Health issues...

To those of you who are my FB friends, would know by now that I'm on a 2 day sick leave - yesterday and today.

Both Ayah and I were not well about a week ago with flu. I think I got it from him as I had a one day delayed symptoms of whatever it was that he had. Anyway, by Friday last week, both of us were over it. Or so we thought.

I still had some intermittent pain on my right ear, and I guess it's quite normal for that to happen after a bout of flu. And at the same time, I started having some back pain, or rather neck-pain (something like what we'd have if "salah tidur", only worse!)

Not really bothered, and thinking that the pain would go away eventually, Ayah and I brought the kids out for dinner on Sunday evening (case of feeling guilty leaving them at home when we went out for our Valentine's dinner lah ni...Hehehe!). On the way home, I was starting to feel pretty lousy, and my whole body was aching. Very much like having flu-symptoms. Joints aching and rasa seram sejuk. Hasya and Hilman became my tukang urut in the car throughout the whole journey home.

Later that night, I was having trouble sleeping as the pain (both ear and neck) were getting worse, and I could not find a comfortable position to sleep in. I kept on waking up several times during the night, and finally Ayah asked me to take some Ar*ox*a for the pain. For those who are familiar with this drug, would know that it's one of the stronger painkillers around. Even that did not really work on me.

The next day, as I was bringing my Abah to see Ayah's ENT specialist friend at UM*C, Ayah suggested that I had my ear checked, too. My Abah has been having nose-bleeds everytime he blows his nose for the past 2 weeks, and we only got to know about it last weekend because he was keeping it to himself all this while. Only when the nose-bleeds became more frequent that he decided to tell my Mom. It is a cause for grave concern because Abah has a history of cancer of the nose way back in 1995-96. It was detected quite early, but he had to go through radiotherapy treatment over a period of 2-3 months, and syukur alhamdulillah, he was given an all-clear after that.

I was in Newcastle then - a fulltime housewife and mom, following Ayah who was an SHO in Wansbeck General. I only got to know the progress on Abah's treatment, etc thorugh my sister Yong. After he got the all-clear, Abah, my Mommy and Yong came to visit us in Newcastle. This was about 1 1/2 years after I left KL to join Ayah.

I was so shocked to see Abah when we went to fetch them at the airport. Abah had lost so much weight! From a sturdy and tall gentleman of 5'10" weighing at 75kg, he went down to a frail man of about 55kg! And I remember crying my eyes out seeing the new him at the airport. Apparently, the radiotherapy treatment had caused his tongue to burn and his tastebuds just lost the ability to taste any food for nearly 6 months after that. That had put him off food totally, as everything tasted like sawdust, according to him. But, syukur alhamdulillah, he was given the all-clear. But, at his age, it was quite difficult for him to regain all the weight he had lost.

My Abah is 79 years old. He'll be 80 on 30th March this year. Apart from the old cancer, generally he has been quite a healthy old man. He has hypertension, which comes with old age generally. He's not diabetic, and he doesn't have any heart problems, syukur alhamdulillah. He never had any serious complains about anything, until his nose started bleeding again two weeks ago...

I brought Abah to see Prof Pr*pa who suggested Abah to do a biopsy as there was a small lump behind his right nostril. And my sister Yong brought Abah to see Prof Ra*ma* yesterday for the biopsy, and we will only know the results next Tuesday. We pray that it's just an old scar, and it's nothing serious...

As for myself, according to Prof Pr*pa I had quite a bad ear canal infection on my right ear, which apparently is quite common among those who frequently clean their ears with cotton-buds. Strange, because I am so not guilty of that. He couldn't explain why or how I got it if I had not been using cotton-buds to clean my ears in the last one month or so.

Anyway, I've been put on a course of antibiotics, clarinase and just as I'm typing this, there's a 4 inch gauze soaked in some ointment (which I swear smells like kerosene!) stuffed inside my right ear canal. It has been there since Monday afternoon, and it's only coming out on Friday. But, I can't stand it anymore. I think I'll ask Ayah to pull it out tomorrow afternoon. It doesn't only muffle my hearing, but, it's also so da*n itchy in there!

I had to see another doctor for my stiff-neck, and was given 2 types of painkillers and some deep-heat ointment to apply to the back of my neck and shoulders. And I was given a 2-day sick leave. But, at the moment I'm writing this, the pain in my ear is still there, and my neck is still stiff, in fact I think it has gotten worse.

But, somehow they don't seem to bother me that much anymore. They're just normal pains. Normal ailments. And insya Allah I'll be alright in the next couple of days...

It's waiting for Abah's biopsy results that is making me having sleepless nights now...

Please pray for him.

Thank you...