5 days after my fight with gravity, the one which i lost, i sit here still having stiffness in my knee. Mobility is not as restricted as before, say 80-90%. But then again, before the loss to gravity, i didn't have full movement of my knee anyways.
My visit to CGH was on Wednesday. Lasted 3 freaking hours. That was just to see a doctor. Cos of H1N1, you got to go thru these steps on top of the normal A&E multi step program.
Friday night, i get a call from the triage doc that the x-rays have been studied by the radiologist and they've found a suspicious piece of bone which they suspect to be a fracture. She asks if i can come in on Saturday night around 2100 as that's when she starts her shift. OK fine, as i was not planning on going out.
Saturday night. I had to go thru steps 1-3 as stated above. when being interviewed at step 3, a young doctor approaches the nurses at the door asking for a mask. she turns to me and says "ah you're here, how's the leg?" I must admit, i had no idea who she was. but when she put the mask on, Dr Anna Ng! every time we see a medical practitioner during these flu times, all we see are the eyes without the benefit of the full face to help build the mental image in our minds. so when she had the mask off, stranger. mask on, familiar. strange. anyways, she got me to re-register as that's the only way she could access my files. steps 4-5. but this time no long wait as i was first on her list. my number was on the board even before i got out. so i sat not knowing my number was already showing. about 5mins into my wait, she came looking for me. in her treatment room, i got to see the x-rays again and she pointed out the suspected area. it was a knob on the back of the tibia (shin bone). it's not directly related to the joint so there's no pain in walking. but i must say, leaning over her, looking at my x-ray, she smelt rather sweet. not the sweet scent of death but flower sweet. not a scent you would associate with a hospital. must be cos it's the start of her shift. I also felt a wee bit odd during the time i was there cos she kept calling me cute, referring to the things i was doing to keep myself from going mad with boredom. she had recommended a back slab, which is a metal piece placed behind my knee to support it. it's held in place with a plaster cast. this is the point in which i cringed. it was to take weight off the leg. no plastering my leg straight. even if it's for 4 days till my ortho appt on Wednesday. i talked my way out of it stating that i live in a maisonette and have stairs to climb every day. she insisted on crutches, again i cringed. she stated same reasons. to get out of it ,i stated same reasons too. she was amazed that there was no pain. she felt around the knee asking me to tell her where the pain was as she prodded around. there was slight pain on the sides of the knee, same place as before. when she got the to back of the knee, there was no pain what so ever. i could see in her eyes (being the only part of her face i could see at that time) the confusion, she couldn't fathom the lack of pain. she even called in her colleague to do the same test and she too got the same result. when her colleague left, i apologised to her, i know in her best professional interest is to mend the leg in the fastest and easiest way but in the end, i know she can't force the procedure onto the patient. so i declined. I told her I'd look after my leg till Wednesday. resigned to the fact that i won't be limping out of here on crutches, she continued to fill out my file. watching her type, i noticed her left index finger wrapped in a plaster. I had to ask, since all questions have been about me. she said it was from a paper cut. I asked how long ago and she said from earlier today. I told her she could take off the plaster as the cut would have healed by now. imagine me telling a doctor that. she took it off and the cut was gone only leaving a faint line where it once was. i said the only thing left to remind you of the cut would be the pain when you type. a little more typing and my session with her was done. she printed out the current records and attached them to the one i already had from Wednesday. as i was walking out the door, i did something a wee bit spontaneous. I asked her if i could see her without her mask. siting the reason i stated above of only recognising our medical practitioners thru their eyes. so she took the mask off. I must say, i have a knacked of getting the good looking doctors. Nodding my head, i walked out saying "yup, i always get the good looking ones".
i didn't have to pay this round cos it was what they term a recall. she called me back, not me going there. all in all, i thought it was win-win. she got to tell me of my full injuries and i got to see it and a get to see a cute doctor. definitely win-win.
irony is now that when i go see the ortho on Wednesday is going to be an old hag.
My visit to CGH was on Wednesday. Lasted 3 freaking hours. That was just to see a doctor. Cos of H1N1, you got to go thru these steps on top of the normal A&E multi step program.
- register at what was their info counter which is a makeshift long counter now. you can't get in without registering. get - one sticker, one token, one mask.
- go thru a small glass room in where their thermal detectors are. give - one token.
- get to entrance of A&E, another temperature check like the thermal detectors aren't fool proof enough. you answer a whole heap of questions then they come to the most important "have you been to the airport recently?" And when you tell them you work there, they get all protective and start asking further questions. Only after that they tell you that then you are released to the main registering area. get - one sticker.
- register to see a doc. short wait, no queue. mention airport work and they say your on the express queue.
- waiting area. you still and wait with the other masked up patients. The call your name to see the triage nurse. she takes your vitals, bp,pulse,another temp check. get - queue number.
