A YEAR AGO TODAY ... I'M BIONIC ... well, not even close!

There was phlegm in my throat. Lots of it. I couldn’t breathe.  I could hear the gurgling sound as the nurse used the suction to suck it out. Once it was cleared, I breathed in as deep as I could.

When I woke up, I was at the recovery room outside the operating theatre. I had an oxygen mask on. “Kenapa ni?” I asked the male nurse seated at the table next to me. “Kakak kurang oxygen,” he said. I asked him for the time.

Half an hour later, I was back in the room. It was 2.30pm. I was hooked up to the oxygen next to the bed. I asked the nurse how long I would have to be on it. “Sampai pukul lima atau enam. Kalau okay, tak payah guna lah.”

I had the oxygen mask on until about four.

My mother and brother’s family came at about 4.30pm. My niece will be spending the duration with me at the hospital.

The surgeon came right after to check on me. The surgery went well. He showed me the x-ray which showed where he placed the six inch plate and screws. He asked if I was in pain. I said no.

I asked him when I can be discharged. “Maybe tomorrow. We’ll see,” he said.
Well, I wasn't convinced that the doctor will let me out so soon. I anticipated a long stay there, maybe a week. 
That was why I agreed to go out with some friends to Mahbub at Bangsar the night before the surgery. I sought permission before I went out. The nurse checked with the doctor and I got the green light. I was reminded however not to eat anything after midnight. I stayed out until 2am.
So, beside the anesthetic, I was possibly tired from the night before that I was dozing in and out of sleep. 

My sister and her big family came after the break of fast. All of them were from JB. And my cousin and her family from Subang Jaya also dropped by. I caught snippets of their conversations. I don’t know when they all left.

The nurse came in at 9pm to administer antibiotics.

Early in the morning, the surgeon came for his rounds. He was surprised to see me awake. “Any pain?” he asked.

I told him I had a tough night because of stiff shoulders. He prescribed ice packs.

I asked again when I would be discharged. “Let’s wait a day or two.”

The entire time I was in the hospital I was flipping the television channels. I watched all the cooking shows (yes, our TV stations air at least two cooking shows, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon) and serial dramas.

The surgeon suggested I finished the antibiotics first before I can be discharged. A day before I was actually allowed to leave the hospital he asked, “Why do you want to go home so fast?” I told him I’ve run out of television shows to watch!

He signed me out the next day after the last antibiotics was administered.

I continued to be on leave until after Raya.

When I saw him at his clinic after the Raya holidays, he asked if I want to be on extended medical leave. I was bored staying at home. Even with arm in sling, I went for terawih prayers. I actually went home for a few days. I went Raya shopping at KLCC with my niece and nephew. We went for break of fast outside.

“Doc, if I can go shopping, I can go to work.” He laughed.

* to be continued