Why I haven't blog...Part 2

Dad's room in Ampang Hospital

A second opinion was requested and my dad was transferred to Selayang Hospital, reputably the cancer centre amongst Government hospitals. The surgeon in-charge of my dad's case, Mr Raj immediately put my dad's fears at ease. He was very courteous, professional and most of all, a knowledgeable and experienced surgeon. The prognosis was not good, he has colon cancer. Within days, he had scheduled my dad's surgery. There were also indications that the cancer has spread to his liver and lungs. He stressed that the surgery was not a cure, but merely to 'improve his quality of life'.

The night before, my mom stayed overnight together with me. At that point, I didn't know how or what to feel. My dad was understandably a bit nervous, but the sleeping pill given to him helps. The next morning, very early, the nurses came to ask him to get ready as he was the first on the list. The journey from the ward to the operating theatre seems a long one. We said our goodbyes and they wheeled him in. The look of sadness on my mum’s face was heart wrenching, and slowly I put my hand around her and lead her back upstairs to my dad’s room.

Somehow we waited and waited, and yet there was no news about my dad. Time passed by …1 hour, 2 hours…5 hours. Could something have gone wrong? Asking the nurses didn't help either, coz every time they gave me the same standard answer..."nanti kita bagi tau". Luckily I knew someone who works in ICU, who then did some investigative work for me. "Belum lagi Rul, masih dalam OT" was the answer. That didn’t help. He called again 30 minutes later to tell me my dad was in recovery room.

Dad post ops

Still not getting any news from the nurses, I went down to ward 4A, the surgical ward for post ops cases. I went alone to ensure that everything is OK before my mum comes down. There he was, on the bed, on Epidural. The look of discomfort was on his face, but being dad, he didn’t complain. Luckily at the same time Mr Raj came by. My dad whispered that he was in great pain. The anaesthesiologist was called in and the Epidural dosage was increased. After that he was more at ease.

The next day he was better, probably free from the hallucinating drugs. He was no longer in pain and you could almost see the energy returning back to his body. Surprisingly, on the 4^th day, Mr Raj discharged him from the hospital. When I arrived that afternoon (you cannot stay at the wards after 7am until afternoon), he was all packed and ready to go…hahaha.

My 'bed' brought from home

Throughout the ordeal, I was there to look after my dad, as I was 'more independent' than my siblings. I am thankful to have a very understanding wife as I was away most of the time. Ampang Hospital was the best, as I had brought my camp bed along as the picture above. Selayang Hospital was still a bit conservative, as they still have the nursing/medical staff from the older generation, thus I had to make do with the hospital armchair as a bed.

...to be continued (Final part)