I was hospitalised for 3 days for a suspected case of herniated disc.
On Saturday, 31 Jan, I visited Universal Studios Singapore. 3 of my favourite rides were under maintenance, resulting in insanely long queues for the the other rides. After queuing roughly 1 hour for Minion Mayhem, the ache in my right lower back kicked in, gradually turning into pain by the time we left the park at 5.40pm. I rationalised that the pain in my right heel from my recent 4 surgeries had spread to my right lower back via the connected sciatica nerve, and it was no big deal.
The next morning, the pain deepened and worsened with every step. I dare not move much, because any twist of turn would trigger the sharp pain in my right lower back. So I ordered food delivery and took an afternoon nap, but getting into a sleeping supine position was difficult too.
After doing some Google research on what I suspect to be herniated disc, it shocked me that the recovery time was 1 to 6 months. The fear of having to endure more pain in the months ahead led me to questioned why God allowed so much suffering in my life, especially since this happened immediately after the 4 months recovery time from my right foot surgeries. In desperation, I applied Salonpas pain relief patch on my lower back just to try, even though I know the patches only works skin-deep, not joint-deep.
By Monday, the pain was so excruciating that it took me 5 min just to sit upright by my bedside. When I attempted to sleep on my side, it triggered a sharp pain that lasted about 5 seconds that I teared. I messaged my boss to tell her I had to go on urgent leave for a suspected case of herniated disc. Then my dad drove me to the Singapore General Hospital A&E immediately.
Upon arrival, my mom placed me in a wheelchair and we waited about 20 minutes before seeing the triage nurse. She instructed me to lay on a bed and wheeled me to a waiting area, where my blood pressure, blood test and ECG was taken. I was also given 2 bottles of antibiotics drip and painkillers. Then I was wheeled to the xray area and by God's miracle, I managed to transfer myself to the x-ray bed on my own and flip over despite a few instances of sharp pain. But basically I tried to stay still whenever possible.
PRAISE GOD IT WASN'T HERNIATED DISC! 🙌 I CAN WALK NOW.
"We have already done everything we can to help your mother for over a year. You have also done your best to take care of her. If she passes on, it is not your fault. As good doctors, we do not care about numbers. Even if we boosted your mother's oxygen level to 99% but she is suffering in pain, we are doing a disservice to her. Our priority is to make sure she feels comfortable."
I fell asleep, only to be awoken by loud noises at 2.30am. , I could clearly hear 5 children were sobbing at their mother’s bedside. A doctor later came in to confirm their mother's death, and the family was advised to contact a mortuary and arrange her funeral immediately. I'm guessing the mother passed away pretty young in her 50s, because later I caught a glimpse of all the children, the youngest looking only seven years old.
I bought this Japanese brand sciatica nerve pain relief patches on Shoppee to try, since it claims to penetrate through the skin and into the nerves. There are 12 huge patches per box. Upon application, I noticed was strong the herbal smell was, and my skin felt super itchy?! It could just be me though. Since I am applying it only after discharge where the pain had subsided, I wasn't sure if this actually worked.
Once again, THANK GOD THE PAIN IS GONE.
By Monday, the pain was so excruciating that it took me 5 min just to sit upright by my bedside. When I attempted to sleep on my side, it triggered a sharp pain that lasted about 5 seconds that I teared. I messaged my boss to tell her I had to go on urgent leave for a suspected case of herniated disc. Then my dad drove me to the Singapore General Hospital A&E immediately.
Upon arrival, my mom placed me in a wheelchair and we waited about 20 minutes before seeing the triage nurse. She instructed me to lay on a bed and wheeled me to a waiting area, where my blood pressure, blood test and ECG was taken. I was also given 2 bottles of antibiotics drip and painkillers. Then I was wheeled to the xray area and by God's miracle, I managed to transfer myself to the x-ray bed on my own and flip over despite a few instances of sharp pain. But basically I tried to stay still whenever possible.
The next morning, the doctors came to check on me in their rounds and told me that my x-ray scans showed that my spine was alright, my blood tests were alright. They advised me to get up and walk. Miraculously, I realised the sharp pain went away when I briefly got out of bed. There was only soreness in the same area, so it must be either the sciatica nerve irritation or muscle tear.
PRAISE GOD IT WASN'T HERNIATED DISC! 🙌 I CAN WALK NOW.
I was discharged only after 3 days, and I miraculously walked out of the ward without any walking aids or pain. It was like nothing happened at all. To think that I announced on my social media that I has suspected herniated disc, to which 26 friends responded with concern. Thank you all, but God healed me!
Throughout my hospitalisation, my boss kept messaging me for updates and work, leaving me stressed and mentally exhausted. To appease my boss, I set my Outlook auto-reply to say I was on leave for possibly 3 days only, even though my medical cert allowed 5. I returned to office the very next day to show face and walked without a visible limp, as though I had fully healed. Today, I feel nothing.
My hospitalisation stay was a sad one, not just because of my pain, but I witnessed the death of my neighbouring patient. I overheard doctors telling 2 neighbouring patients' families about their mother's end-of-life care. One had kidney failure, another had both kidney and liver failures and was in hallucination. It was already midnight when I overheard the solemn doctor giving his final advice to one of the teary daughters, behind a thin veil of curtain.
Throughout my hospitalisation, my boss kept messaging me for updates and work, leaving me stressed and mentally exhausted. To appease my boss, I set my Outlook auto-reply to say I was on leave for possibly 3 days only, even though my medical cert allowed 5. I returned to office the very next day to show face and walked without a visible limp, as though I had fully healed. Today, I feel nothing.
My hospitalisation stay was a sad one, not just because of my pain, but I witnessed the death of my neighbouring patient. I overheard doctors telling 2 neighbouring patients' families about their mother's end-of-life care. One had kidney failure, another had both kidney and liver failures and was in hallucination. It was already midnight when I overheard the solemn doctor giving his final advice to one of the teary daughters, behind a thin veil of curtain.
"We have already done everything we can to help your mother for over a year. You have also done your best to take care of her. If she passes on, it is not your fault. As good doctors, we do not care about numbers. Even if we boosted your mother's oxygen level to 99% but she is suffering in pain, we are doing a disservice to her. Our priority is to make sure she feels comfortable."
I fell asleep, only to be awoken by loud noises at 2.30am. , I could clearly hear 5 children were sobbing at their mother’s bedside. A doctor later came in to confirm their mother's death, and the family was advised to contact a mortuary and arrange her funeral immediately. I'm guessing the mother passed away pretty young in her 50s, because later I caught a glimpse of all the children, the youngest looking only seven years old.
The grieving continued for about an hour in the ward, which was very hard to hear. I teared up as well because the atmosphere was very solemn and depressing. I kept praying to Jesus to comfort the children.
There were mixed reactions coming from the older daughter, who occasionally shouted at her younger siblings midway crying to "diam" (malay for shut up). I'm guessing she felt overwhelmed by emotions in the moment, but her rational side sporadically kicked in to remind her of her newfound mothering responsibility. I just felt it was a wrong time to discipline your siblings who were in the midst of grieving.
I bought this Japanese brand sciatica nerve pain relief patches on Shoppee to try, since it claims to penetrate through the skin and into the nerves. There are 12 huge patches per box. Upon application, I noticed was strong the herbal smell was, and my skin felt super itchy?! It could just be me though. Since I am applying it only after discharge where the pain had subsided, I wasn't sure if this actually worked.
Once again, THANK GOD THE PAIN IS GONE.
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