mycoplasma infection

the blood test results came back and it showed that i had contracted a form of pneumonia known as mycoplasma infection.. for a normal person, <1:40 would indicate a negative result and 1:40 would mean equivocal, however >=1:80 means positive and my result was tested to be 1:160.
apparently if i didnt had it tested, my condition would have worsen and the infection would have increased and mum said that if it goes any higher, the doctor would have me hospitalised so as to give me antibiotics intravenous so that they can curb the infection as it had gotten too serious…but luckily i was tested earlier and curently can be treated by oral medication

for now, the medication is enough to bring it under control and curb it from worsening but the current symptoms presented will persist for a while and it will be a long road to recovery as i wouldnt recover immediately upon finishing the medication. the doctor also cant say if i m contagious or infectious as it depends each individual’s immunity and immune system… and with the horrible local weather, i was just unlucky to be the vunerable one and got infected… 
i never thought a normal dry cough would lead to something so serious and i am actually quite taken aback, plus one of the other symptoms besides coughing is extreme tiredness and fatigue and it never struck my mum then that it could have been mycoplasma infection cos i was sleeping so much, ie i would sleep for 4-5 hours in the afternoon and still able to sleep at night at 9pm - we all thought i was worn out and jetlagged, well guessed i was worn out too otherwise i wouldnt have been so weak and vunerable.. and i am very grateful that i have a nurse for a mum.. if not for her, she wouldnt have the hunch and have me sent to see a specialist doctor so early and because of her job..she know who are the good doctors who would make accurate diagnosis and hence brought the infection under control.. i am actually very proud that my mum is greater than great! thank you mummy….

*my long road to recovery*

blood test and peranakan museum visit

i had to go back to the hospital today and see my chest specialist because i hasnt been sleeping very well again in the last few days. getting up at 3am and coughing my lungs out. so…more medicine and on top of that, the doctor did a blood test on me. He is worried that i have high level of antibodies and therefore is not responding to any medication or antibiotics. blood test results will be available tomorrow and hopefully Doctor can prescribe a more suitable medication…

after doctor’s visit, bel met me for lunch. and we decided that walking around town and shopping malls is meaningless. we need to do something meaningful and constructive. so we went to get some brochures and decided to walk to the Peranakan Museum and spend a couple of hours there and it was an interesting visit. it was fun, cos we were like little primary school kids on our excursion, trying and touching little exhibits that were available for visitors to experiment, then at times we were like tourists – reading all the descriptions and trying to absorb as much information and knowledge, then at times, we were being women! there were exhibits of jewelleries of the peranankan culture, and me being me, my eyes sparkle at the diamonds. i even felt some of them was sparkling at me specifically, it was like talking to me, these diamonds seem to have a telepathy and could know that i love diamonds! and i have to admit, some of them were HUGE! i was very glad, i didnt drool publicly…..

 

its bronchitis…

i had to make another visit to the doctor again 2 days ago, on thursday this time to the respiratory specialist, just 4 days after i just been to the doctor’s. been coughing way too much and i have eaten nothing in the last week except rice porridge. especially after the mother is getting abit freaked out by my coughing…it turned out that i have bronchitis. my throat has been inflammed and the inflammation has spread downwards, moving towards the lungs but treating it now before the inflammation moves to the lungs.

I am on numerous drugs again to treat the inflammation and i am feeling really grossed out by the amount of medication that i am eating… entering the 5th week now in singapore and i dont know how much longer i can last with all these coughing especially its been an ongoing matter for the last 3-4 weeks….

my social responsibility and self-protection

with the current throat infection and inflammation, i realised i am really sensitive to local weather and air quality and have become so vunerable after so many years away. So mum has just bought a box of surgical masks for  me and will wear them whenever i am outdoors. this is to protect myself from being in contact with more germs and bacteria knowing how vunerable I have become and also upholding social responsibility especially now that i am coughing as well. i think even when i am well, i will still wear the masks as long as i am in singapore whenever i am out because i really need to protect myself here at home because, air quality isnt as good as it is over in Dunedin, and the heat and humidity doesnt really help either. if i ended up slack, the one suffering is me….

