Monday 28 December 2009

I moved to another hospital today. It is the Sime Darby Medical Centre (SDMC). It's very far from home. I didn't want to go to another hospital because I liked the first hospital, and the room was nice but mum said the doctor here could help me get better.

Dr Iean had said that a haematologist, or someone who studies blood, had looked at my blood film results and said I had leukaemia. He said that the best person who could help me get better was a paediatric oncologist called Dr Lin at SDMC. A paediatric oncologist is a doctor who treats children who have cancer. Mum asked him about other places nearer to home but he said Dr Lin would take good care of me and that he was "second to none". Dr Iean said he had sent 4 children with leukaemia to him over the past 10 years and they were all better now. He said he had worked at 3 other hospitals which also treated children with cancer and that Dr Lin was the best.

He said that Dr Lin was on holiday but that he had had spoken to him and that his colleague, a paediatrician called Dr Choy, would take care of me until Dr Lin got back. We said goodbye to Dr Iean and he almost looked sad.

The hospital was much bigger than Gleneagles, and nobody there knew who we were. They didn't seem to be expecting us. Luckily I was in a wheelchair because we were made to go to and fro between the North and South Towers 4 to 5 times, while the staff kept telling us to go to the wrong places. We went to emergency but they told us to go to Dr Choy's outpatient clinic. But my name was not on the list. There were lots of sick children waiting to see the doctors there.

Dr Iean had said our appointment was at 12pm but the lady at the clinic said Dr Choy only comes in after 2pm. They didn't really help us after that and we kept going to all the wrong floors after that too. Mum got angry and called Dr Iean asking what was happening, and he didn't know himself. Dad asked what Dr Iean told mum and she said he said "It's the usual crap."

In the end, we went to the childrens wards, where the staff at the counter did not seem to be expecting us either, and complained that we were "not following the proper procedure." Mum shouted at her, and we were made to wait in a room. I told mum I didn't like the room because it was empty. She said it wasn't our new room, and that it was just a waiting room.

After a while, a very nice nurse came in and said our room was ready. Mum said she was very unhappy about being sent to all the wrong places with a very sick child who had now been exposed to possibly a lot of germs all around the hospital. She said the staff were very unhelpful. The nurse was really nice about it, and she helped us carry all our luggage into our new room.

It was much smaller than the other room, and not as nice. The tv didn't work at first so a maintenance man had to come and repair it. The toilet and sink made a constant drippy noise too, mum wasn't very happy at all.

After about 3 or 4 hours, we finally met Dr Choy. He said that my room had been prepared the night before and it was all a mistake. Mum was too tired to say anything anymore by then. He asked about my medical history. Here's what mum said:

1. I had had swollen lymph nodes behind my ears and on my neck for a month.

2. I had had fever on and off for a month. I had had one round of antibiotics immediately after the swollen nodes were spotted, but it didn't help to clear it up. I had seen a GP 2-3 times and my usual paediatrician 3 times, but things still didn't improve.

3. I was also pale for the last 2-3 weeks.

4. I tired easily and kept taking naps in the last few weeks, which I have never ever done in my life.

It turns out there are also some other symptoms of leukaemia that I had had, but no one knew that it was leukaemia. Among them were leg pains. This happens when the leukemic cells attack your body. I wake up a lot in the middle of the night crying from the pain. Another symptom is also sweating a lot at night, which I had been doing. My liver was also too big, which Dr Iean had also said.

Aunty Azura (mum and dad's friend) and uncle dropped by to see how we were doing. She gave mum a book about stem cell transplants.

Today's bill: RM4,000++

QOTD: "I don't want another hospital!"