- now the looooooong wait. happily watching TV when some idiot starts changing channel to cna. I ask idiot, which happens to be cgh staff, why change. ppl happily watching. says she has no choice as cna has updates on H1N1, Singapore's first case. I say that on cna it only has the scroll about the case and the show currently on is about shoes. she walks off. when news finally comes on, the volume is of course low, so i ask idiot again "whats the point if we can't hear?" her answer was that may have been my opinion but the rest have not said anything. I asked her if she had asked them about it. I told her that most ppl wouldn't say anything cos in a hospital, they trust ppl who work there will do the right thing. My case was that most ppl will do the right thing but she was not one of them. firstly she changes the channel to 9 words mentioning the H1N1 in Singapore. then when the live report comes on, no one can hear it. unlike her, i can't freaking lip read. then my number was called.
- Dr Anna Ng, triage doctor in grey. the usual stuff. what happened, how it happened, where's the pain. looked at the swelling. poked around the knee. then sent me off to x-ray.
- x-ray. just down the hall. radiologists in purple. took shots of the front and inside of the knee. point to note: remove all objects from pockets when asked to lie on side. lying on side with wallet in leg pocket is uncomfortable.
- back to waiting area. not too long to wait.
- doc again. looking at x-ray, no breaks. suspect that the ligaments that run down the flanks of the knee might be over stretched. nothing much more said. pain killer, 2 types, prescribed. 8 days MC. orthopaedic appointment on Wednesday, 03jun.
- pharmacy. collected meds.
- payment. paid sgd75 for all that.
Friday night, i get a call from the triage doc that the x-rays have been studied by the radiologist and they've found a suspicious piece of bone which they suspect to be a fracture. She asks if i can come in on Saturday night around 2100 as that's when she starts her shift. OK fine, as i was not planning on going out.
Saturday night. I had to go thru steps 1-3 as stated above. when being interviewed at step 3, a young doctor approaches the nurses at the door asking for a mask. she turns to me and says "ah you're here, how's the leg?" I must admit, i had no idea who she was. but when she put the mask on, Dr Anna Ng! every time we see a medical practitioner during these flu times, all we see are the eyes without the benefit of the full face to help build the mental image in our minds. so when she had the mask off, stranger. mask on, familiar. strange. anyways, she got me to re-register as that's the only way she could access my files. steps 4-5. but this time no long wait as i was first on her list. my number was on the board even before i got out. so i sat not knowing my number was already showing. about 5mins into my wait, she came looking for me. in her treatment room, i got to see the x-rays again and she pointed out the suspected area. it was a knob on the back of the tibia (shin bone). it's not directly related to the joint so there's no pain in walking. but i must say, leaning over her, looking at my x-ray, she smelt rather sweet. not the sweet scent of death but flower sweet. not a scent you would associate with a hospital. must be cos it's the start of her shift. I also felt a wee bit odd during the time i was there cos she kept calling me cute, referring to the things i was doing to keep myself from going mad with boredom. she had recommended a back slab, which is a metal piece placed behind my knee to support it. it's held in place with a plaster cast. this is the point in which i cringed. it was to take weight off the leg. no plastering my leg straight. even if it's for 4 days till my ortho appt on Wednesday. i talked my way out of it stating that i live in a maisonette and have stairs to climb every day. she insisted on crutches, again i cringed. she stated same reasons. to get out of it ,i stated same reasons too. she was amazed that there was no pain. she felt around the knee asking me to tell her where the pain was as she prodded around. there was slight pain on the sides of the knee, same place as before. when she got the to back of the knee, there was no pain what so ever. i could see in her eyes (being the only part of her face i could see at that time) the confusion, she couldn't fathom the lack of pain. she even called in her colleague to do the same test and she too got the same result. when her colleague left, i apologised to her, i know in her best professional interest is to mend the leg in the fastest and easiest way but in the end, i know she can't force the procedure onto the patient. so i declined. I told her I'd look after my leg till Wednesday. resigned to the fact that i won't be limping out of here on crutches, she continued to fill out my file. watching her type, i noticed her left index finger wrapped in a plaster. I had to ask, since all questions have been about me. she said it was from a paper cut. I asked how long ago and she said from earlier today. I told her she could take off the plaster as the cut would have healed by now. imagine me telling a doctor that. she took it off and the cut was gone only leaving a faint line where it once was. i said the only thing left to remind you of the cut would be the pain when you type. a little more typing and my session with her was done. she printed out the current records and attached them to the one i already had from Wednesday. as i was walking out the door, i did something a wee bit spontaneous. I asked her if i could see her without her mask. siting the reason i stated above of only recognising our medical practitioners thru their eyes. so she took the mask off. I must say, i have a knacked of getting the good looking doctors. Nodding my head, i walked out saying "yup, i always get the good looking ones".
i didn't have to pay this round cos it was what they term a recall. she called me back, not me going there. all in all, i thought it was win-win. she got to tell me of my full injuries and i got to see it and a get to see a cute doctor. definitely win-win.
irony is now that when i go see the ortho on Wednesday is going to be an old hag.
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