Thank GOD!

We took mum to the hospital for removal of stitches, and the gynae-oncologist told us the result of mum’s removed womb plus limb-nodes is finally out! Doc said EVERYTHING is positive, meaning no cancer cell spreading at the limb-nodes, and this surgery IS IT! There’s no need for any radio-therapy or treatment, coz the womb & limb-nodes removal surgery has cleared everything, and this will be long-term cure!

*PHEW*

This is the GREATEST news ever and I can see the smile on mum’s face!

But doc also said that mum will need lots of rest for the wound to heal well and that she will still have the swelling and feeling of discomfort at times, but she will just have to bear with them....

Once again, thanks for all your prayers.

Thank God for holding mum tight in His hand, watching her and strengthening her. Pray Lord that You will continue to grant mum speedy recovery, heal her wound and deliver her from those discomfort caused by the removal of her womb and limb-nodes, Lord.

Mum’s condition

Mum was discharged from the hospital two days ago on Tues evening, after the doc checked her. She will have to be back to remove her stitches in a week’s time and at the same time for her report on the test result on removed womb.

I was too busy at work, so sis took mum home. I called mum around 6pm to check on her, she didn’t sound good at all. She was complaining that her right foot is swollen and she suspected it to be caused by the over consumption of water before discharging from the hospital coz doc needed to check her urine but she didn’t have any, so the nurses kept asking her to drink more.

I visited her around 8.30pm after work. She didn’t look and sound good…still….She said the swelling is getting worse, and she looked uncomfortable and worried. We tried calling the hospital and contacting the doc but to no avail.

On Wed, around 3pm, finally the nurse got whole of the doc and told him mum’s condition. He suggested mum to have her right foot rested on a pillow while sitting down, and if the swelling doesn’t go off by Thur, then we shall see him on Friday.

When I told hubby about mum being upset and sounded depressed, he said it may not have been caused by the swelling at all. He said it could be due to the post-surgery of the removal of her womb. Though the organ has not been useful for last 10 years, it’s still a major organ in our body, so the removal may have somehow caused her depression. YEAH…I thought it could be true…How can I never thought of that?

I guess we all, as daughters, just have to be more patience with mum and spend more time with her, talk to her. I hope that will make her feel better…

Please continue to pray for my mum, pray for healing, not just physically but also mentally and emotionally…

An “eventful” week

16/06 (Monday)
Mum’s test result was out, so we went to gynae’s clinic first thing in the morning. Mum was surprised that hubby drove me when we picked her, and she was even more surprised when she saw sis came with bro-in-law & 3rd sis too….I guess by then she realized it must be something serious…

Gynae said this is Grade1 Cancer, where it’s determined by certain amount of cells from mum’s womb. This is really “pre-stage”, so he cant really tell how bad it is, until the surgery is done and the complete test on the womb is done, then we will know which cancer stage that is. Mum stayed calm.

This gynae recommended us to see the gynae-oncologist, Prof BK. But he said he will need to draft a letter & help us make appointment, so we will have to wait till the next day….

After some discussions among us, hubby said no harm seeing an oncologist who’s good, since he has some contacts, rather than waiting for Prof BK. So we arranged an appointment to see Dr Foo instead for Tue afternoon coz she doesn’t have clinic in the morning.

17/06 (Tuesday)
We went to see Dr Foo’s after lunch, mum still looked very calm. After she checked mum, she said we have to see a gynae-oncologist (recommended Prof BK again) to remove the womb first, then the test on the removed womb will determine if mum needs any radiotherapy or needs to come back & see her. Since hubby knows this doc, he asked if the doc can call Prof BK for us straight and get an appointment done. Dr Foo was really nice and kind enough to help us do that, and her one-single-phone-call to Prof BK’s mobile had definitely made wonders!

We rushed over to the other hospital where Prof BK was in, with Dr Foo’s letter. We waited for 2 hours and finally got to see him. He checked mum…and concluded that mum needs to go for surgery to remove the womb plus the limb-node as well soonest possible since she’s bleeding. But this is very early stage and since we found out early, it’s highly likely of 100% cure.

While the nurse flipped through his diary, we saw some totally full operation schedules….But he was kind enough to slot mum in for his upcoming operation day – Thur.

18/06 (Wednesday)
Mum was supposed to be admitted to hospital for her operation on Thur. But since there wasn’t any room available and her operation is scheduled for Thur evening at 5.30pm, the nurse told us to go home after the necessary tests and only come back around 12pm the next day. So after all the ECG, blood test etc, sis went home with her so she could rest.

19/06 (Thursday)
All 4 of us (daughters) accompanied mum in the hospital. We told mum this is nothing serious, as long as the womb is removed, things will be alright. She took it very calm, and she even joked with us while waiting.

