Quick Solution

Ok I admit I watch too much TV these days but this advertisement that has been playing on Astro over the last few weeks really tickles me because I am reminded of my own family...it this were to happen in my home it would probably be the kids screaming and hubby or me looking up the internet for the solution...talk about tech-savvy parents, hehe!

Things That Bring A Smile

Am recovering well but not without the usual post-surgery discomforts like backache if I sit for too long or stomach gas causing my abdomen to bloat up every once in a while. Insomnia was a problem for the first week but the thing that got me worried was having my hair fall out without me even touching it. CoolTeen, who helped to sweep the floor, kept complaining about finding hair all over the place...specifically my hair.

So I'm really glad to have stumbled upon this website HysterSisters that has a wealth of information about hysterectomy and from there I found out that all the backache, wind in the tummy and hair-fall is actually quite common to those who have undergone surgery...phew!

Time seems to pass by painfully slow now that I am stuck at home but people have been so thoughtful and I can't help but smile when I see these...



A 'Get Well Soon' card signed by the Techflow committee, university students

Cupcakes from a nearby bakery...I always love pretty cupcakes!

I'm beginning to get addicted to these sour sweets :D

Pillow chosen by my daughter for me to use to support my abdomen and lessen the pain when I get up from the bed or sofa.




Gifts brought by family and friends. I now have enough Essence of Chicken to last me the whole of next year!




And of course, PreTeen says this little 15cm Teddy bear keeps me company when hubby and kids need to go out for a while and I'm all alone at home.

  And not to mention my mum-in-law's yummy chicken soup and the fact that my hair has stopped falling (big smiles).

8 Days Post-Op

It's been 8 days since my hysterectomy and I am beginning to feel a little bored at home doing nothing. Have you noticed that there's always nothing interesting to watch on TV when you have time to watch TV....?!

Hubby went out with the kids for a few hours the other day. Before leaving the house he made sure that I had everything I needed to keep myself occupied and comfortable. He set up the laptop for me in case I wanted to surf the internet and I had a bottle of water, my handphone and TV remote control with me on the sofa.

He also made sure I had contraptions that I could use to help me pick things up from the floor (since I can't bend down too much)...

belongs to my daughter 

...and something to help me reach the fuse box and turn off the power supply to my bedroom in case there is lightning, because the modem is in the master bedroom (as I can't go up and down the stairs too often)...

kitchen utensils turned into a hook of some sort

...a closer view of the melon scoop to help me hook stuff

And I had settled down comfortably on the sofa to watch some TV thinking that I had everything close at hand... until the house phone rang...and it was way on the OTHER side of the room...sigh...

Goodbye, My Uterus

The time has come
But I won't shed tears,
Although you've been with me
For 40 plus years.


Thanks for being a home
To each of my unborn child,
I wish the unwelcome stranger
Would only stay a while.


But it kept growing bigger
Every month or two,
My pants got tighter and tighter
And I often visited the loo.


So I bid you farewell
My upside-down pear-shaped friend,
I'm looking forward to
Regaining a flat tummy again.


It was a difficult decision to make...whether to go for a major surgery or to just bear with all the inconveniences of having a uterine fibroid grow larger every few months and dominate the space in my abdomen, squeezing my poor bladder into a little corner.

But when my pants got tighter and tighter, I knew that my uterus had to go. I am a long way from menopause (by which time the fibroid will shrink) and I certainly was not keen for people  to keep asking whether I was pregnant or not...especially since my kids are already teenagers.

So a date was set...15th November 2010.

Monday 15th November:

10am - Arrived at Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre, Jalan Ampang with hubby. Admitted to a 4-bedded ward because no beds were available yet. Waited for about an hour before I could actually go to the ward.

11.15am - Taken to the ward, my bed is by the window. The ward is pretty noisy with the other patients having visitors. Blood and urine sample taken. Asked to be upgraded to a single room. Waiting time begins.

12.00noon - no lunch for me, have been fasting since midnight last night. Can't even drink water :(

2.30pm - single bedded room is finally available after someone got discharged. It's so much more convenient to have my own bathroom instead of sharing with 3 other patients.

3pm - wheeled into the Operation Theatre waiting area, it was nice of the nurse to ask hubby to accompany me for a while before I get wheeled into the OT. Hair is put into something that looks like a shower cap. Feeling a little nervous...

3.30pm - OT is like a very large freezer. Hooked up to drips and a machine that monitors my heartbeat. Anaesthesiologist puts a breathing mask over my face and asks me to take deep breaths. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out...and I am out.

