Déjà vu

Just when I thought we're over and done with En's medical issues, who'd have thought she'll "shocked" us early in the morning last Saturday. Well, she didn't make it easy for all of us when we were at the surgeon's clinic the day before. She screamed, yelled and fought with all her might at whatever came her way. The surgeon finally raised his white flag and skipped the nasoendoscopy check. En was alright when we left the clinic, though we did noticed her cough quite a fair bit.

By late afternoon, her cough seemed to get worse but she was still happily playing, so we just gave her some cough mixture which the surgeon prescribed earlier. By midnight, she was coughing so much she couldn't sleep at all. To make things worse, she kept having nightmares, screaming "I don't want!!!" repeatedly, and that was exactly how she reacted in the clinic during the day.

So what can you do to a traumatised toddler who's coughing non stop in the middle of the night? We just have to take turns to calm & soothe her, rock her gently to sleep and anticipate the next drama in 20-30 minutes' time. The entire family was up caring for her till early morning, only to find her getting breathless as the clock ticks. My first thought then was "Did her adenoid removal surgery fail??? Why is she so breathless???"

To cut the story short, we ended up in KKH's A&E by noon, and she was sent to Observation Ward right upon arrival. The readings taken on the oxygen saturation level in her lungs were below normal range (95%-100% ) and the reading kept going down by the minute. Despite having inhaled 28 doses (my goodness!!!) of metered dose Ventolin puffs and undergone 30 minutes of oxygen therapy, the reading taken was a disappointing 88%. Her chest X-ray revealed left lung infection, which was why the doctors decided she has to be warded.

The meter readings taken on day of admission and the following morning after 18 hours of oxygen therapy.




















So exactly a week after her surgery, we found ourselves in the hospital again, this time with acute bronchitis and pneumonia. Her oxygen saturation level in the lungs returned to normal after 18 hours of oxygen therapy and administration of 4 metered dose Ventolin puffs every 3-hourly. I was sleepless, tired and worried... Having to spend 2 nights in KKH also reminded me of those nights I spent with Xuan 2 years ago. It was only last week when I was going through the photos taken then! Can you beat that???!!! Déjà vu indeed.

En in bed during the 2 hospitalisation saga in a week.























Thankfully, we are all back home now, although I will still have to endure sleepless nights to administer the Ventolin puffs to her during the wee hours at night. But at the very least, I have my En happily playing and laughing again. Praise God!

P/S: I cannot thank God enough for His reminder that He will preserve my children, especially when I was feeling helpless in KKH. The doctor who was getting information from me on En's medical history exclaimed "That's quite amazing!" when he asked for her gestational age (37 weeks + 1 day and that's full term for singleton, let alone a twin), and if she required any NICU (the answer was NO) or any jaundice treatment given postpartum (the answer was NO as well). Indeed, I am still amazed to date. Both En & Xuan are miracles, aren't they? Praise God again! :)