Much has Changed

I left Universiti Malaya in 2011. And now that my father-in-law was.warded there, I got to spend some thine there. Much certainly has changed.

The biggest one being the new tower called Menara Selatan. They were still building it when I left. It had certainly changed the landscape of the whole place. With it the outpatients department had changed as well.

There were a few other development going on as well. The building next to the Primary Care Department - affectually known as RUKA - was being demolished. More buildings were being added which could only be a good thing. I remembered that when I first joined UM, the Paediatrics block was out on hold and it was finally opened just before I left.

Traffic flow was still bad but somehow I managed to get a spot on top of the Trauma Centre. Gone were the eatery at the Trauma Centre where I used to go to when I was on call. That place was being renovated as well. A lot was happening.

There was always a part of me which missed the place. I always had affinity to it although lately I haven't been there that much despite only staying 5 minutes away. Maybe in the next few days, I would give my old ward and the Medical Department a visit. Many of my old colleagues were still there. I might join them for lunch ...

Unexpected Turn

After planning to slow down for the end of the year, things took an unexpected turn.

After watching Star Wars with Anita and the boys, we were just about to settle down, my father-in-law started becoming breathless and we called the ambulance in. 15 minutes later, we were on the way to UMMC - a 5 minutes ride - where urgent treatment we're given to him.

He had a bleeding ulcer in parts of the stomach and was losing a lot of blood. Transfusion was given straight away and the next day, an endoscopy was done confirming that the bleeding had responded to medications started the evening before.

The waiting area outside of CCU. At least it was not crowded ...Looked like he would be in hospital for a few more days to be monitored and maybe some more blood transfusion. He was still recovering from sedation when I visited him last night and Anita was at the hospital visiting him at the minute.

It was a close call and we were lucky that he was staying with us where help arrived quite quickly. Everybody were understandably worried and at times when he was first treated, things could've gone out of hand. Alhamdulillah he managed to pull through. Hopefully no more complications after this. He had been in and out of hospital in the past couple of months.

Cleaning Up

Finally, it looked like the discharge day was upon us. Dad is doing very well since the transfer out from Intensive Care and had been talking about discharge all afternoon.

The Doctors were happy enough to allow home but he would still need plenty of rest and he had to take antibiotics for another few days to make sure that the infection did not return.

He will be at the apartment for the next few weeks while he recovers and the maids had been busy cleaning our place in anticipation of Dad coming home. He looked pretty alert and strong the last time I checked. I was sure he would be fine once he settled in.

Back to Intensive Care

It had been an up and down week. After being admitted, my father-in-law had not been completely stable. And it was all down to persistent infection.

He ended up in Intensive Care with an irregular heart beat but this morning had been showing positive signs of recovery. Hopefully he would be going up to the normal ward later today.

Being on call, I had been at hospital all day with Anita coming in and out. Hopefully in another couple of days, he would be allowed home back to stay with us until he is fully recovered.

Finally Discharged

After a full week at SJMC, my father-in-law was really looking forward to return home. Not quite home yet at the moment but was halfway there. He would be doing more physio in the coming weeks and would be staying with us at the apartment for the next week or so.

He was still breathing heavily with effort but was clearly improving slowly. Anita and the two maids were there sorting him out, plus his driver. My brother-in-law would be coming after his work daily to help out as well as joining us for dinner. That certainly liven up the place.

The preparation to head homeNice view from his hospital room, but I don't think Dad is missing this ...Now it was time to sort out his meds ...My job would be to sort out his meds. There had been a few changes since the admission and in two weeks he would have his follow-up again. Very likely he would be staying with us until then.

Good thing that we had converted the study into a bedroom. The timing was perfect ...