6pm - I wake up in some pain. I am in the waiting area of the OT again. Hubby is there too. Wheeled back to my room and given a jab for the pain.

Throat feels extremely dry but am able to talk after I get a few sips of water. Groggy, but try to chat with hubby for a while. Drift off to sleep. Hubby goes home.

view from my room

Tuesday 16th November:

7am - Wake up. Hooked up to drips and external urine bag so I can't get out of bed. Nurse comes to check temperature and blood pressure. No need to eat since the IV drip supplies all the nutrition I need, I just drink water. Throat is still dry and my voice is raspy.

8.30am - Phones hubby at his office to let him know I'm ok. He'll be coming after lunch. Nurse comes to give me a spongebath...glad that she uses warm disposable wipes. Watched some TV after that...quite a good selection of Astro channels available :)

My pastors and some friends drop by throughout the day. I am able to sit up in bed for short periods. Love the remote controlled bed...at the click of the remote I can adjust the bed for maximum comfort (big grins). Hubby brings my in-laws and kids after dinner.

my own itty bitty tv

Wednesday 17th November:

Feeling much better. Am now on a liquid diet...clear soup for lunch and dinner. Friends and family drop by throughout the day since it's a public holiday. Unhooked from drips and urine bag (hurray!) and can get down from bed. Can walk around the room a bit. Felt rather drained by bedtime but couldn't sleep. Finally dozed off but kept waking up every 2 or 3 hours :(


IV drip securely taped

Thursday 18th November:

Had a relaxing day watching TV, and napping now and then. Glad to have internet access on my handphone. Am on a soft diet of soft rice, hospital food is not too bad. Took a short walk around the ward. Doc says I can go home tomorrow :D
  



my lunch - soft rice with chicken and vege



my bed for the past few days



...and the remote control that made my stay more comfy

Friday 19th November:


Discharged at 11.30am but the bill took quite a while to be processed. Finally able to leave for home at 2 pm. Am hogging the sofa, TV and laptop for the next 3 weeks. Plan to stay downstairs during the daytime and go upstairs before bedtime at night.


It was certainly strange to see hubby and the kids cleaning the house while I laze around on the sofa. Am officially banned from my own kitchen for a few weeks, and I am so going to enjoy the next 3 weeks of total rest :)

A Change Of Colour

Went to buy PreTeen's new school uniform after dinner today. Thought I'd better get it early because I remember at the end of December before CoolTeen started Form 1 I had a difficult time buying his secondary school uniform because most of the sizes were already sold out.

My girl will be wearing a new colour soon...no more dark blue pinafore but a light blue one. She looked so grown up when she tried on her new uniform at the store and there were only a few more sets of her size left. She even got a baju kurung set, and giggled when she tried it on because she had never worn a baju kurung before. I made sure it wasn't too long so that she wouldn't trip over her skirt in school...or she will never wear it again (teenagers being so easily embarassed and all)

Too Much Plastic

I was buying some gifts at MiniToons store in Sunway Pyramid the other day when I was given a free membership card for purchases above RM50, to add to my ever growing collection of free membership cards.

My wallet keeps getting fatter, not because I have lots of cash (how i wish!), but because I keep getting all these discount cards...which I often forget to use because I can't really remember which cards I have...until I have already bought my stuff and then I realise, "Hey, I have a member's card for this shop"! Getting older, memory not so good...sigh.

Membership cards seem to be the trend nowadays...even the neighbourhood Chinese sundry shop has a card! Here are just a few of the very many cards I have in my collection....

It's Official!

Today Miss PreTeen and I were standing in front of a full length mirror when I noticed that she is now 1cm taller than me. The time has finally arrived and I am sad to declare that I am now officially the shortest person in our family...! CoolTeen is a whole head taller than me and hopes to be as tall as, if not taller, than his dad.

Oh well, time to dig out my stilettos and platform shoes (by the way, those are not my legs in the picture...wish they were!)

21st Century Char Kuay Teow

I love char kuay teow. A new char kuay teow stall has opened at a food court about 5 minutes' drive away from my home. This is no ordinary char kuay teow stall - the owner, Jacky, gave his business card, and says we can call up and make our orders then come and collect it. No need to find parking or wait in line when there are many customers, how convenient.

Not only that, he is pretty IT savvy too and has a Facebook account and even a blog - he runs a few stalls at various parts of the city and he informs his customers of his whereabouts. How's that for a 21st century char kuay teow stall!