Warning: Grouchy post ahead.


26 March 2015 (Thu)

The 2nd night was indefinitely better. Hubby had delivered a sleeping eye mask so the lights no longer got to me. Snore Machine got discharged. The night shift nurses were different. They kept their phones off and were discreetly quiet. I slept...

And I woke up feeling so much better. The pain had dwindled down to a sharp pain concentrated at my lower abdomen and the pain in my torso was more or less gone.

The Morning Rounds doctor said they'd monitor the pain and check again in the afternoon if a 5pm discharge was possible.

I was excited at the prospect that I could go home soon. But my excitement soon turned to confusion.

Yesterday, the patient opposite my bed was told more or less the same thing. Except the hospital seemed to have forgotten all about her. It wasn't until really close to the discharge time before she panicked and asked Dr. Ignoramus, who said: "Oh I'm not sure, why didn't you clarify with my senior doctor this morning". Confusion ensued but she did eventually get discharged.

I didn't want the same thing to happen to me. So I wobbled out to the corridor looking for someone to clarify what to expect.

The first person I saw was Dr. Ignoramus keying stuff into his laptop. I asked him what time would they do the next check up. Cue catchphrase: "Oh I'm not sure, why didn't you ask the senior doctor just now?"

Oh god, this guy is like some broken record Non-Playable Character in a RPG game.

So I tried my luck with the next nurse I could find. She did the most logical thing and grabbed my folder. What the folder said was a total surprise:

"Discharge at 5pm."

That's it. I asked her if the doc was coming back to check on me again as promised said so just 15 minutes ago. The nurse went looking for help, got waved off by Dr. Ignoramus, and fetched me another 'doctor'.

One look at this new bespectacled player and I knew she was another Houseman (I confirmed this with a nurse later on). Dr. Marissa Chua was the polar opposite of Dr. Ignoramus and a real piece of art. She was arrogant, condescending, and totally bordered on rude. She had 'Singaporean Chinese' written all over her face but put on a grating pretentious accent.

I told her I wanted to clarify my status, am I being discharged at 5pm?

Dr Marissa: "If you want to go home, then go."
Me: "That wasn't what the doctor said just now... "
Dr. Marissa Chua: "So do you want to go home or not?"
Me: "Yes I do! But I want to be sure I am certified fit."
Dr Marissa: "Ok, we're certifying you fit to go home."

-Takes deep breath-

Me: "Can I speak to Dr. Liu?"
Dr Marissa: "She's a consultant. She will see you if she wants to, you don't get to ask to see her."
Me: "The senior doctor this morning said I'd be checked again this afternoon before giving me a confirmation on discharge."
Dr Marissa: "Ok, we'll check you in the afternoon again if that's what you want."

Turned around, rolled her eyes and stormed off.

Wow. Just wow.

What's wrong with the Housemen in this hospital??? 

Why can't they act a bit more... normal.

15 minutes ago, the test results for my blood wasn't even ready yet for a conclusion and 15 minutes later a Houseman acts like I'm the one who wants to hang around the ward.

Or maybe she's actually a fabulous doctor. The sudden exasperated fury I felt took my mind off the pain for a short while...


Breakfast came along.

I am out of vocabulary to describe how bad my Vegetarian Kway Tiao breakfast was. But I am proud to say I ate 3 bites of it. 3 WHOLE BITES! I must have been famished.

My stomach threatened to hurl if I put another piece of morsel into my mouth so I drank Milo instead.

A Houseman a Day Keeps Your Sanity Away

Since I was likely to be discharged soon, I was given a feedback form from the nurse. I nursed my silly little wounded pride for a while and decided to write something after all. So I tottered to the Nurse Station with feedback form in hand (I could walk with less pain now yay!) and asked for her name. That was how I knew she was "Dr. Marissa Chua".

For some reason, parading around the Nurse Station with a feedback form asking for names gets you attention.

The creepy Houseman suddenly appeared from behind me as I was setting my laptop up by my bed. I almost jumped as her fake accent sounded "Is something wrong?" I snapped around in time to see her eyes flutter to the feedback form lying at the foot of my bed.

Gosh, some people need to learn how to do proper damage control. Dr Marissa's face was almost twitching as she tried to restrain herself not to punctuate her sentences by rolling her eyes this time. I was unimpressed as she repeated that I could choose if I wanted to stay or leave. Why on earth would she imagine anyone would choose to stay in the hospital??

So I asked her about the medication. Do I continue the previously prescribed medication? She didn't have an answer. I gently suggested perhaps she may want to ask a doctor who actually knows what's going on. "It is not normal protocol to call on a consultant for such trivial matters."

Well then give me an answer to the trivial matter! She couldn't, and said she'll go check. That was the last I saw of her for what I hope is forever.

5 minutes later, in pranced Dr. Ignoramus. I could hear his answer before asking but I asked him anyway about the medication. Indeed:

"Oh why didn't you ask the senior doctor this morning?"

I wanted to cry. What kind of answer is he expecting every time he fires that question back at every patient's query??

After 3 days of hearing him say the same thing, it was my turn to twitch my face as I restrained myself. And no he can't call Dr. Liu o ask either. He explains:

"For C wards, it is not standard protocol to call a consultant if the consultant didn't choose to come herself."

Ladies and gentlemen, that sums up how healthcare works in Singapore. Pay for an expensive ward to get a real doctor's care or shut up.

I was in B ward actually, but I think it was the same to them. I didn't pay enough.

Should I use my 2-week hospitalisation leave to join the priority queue at the Parliament House to pay last respects to LKY?

To his credit, Dr Ignoramus did eventually call Dr Liu for instructions. I think we're both glad he did as the medication and injection she decided on was not that straight forward. (This is sad, did I just applaud him for doing his job)


Let's see, I've griped about the Housemen, the food... Oh yes, 1 more thing...

The day I was admitted, a young physiotherapist measured my ankle to get my size for the compression stockings. (Supposed to prevent blood clots. Compulsory for inpatients to wear.) She then told me to turn my ankles 10 times every hour to prevent stiffness.

This whole 5 minutes affair cost me $65 on the hospital bill under "Physiotherapy session". Not including stockings. (Photo of said stockings here)

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Ok, I'm done with my hospital adventure. I promise my new posts will be more positive and less grouchy!


OHSS Log - Today's BMI: 20.2 (OMG)

Backstory on my BMI:
The last time my BMI was 20.2 was more than 5 years ago when I was binging like a cow. I reached 20.3 (60kg) before I decided I was getting too chubby. I adjusted my BMI to 17.6 (52kg) in less than a year and hubby started complaining that I had gotten too scrawny. I lost another kg, reaching 51kg (BMI 17.2) before deciding it was ok to put back some pounds. Since then, I've consciously controlled my BMI to fall around 18.5. Seeing a 20.2 BMI today was kinda demoralising.

The Vegetarian Kway Tiao breakfast.