my ajumma notes

Over almost two weeks, I have learnt to better understand words and phrases such as 'very sick', 'pray hard', 'exhausted' and 'bone-tired', which I currently am.

Today, not so much about the H1N1 battle but some ranting about hospital etiquette. My sister reminded me that our dad used to have a separate pair of shoes for hospital check-ups or stays. Now, that is making a lot of sense to us. People have very short memories. Wasn't it not so many years ago that they didn't want buses to pick up TTSH staff because of fear of infection? Nowadays, I think people no longer fear getting or spreading infections. Just look at the number of people hanging/walking around the hospital and their behaviour. Many hospitals have common thoroughfares for all and sundry. Like, if you are just going for your eye check-up, you could be walking at the passageway alongside someone who has being going in and out of the ICU (as a visitor). Worse, you could be getting coughed at by that ICU visitor, or you are coughing at him/her. Yet, hardly anyone is using a mask and people in and outside the hospital are coughing and sneezing at, well, all and sundry.

Still 'bearing with' the effects of Tamiflu. GP said there's a list of the side-effects in the leaflet if you want to scare yourself. If not, just bear with any effects if they are not too severe. Happily, effects are not too severe for me. But am often overcome by bouts of sleepiness (not too uncommon for me anyway). The boy is making very, very, very, very small steps in the right direction but still battling the bugs. Another life lesson for us in Singapore: health costs are truly and unimaginably HIGH. In other words, must buy health insurance . Unless you are supremely rich or something.

The boy is almost completing Day 4 in PICU. Poor boy, fighting H1N1 + some fearsome bacteria that has gotten into his lungs. It is no joke seeing your kid sedated and intubated. And here I am stuck at home because I am also down with the flu. Must say that Tamiflu is pretty effective. On me anyway. But I think it's a very strong drug and not something to be taken lightly. This ordeal is hammering home for me a number of life truths. For example, there are more important things in life than what he's going to get for the PSLE (a lesson that had already come a-knocking when some other stuff happened earlier this year), or whether we are going to be able to watch Wimbledon on Starhub (I still don't know the answer), one thing being LIFE itself. Some other things that come to mind now include 'being a good person'. I was very happy to hear recently from his teacher that he thinks the boy is a really good kid and then from my friend who told me that our priest ha

Must look out for four Asians in a row at tomorrow's men's semi-finals. And no, I won't be one of them... sigh... So nice for my friend A and her family to be sitting in Court Philippe Chatrier tomorrow. And it almost became a waste of their money as they were hoping/expecting to see Federer and Djokovic, aside from cheering for birthday boy Nadal. Plus, well done, Stosur and Schiavone! Who would have thought...