30days and counting

EDITED:
i just went to the doctor’s after the empress dowager at home couldnt stand my coughing and my lack of appetite in 2 days. i have already spend almost $100 on medical fees since i came back exactly a month ago! this is my 2nd visit to the doctor. Found to be suffering from throat inflammation cum irritation and a slight throat infection cause by the heat, weather and air quality! which in turn triggered off a coughing episode and then cos i was asthmatic as a kid, i ended up breathless and display symptoms as a slight asthmatic…
I am so sick of this. i still have 3 more months to go and i just have to keep my fingers crossed that this shall be the 2nd and last time….

 

its been a good 30days which is equivalent to a month or also equivalent to 4 weeks since i arrived back home in Singapore. And i have nothing exciting to comment or blog about – and this is PATHETIC!

Except that i have since had a 2nd relapse of asthma and coughing episode due to the weather, heat and air pollution in the 4 weeks since i was back. my first relapse was the very moment i arrived home that lasted for a good 2 weeks only now to be suffering from it a week after i thought i have full recovered from it…

relief work at the childcare centre is great. had a love confession on the 2nd day i was there. it was sweet.. cos it came very unexpectedly!

things i do….

had my first day of casual relief work at the childcare centre on monday – it was fun and the kids were lovely, cheeky and mischievious but in this line, its all about loving all that plus randomness of children and the many nappy and clothes changes and toilet runs…

then there are things that i would do when i have nothing else to do….

i had sushi craving yesterday and because i didnt have to work, i was slack and lazing at home. I decided to pamper myself and get some sushi and also bubble tea. Carol introduced a brand of bubble tea that is new called Koi and i can only say, its the best that I have ever tasted. I kind of need one everyday now and slowly weaning off my espresso shots. i went to the nearby mall and sat at the sushi bar and enjoyed a yummy lunch of sushi on my own with a book. it was luxury to have that me-time and just be in my own world.
Followed by Koi Bubble tea. YUM! it was like Heaven on Earth. hee. i decide to buy a 2nd cup and deliver it to Carol at her workplace – only to be thought to be kidding. Phone battery was dying and eventually, Carol came down to the lift lobby and she was rather surprised afterall, she was kidding with me in the first place when she asked me to get one (bubble tea) for her.

I think and i have done things of these sorts where I would drive the extra mile over in NZ to deliver goodies or small surprises to friends because i have the car and it was convenient even if i have to walk as the town wasnt too big. without a car here, waiting for bus or train in the heat  and crowd can be painful but i was glad that i still managed to maintain my style and display little gestures of surprises for friends who love and care for me and i love and care for…..

after bubble tea delivery, went to hougang heartland mall. met belinda for coffee. we had a good time chilling and talking with Root beer float and chocolate mud cake! wasnt that impressive but still good. we had a heart-to-heart talk and at some point, tears were in our eyes. we both thought we would start off well in Jan 2009, only to meet with obstacles and bumps halfway through 2009. it hasnt been an easy year for both of us, but we both would make it… we will walk out of this year, better and stronger than before.
sounds good so far.. yeah..

then seeing how things work around in Singapore, in the very general way, i think i know what i want most for myself and where i can truly call a home – home is where the heart is… and not just a physical home….

P.S> Jess, Rach and Jen, i will take you to Koi Bubble Tea when you girls are back – experience Heaven on Earth with me! YUMmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

outing count

i decided to do a count of the number of times i have been out since arriving home, exactly 3 weeks ago.

AMK hub – 3 times (each session lasting between 30 mins to 1hour, buy what i need and make a dash for home)

Bishan J8 – 1 time only

Hougang Heartland Mall – 1 time for lunch with bel

Hougang Mall – 1 time to grab a pair of shoes

Town including Orchard and Suntec Mall – 1 time to take a friend who was here in Singapore on a transit

and thats all i have done!

other times, i m home and sitting in front of the fan, computer or tv! i wouldnt go anywhere cos of the heat and crowd…. i m very amazed with myself….

pictures and updates

i have finally downloaded the few pictures that i have from the trip to Batam. It was a short 3 days/2nights trip and the one thing that really impressed me was the hotel that we stayed.
We were upgraded to a suite and within a hotel suite room, there were 2 bedrooms of the same size, a living area and 2 bathrooms with toilets. so basically i had my own private bathroom and a big King size bed. every hotel room faces the swimming pool and of course i forgot to take photos of the swimming pool.
we had seafood at a seafood restaurant on the 2nd night and basically there were ponds and ponds of real alive fishes, crabs and prawns…

one of the 2 rooms within the hotel suite

alive prawns/shrimps at the seafood restaurant

actually i am facing some difficulties in uploading the photos so i will stop here.

