Ready, Set, Success.

It is a very normal situation for those who have never been admitted to an Operating Room / Theatre in their lives before, to have fears, worries, anxiety and other uncomfortable feelings. My sister Rina was no exception despite her strong determination to give her healthy stem cells to me.

At precisely 6.00 AM, Singapore time (Apr.19) we arrived at Gleneagles Hospital. (My cousin picked us up at 5.40 AM). We immediately went to the Admission to take care of all necessary paperwork and upfront payment. Good thing we still had ample time for my sister to get a quick rest and final check-ups prior to being taken to the OT. We tried to use this 45-minute time period as best as we could (we’re not allowed to enter the OT) to support her spirit, cheer her up and get her attention away from the process she was about to experience. Why we did this to her? Because even though she said nothing to me, or managed to conceal her feelings, her blood pressure measurement told me everything that’s going on in her head and heart. But again, like I said in the beginning, everybody, including veteran like myself, would have worries and anxiety. Even the nurse said,” in my entire life, I’ve never seen a person who has not worried at this stage”.

Before they begun to push the bed, I told my sister that she’d be okay, and that nothing to worry about. While trying to muster a smile, she said,” wish me luck”. I just smiled back and said nothing to her. But in my heart, I was saying to myself,” no, you don’t need luck, your operation has been guaranteed by God to be a smooth and successful one. Nothing can harm you or jeopardize the process”.

Why did I have such confident? Simply because all of our family members, friends and even you have been praying for the whole process.

The process turned out to be a very quick and smooth one. Doctor Teo only needed exactly 30 minutes to finish it off. He came to us to say that my sister was okay, and that he managed to extract 2 full bags. He was extremely happy with the volume extracted, it’s just that we had to wait for several days before they’d be able to know the exact counts of stem cells that were collected during the extraction.

I told you it’s going to be okay, didn’t I?

We had to wait another hour in front of the OT before my sis could recover from her ‘deep sleep’

So what exactly did we do during those waiting hours in front of the OT?

We talked about Indonesian government and its policies (what…??? At 7.30 AM???…), hot gossips, we commented on patients, nurses and doctors who passed us by, and we even played SUDOKU at our cell-phones. In short, we’re having fun lah…!!!

What happened to my brother-in-law Jacob? Well, he took some pictures of us and then slept thru the whole process. He needed that because he’s the care-taker of us all while in Singapore.

After my sis has been placed in recovery room, we all went to the food court at the hospital lobby to get our brunch. We then went upstairs again only to find that my sis had finished her hot Milo and small serving of bread. Didn’t matter to us, as long as she got her consciousness back. Slowly she’s able to sit upright from her bed, then at a regular chair and finally walk on the hospital isle. Great, she’s good to go then.

At about 11.30 AM, she was discharged from the hospital.

We went to the food court again because she was thirsty and hungry. How else would you feel after a 7 hour fasting (prior to the operation) and after almost 800 CC of your blood sucked out? So she had a fresh apple and carrot juice plus (not so delicious) Chicken Rice. But it was enough for her.

So her part is done. She has reached the finish line successfully.

Next is my turn……

 

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