At about 6pm, mum was sent to the operating room for anaesthesia and all. The surgery took 2 hours all in all, so mum was out around 8.30pm. She was half-conscious, but she recognized all of us ofcoz! The surgery was done well and smoothly….THANK GOD!

She did complain about the pain, but after the pain-killer drips kicked in, she felt better.

20-22/06 (Friday – Sunday)
We visited mum everyday ofcoz, and tried to spend as much time with her as possible. Her condition improved day by day and on Sun she can actually come down from the bed & started walking very slowly by herself.

Prof BK came checking her everyday and said she’s healing well, but can only discharge maybe next Tue or Wed cause he still needs to monitor her. The test result of the removed womb will be out by then too.

THANX for all your prayers. I’m sure God has His plan for mum and He will be in control of mum’s condition. Pray that God will continue to strengthen her faith in Him.

Heavy hearted

Been not writing lately due to the crazy work schedule, which I bet I’ve mentioned this more than once in my past blog posts….Have gathered plenty to write about, but just couldn’t find the time & energy to do so. But today, I just really feel like writing, for mum…though I’m writing with a extra heavy heart.

Yesterday lunch time, mum called telling me she had a bad morning. She woke up & went to the washroom early morning, realizing that she’s “bleeding” as though she’s having menstrual. She has reached Menopause since more than 10 years ago and so this should not happen! She was in the washroom for about 30 mins coz the “out-flow” could not stop…Then when she finally got out from washroom, she realised that she’s tired & exhausted.

After discussing with sis, we decided to send her to the gynae straight away. Gynae heard the symptoms and started shaking his head, which made sis really worry, but luckily mum didn’t pay much attention to that. After checking mum, he said mum has to do some kind of test (with very complicated medical name) to confirm if this is womb cancer! My heart dropped. Fortunately when the gynae mentioned “cancer”, mum was still in the changing room and did not hear that. We didn’t want to scare her and so decided to not let her know for now.

Hubby is from the pharma industry, so I called him to tell him everything. He confirmed that this is a clear symptom of womb cancer…My heart dropped, again…but whatever it is, we still have to wait for the test.

So today I drove mum to the gynae’s clinic & met with sis. Mum was put on GA (general anaesthetic) for the procedure of extracting some cells from her womb to be sent for test. While waiting for mum to recover consciousness, we spoke to the gynae. He said during the procedure, mum’s womb doesn’t look as healthy but the extraction from her womb doesn’t look like she has cancer too! So his conclusion is to wait for the final result from the test to confirm what should be done next.

Again, we decided not to inform mum about this, hoping that she can eat & sleep better in the next few days while waiting for the results. We just told her the test is necessary to find out what is wrong in her womb and the results will be out next week.

I prayed for mum, and will continue to pray for her. I hope she can find peace in God and willing to accept the treatments if she has to go through any…

Mum, pls stay strong, for we all love u, VERY MUCH!

Wonder how to make mum happy

Hubby & I took some time-off yesterday first half to get some personal things done. Since it was already close to lunch time & we were just around the neighbourhood, we called mum to lunch with us, together with my mother-in-law & grandma-in-law & my son.

I suggested to go for Korean food since I feel like having Kimchi and I know the fact that mum likes Korean food too, but havent been brought to Korean restaurant for awhile. Everything was fine over lunch, but I know mum didnt eat much, probably dued to her small appetite these days ever since the grastric problem.

But u know what? I had a ear-full from her this afternoon when I met her for lunch, since I'm working from home today...She commented that we shouldnt have wasted money for expensive meal since it was just ordinary lunch, not even some special occasion. She said we should have spent the money for best milk powder for our baby! BTW ever since she saw us buying a packet-type milk powder (Dugro), instead of one of the most expensive tin-type MamilGold, she has been nagging on us saying we are not giving our baby the best thing.

Besides, mum also said she was very uncomfortable having meal with my in-laws & told me not to invite her next time if we are going with the in-laws. Infact she also said alot more other comments which actually made me feel sad & disappointed.

U see...sometimes she complained about not having good son-in-laws though she has four, when she compared her sons-in-law with her friends' sons-in-law. Sometimes she complained about not going out for good meals like this often coz all of us are so busy & no one has time for the old parents. Sometimes she complained about us not willing to listen to her...etc etc...

I'm not sure about my other sisters, but I'm pretty sure that I've been trying my every single effort to be the best daughter and my hubby the best son-in-law. We will spend time with them, bring them out for dinner over weekend, we will invite them over to our house & enjoy the park, we will take them out for shopping, etc etc.

YET, these may not necessarily have made mum happy! Sometimes I doubt, whether I really know her well enough to know how to make her happy. I really wonder...

Updates about mum

If u have been reading my blog, then u would probably know about my mum's health condition in the last few months....Well I should say, her health is not too bad now, but the worry is not over!

