had made more physical exam on my abdomen. my CBC result came and the doctor said i have blood infection which may be due to an inflamed appendix. also the reason why some parts of my abdomen feels rigid etc. he insisted that i should be admitted in the nearest hospital right after the consultation. i can't remember how the news really felt in me. i was too weak to react that much.
as we are not familiar with the best hospitals here in sharjah, the doctor referred to us the central private hospital. good thing that i have medical insurance as being hospitalized here in the UAE is like a fortune. even if i'd like to go back to philippines to have my treatment there, an inflamed appendix is like an urgent case that a rupture would come any moment. some friends came over that monday night, as i was admitted in the hospital. they took some x-ray test and more urine and blood test. i was beginning to feel scared everytime i see needles pricked on me. at 11pm, my dextrose started. that also started my "fasting". as in no water, no food!
the next morning at 10am, i had my full abdomen ultrasound. the result of the scan did not came to us immediately from the doctors but from the gossip made by the nurses. it was like i was suddenly the talk of the town in that hospital. they were saying that i have an inflamed appendix and that they saw a mass in my right ovary, by which the doctor is suggesting ectopic pregnancy! i got really tensed about it but i still prayed that it's really not ectopic pregnancy.
night time came, at around 9.30pm, i had my laparoscopic surgery for the removal of my appendix and ovarian cyst (as they saw through the camera inserted on my button belly during the surgery). at least it was not ectopic pregnancy. i was not aware of the whole procedure as i was sleeping the whole time. my hubby said the operation took about 1 and half hours and that he saw the appendix and the cyst. the cyst was about the size of the old one peso coin in whitish color. the doctor said the biopsy result will be out after two weeks.
some facts:
1. i stayed in the hospital for a total of 7 loonngg days!
2. i had two blood transfusion because my hemoglobin level after the operation was just 6.5 (normal is 8-12)
taken on 13 march, groge pa ko jan
3. since admission, i was fasting for 5 days!
4. since my operation, the nurses would take blood on me for blood test at least twice a day.
5. during my stay in the hospital, i have had 21 needle pricks on my two arms and three on my butt.
6. my IV fluid set was changed three times (twice on my left and once on my right) because my hand would swell so much that my fingers have become human sausages!
my third set of IV fluid
8. i have three small cuts in my laparoscopic surgery (two on my left and one below my belly button)
9. got discharged on monday night, march 16.
10. hospital bill for my appendectomy is 19,356 dirhams!!!! (fortunately it was covered by the insurance) while the ovarian cyst cost us 6,000 dirhams!!!! i don't want to think of converting it to peso.
and now i'm at home already for 3 days nows. it's much better being at home as i feel much stronger. and more movement. the doctor said i still need another 2 weeks to rest before i become fit to work again. good thing that my company is very supportive.
thanks to my families, friends and officemates who were checking on my status everyday. and also thanks to the very kind nurses in the hospital amidst my irritability and crying moments with the needles.
and most importantly, i thank God for all the blessings and the strength He has given me while being tortured with pain.
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