next, just a quick update for my friends back in NZ. As some of you would know that coming back at this time of the year wasnt my intention. i only planned for a holiday in Dec but i was adamant that i wasnt going to rot. and despite displaying behaviour and actions of the tendency to rot (i have been home for almost 2.5 weeks and i do nothing but sleep and avoid crowded places and going out unnecessarily) i managed to land myself a casual/relief teaching job at a local childcare centre through an old friend. I will treat this as an internship in preparation for my course that will resume in Jan 2010. I am looking forward and it will be an exciting experience cum eye opener to see how the early childhood education sector operate between the 2 different cultures….

thats all for now… be back soon with more updates when i can….

latest happenings

its been almost 2.5 weeks since i came back… like i mentioned earlier… i have not ventured out much.. but yesterday, belinda and i went to the latest shopping mall in Orchard Road, Ion Orchard… ok… its freaky cos its so big and so crowded… i dont think i will be there for a long long time… and there wasnt like anything we can buy… we just wanted to see the new mall, despite belinda being here during the time that it was opened in June… she hasnt been there. Orchard road changed with the new mall.. certain traffic lights were removed! and certain junctions were closed and I was lost! i think i will be quite happy to stay home and not venture out unnecessarily.. i actually feel so lost and frustrated with the heat and crowd!
i was lost even at MRT stations! arrgghhh.. this is my home country!!!!

a friend will be transitting today at S’pore for 12 hours.. i will play host and take him around on a day town shopping trip! but watch me – it will be the perfect classic case of the blind leading the blind!

Grandma’s birthday last night.. dinner at a seafood restaurant called Bottle Tree Seafood Restaurant In Sembawang area! its an open-air restaurant, facing JB on one side and Sembawang Shipyard on the other side! arrgghhh, no air con and no fan! they expected it to be a breezy seafood restaurant by the sea! which was the total opposite!! I sweated like an animal! it was definitely more than just perspiring! SERIOUSLY!!!!!
it was a tough night to get by already with no fan and no breeze… and the food was just average…..

be back soon with photos… i m just lazy to download them and post them! hehehehe

updates

so one day early last week, the mother decides to ask me one morning when i was still asleep if i would head to batam with her for the weekend, and in my tired, sleepy and very jetlagged state, i said “ya” and then i was off to batam for the weekend… and i cant say it was entirely bad. her friends were there too but they knew me from years ago so it wasnt with people i didnt know. i did heaps of eating and shopping and spend the entire weekend in a very relaxed mood, i had a massage session too – have to admit that was awesome. maybe that was all i need…
however, leading to the weekend, it wasnt all good and smooth.. i started coughing the very moment i arrived in Singapore and the cough didnt get any better.. it just got worse through the days.. until last wednesday, 2 days before i leave for batam, i found myself having difficulties breathing… and i find that with every breath of air i take, i feel that the air doesnt reach my lungs.. and my lungs felt very congested. in short, i had difficulties breathing on top of the cough… i knew i was having an asthma attack. it was mild but i began to feel tired even just talking…. went to the GP and all i need was my ventolin inhaler, something i have not touch for almost 20 years- it was magic! everything just seem to pick up from there. now for the time that i am here in the next few months, i have to carry that with me and have it on a regular basis just to build up my resistance to the horrible local air quality… it wasnt that good either in batam.. i was actually inhaling it more frequently over the 3 days in batam cos of the air pollution and smokers.. the cigarette smoke will actually make me feel suffocated quite instantly.. but at least i m on the road to full recovery now.

and while trying to keep a very low profile in Singapore since my return… i actually bump into an ex-classmate in the ferry on the route back from Batam… what a coincidence. i wasnt going to run away or completely not tell them.. just thought i can wait till Nov or Dec before telling them i am back… but guess news will continue to spread from now on….

surprisely, i spend the weekend with the mother without much hiccups… instead i saw, that all she and my dad ever wanted since i moved to NZ was to have as much time as possible together as a family especially when we are in different parts of the world and on top of the very busy schedules that we all have. and i am glad to be able to give her the time when i can.. though i hope it doesnt get too smothering…..

pictorial post soon – watch this space…