Few days ago mum was dued for check-up again since the last visit in December. This time, she has to go to the hospital twice, where the first day was for blood test & second day to get the report and meet the doctor to determine whether there's a need for another round of "scope".

So on the 2nd day when we met the doc, he said mum's blood test is still showing high tumor-marking reading but slightly lower compared to the previous blood test done in Dec. So doc made arrangement for mum to do another round of 'scope', but this time just need to do it with the upper half body....Then when the 'scope' was done, the result was 'clear', so doc said the tumor-making reading may be caused by some stomach infection. Mum needs to be on medication for few more weeks, and if there's nothing major, next check-up is 2 months from now.

U know...it's painful to see mum going through this everytime when there's a check-up. Her worries were all on her face....She's already getting old, getting more & more skinny these days, yet she looked anxious when doc was reading the test report and her disappointment when she heard that the tumor-making is reading high, again & again...

I dont know what to do, except praying for her....

The nightmare is not over...

Today is the follow-up appointment for mum to see the doctor again...Since I have some work to do, sis sent mum to the hospital this morning.

At 11.30am, I called mum to check if it was done, and so happened they just came out from the doctor's room...

Mum said :"Doc told us the blowing test is still showing existence of bacteria in my stomuch. Then the blood test is showing even higher tumor-marking reading compared to the first blood test done last month. But since I'm not experiencing anymore pain, there's no need for any medication for now. Doc said just monitor the situation and come back if there's any unusual pain. Otherwise just need to go back in 2 months time to do another blowing test & blood test. If by then the tumor-marking is still high, then need to do another 'scope'."

Well I dont quite understand why were the tests results like this and even doctor couldnt really explain it...on the other hand, we can do absolutely nothing about it, except praying for mum...

I went to see mum after work and I can see the worry in her eyes. All I could tell her is not to worry coz nothing bad is happening and I'll pray for her...I guess that's probably the least I could do. I really hope she wont think too much about it...

From hospital to hospital...

Today is a busy day for me, though I was on leave...

Mum's appointment for the gastric test is today, so I went to the hospital with her early morning. Waited about 30 minutes after registration for her turn at the Diagnostic Department. Then the diagnostic specialist came with 4 "bags" (about 3' x 6' in size) and a cup of orrange colour drink. So what mum needs to do is to breath in, hold it for 5 seconds & then blow through a mouth-piece into the "bag". After the first "blow", she has drink the orrange colour drink and wait for 10 minutes before blowing the next bag, then subsequently blow the other bags every 10 mins.

After the "blowing" test, mum's blood was taken for blood test as well. All results will be out next week when we see the doctor on Tuesday. Pray hard that there's no more bacteria in mum's stomach...

We left the hospital at 11am. Mum & I decided to visit hubby's grandma in another hospital... Hubby's grandma was experiencing some chestpain and after being checked by the doc, she was admitted to the hospital yesterday. Her chestpain was caused by minor heart attack! An Angiography has also been arranged for her tomorrow and she seems worried...

What is an Angiography? It is a medical imaging technique in which an X-ray picture is taken to visualize the inner opening of blood filled structures, including arteries, veins and the heart chambers. The X-ray film or image of the blood vessels is called an angiograph, or more commonly known as an angiogram.

According to the doctor, during the angiography, decision will be made whether there's a need for Angioplasty - a mechanical widening of narrowed or totally-obstructed blood vessel.

Hubby & mother-in-law & the whole family are all worried about grandma. I just pray that everything will be alright tomorrow...

Birthday & Mum

Today is the special day coz I was born on this day many many years ago...So first of all, Happy Birthday to myself! haha...

Around 11.30am when I got a call from the company receptionist informing me that there's a bouquet for me, I was surprised. Happily I went to collect it and I was delighted that it's a bouquet of 3 dozen white roses (my favourite), with 2 lil bears on it...really sweet! Guess what? This was not from my hubby! haha...it was from a good deary friend of mine in Singapore!

Hubby? He's never a romantic person and he doesnt believe in buying flowers for me....So we will probably go for dinner tonight and have a small cake to celebrate it with our lil baby! Ofcoz I'm happy for that too!

Bunch of close colleagues thrown me a small birthday lunch too and bought me a lovely gift, so thoughtful of them...And I was touched.

On another note, mum is still feeling very uncomfortable eventhough she's on the strong antibiotics from the doctor. This is her 2nd week on medication and she told me last night that she's feeling as though she hasnt started any medication, unlike the first week where there were some improvements....She looked weak too when I saw her at dinner last night...

So I'm heading home now from office to take her to the hospital, at least then we get the doctor to check on her condition....And we could probably get the biopsy result today too...Pray hard that nothing is major!

I love u, Mum!

