Monday, 11 May 2020

2020 - One Hell of a Year

2020 has been one hell of a year.

9th May 2020, I encountered sleeping difficulty while I was extremely tired. While I finally fall asleep, some unease feeling woke me up at 4.55 AM. It just didn't feel right.

I could barely open my eyes but it just feel like the wrong time to sleep. 

6:07 AM, a text rang, "I may be hospitalised". Instantly, I knew this is what kept my body awake.

With the pandemic on the rise, I thought it was Coronavirus. It turns out that my sister had a sudden pain at 3:00 AM, was rushed to the hospital by her friend. She ready herself with everything packed for hospitalization.

With extreme pain, she waited at the medical field for screening of coronavirus, blood test, x-ray, etc, from 4:30 AM to 4:30 PM, alone. My eldest sister, a community coordinator that focuses on neighbourhood well-being and how we can grow to help the community. In order to best deliver her job, she regularly travel and serve different communities across South East Asia. This happen while she away in a city, 9 hours drive from my city and 11 hours drive from home.

Medical Field she waited for 12 hours


Today, she fell sick in her city, alone. The pain was suspected to be appendicitis, she have to wait for 2 more patients before her with the same condition before she can go into a minor surgery to remove the inflamed appendix. After waiting for 12 hours, they told her, she will need to wait till 8:00 PM or 9:00 PM.

Even from afar, I can feel the pain. I don't know what she is encountering but I could feel that it might not end up a minor surgery.

4:50 PM, she informed us that her surgery was expedited by a family friend whom happen to be one of the doctors that rushed the paperwork for my sister and she was going into surgery soon.

6:04 PM, the doctors that palpated my sister's abdomen after she was anesthetized, found a mass on the right side of her abdomen. They decided to cut a bigger incision at her mid-line lower abdomen and will extend it higher if the mass is bigger. My mother whom informed us this, must be really upset because this happened on Mother's day and a day before mother's birthday. Neither one of us dare to tell her the hospitalization news in the morning nor wish her Happy Mother's day on this not so news on a "should be" happy day.

6:59 PM, after inflamed appendix was cut, the specialist team gone in and found my sister to have the important organ enlarged and twisted. The appendix was cut and the important organ were partially cut and sent for histopathology examination. 

7:30 PM, mother was informed that sister's important organ has been partially removed and surgeons are covering her wound up.

8:26 PM, surgery is over. From a 1 hour minor surgery to 3.5 hours of surgery on Mother's day, I didn't dare to ask what happen.

From 4:55 AM to 11:09 PM, her being awake from anesthetic, I couldn't breathe well. I just miss her so much for being a strict sister that have groomed me to be a better person.

I am grateful to have her as my sister to lead the way in life, being selfless to contribute to many different community's growth and to consistently achieve personal excellence in everything she does.

I love you my sister and I hope you have speedy recovery.