Over the weekend, I was planning to spend as much time as possible with mum though we do not stay together. On Sat around noon, I went to my parents' house which is nearby to where I'm staying, but found out from my dad that they had a fight that morning and mum went out all alone...

I was upset with my dad but he said he really couldnt stand mum nagging on him all morning. Then I said:"But she's not feeling well mar, cant you just hold it there?" He kept quite. I took out my mobile and called her straight away (luckily I've just got her a subline few weeks ago). Apparently she went to a nearby mall by bus...So I told her to wait there and i'll come pick her up. When I found her in the mall, she was quite reluctant to follow me home, but I manage to convince her and then brought her out lunching with all my sisters and nieces...

When I told my hubby about this, he said my mum was just crying for some attention. But I dont think so....Infact I suddenly realised that she looks so old now....she's no longer as energetic and aggresive as before...

A lot of people said I'm too close to my mum, and my hubby sometimes even get jealous about this! But u know what? I'm just appreciating her love!

I came from a small town in Johor state and we were quite poor last time. But I remembered mum trying her every single effort to make us all live well, study well, eat well etc. She works night shift in a factory so she could take care of me coz I was the youngest and my sisters all are 9-12 years older than me. She will cook "special things" like fried chicken and my dad will pack the A&W Rootbeer home so we could enjoy them as if we are in A&W coz we couldnt afford it. She will save every single cent so we could have more pocket money and buy more books....There were many many more little little things she did for us, that I couldnt list them all here, but I really appreciate them! There were many times when I disappointed her and made her sad, but she never gave up hope on me. I almost lost my life in a terrible accident 7 years ago and she was there to take really good care of me each day and I really felt bad to see her sad and worry about me.

I always ask myself, mum has loved us so tirelessly and unconditionally, but have I loved her enough? Have I done enough for her? Have I cared for her so much like she cared for us? Have I made her smile lately?
I hope I can do every single bit to make her live a happier life and I dont wanna wait till it's too late....

Mum, I LOVE U!

Happy for mum!

Infact I should have written this post yesterday, but I was too tight-up with work so didnt really have time to blog it down...


Thanx for those who prayed for my mum, thank God she's fine, at least for now...I sent her to the hospital yesterday morning for the thorough checkup but I couldnt wait till the whole thing was done, so 2 of my sisters together with my dad were accompanying mum while I went to work.


At 10.50am, I sent sms to sis asking for status. She replied saying "scope" has just been done, now resting. There's a small growth near the gastric area which substance has been extracted for biopsy.


At 11.30am, I called sis to check if they have spoken to the doctor. She said :"Doctor cant confirm anything until the substance biopsy result is out in few weeks time, but it doesnt look cancerous. The reading of the blood test which indicated existance of cancerous cells was due to the bad bacteria infection in mum's stomach. So mum needs to go on special antibiotics for 3 weeks." WOW! What a relief when I heard this....


Nevertheless, please continue to pray for my mum that the growth in her gastric area is nothing major or cancerest at all, which the doctor can remove it and all will be fine.

Mixed feeling...

After a long holiday, I felt so refreshed when i touched down yesterday morning...still tired and couldnt get over the jetlag, I'm just sooooo sleepy! Infact I had so much to write about the Europe trip and I was all excited to start writing yesterday but I was just too tired, so I dozzed off after spending some time playing with my son, whom I missed soooooo much!

So I thought I'll spend some time blogging today despite of the busy work schedule...BUT my brain just cant seemed to be working at all after the phone conversation with sis few minutes ago...

Two weeks ago before I left for the trip, mum started having gastric problem...So she went to the clinic and got some medication and I thought that will do. Last night when I saw her at dinner, she looked pale and she lost weight, and she told me she's still having minor gastric though she's on the medication for 2 weeks....so last week she actually went to the same clinic for blood test and the doctor told her, she should consult a specialist cause the report showed some strange-ness...

There she was today...at SJMC, my sister brought her to the specialist doctor....And the doctor actually said :"Maam, I'm affraid the blood test report shows that there are cancerous cells in your blood, therefore we need to do a more thorough check. Can u please come back tomorrow morning and fast from 5pm today?" Sis wanted to ask more questions but she was affraid that will worry mum even more, so she decided to keep quite.

I was stunned when I heard it...I always have the 'this-will-not-happen-to-me' mentality, so when I heard about it over the phone, my heart was over-burdened...And after i put down the phone with sis, I realised tears are just running down my cheeks, uncontrolable...

I'll be fetching mum to the hospital tomorrow morning for the thorough check and I pray hard that God will lay His hand on her and pray hard that it's just a false alarm. I really cant imagine having to see mum going through the pain which associates with cancer...I think my heart will break! She is already a asthma patient, can she take that?

Oh no...Please God, dont let this happen to mum...please...