Discovering the Shocking News

Dad had been having fever and joint pain for the past few weeks, starting from early June.  Finally after the fourth week, he agreed to see Dr Charles on Monday, 22nd June.   He prescriped paracetamol, antibiotic and several types of medicines for Dad.  He was so kind to check on Dad via sms the following day.  However, the condition remained the same.  So, the following Monday, 29th June, Dr Charles did a blood test for Dad.  The result was back on 1st July.  He commented Dad was super healthy; but there's one or two areas he was a bit concern.  Thus sending Dad to Dr Ng Seng Man to do a chest x-ray and an ultra sound for the abdomen the following day, 2nd July.

We all know how time consuming it is even in a private hospital.  But all three doctors who treated Dad gave him special 'greenlane'.  The ultra sound and CT scan showed that the gallbladder was bloated and the doctor suspected it was caused by the gallstones.  An operation was scheduled on the same day in the afternoon.  After the scan, Dad saw Dr Siaw to examine his heart.  Dad jokingly asked Dr Siaw will his heart endure the operation or there's a possibility he may die at the operation theatre (OT).

The children and I rushed to the hospital after school, wanting to see Dad before his operation.  However, we missed him.   Although the op was scheduled at 5pm but Dad was pushed into OT for preparation around 2:30pm. We waited outside the OT for a few hours until the kids were complaining hungry.  Checked with the nurse and they told us it would be another hour or so, hence we grabbed a bite at a nearby restaurant swiftly.  To our horror, the hospital called us up 30 minutes later and apparently the op was over and we were told to be there ASAP. 

We ran back in no time and Dr Francis had a lengthy chat with Andrew in the OT while the children and I waited outside patiently.  All kinds of thought flew across my mind and worry started to build up.  Apparently, Dr Francis discovered that the gallbladder was not bloated, there were extensive tumors all over the gallbladder and liver.  The tumors had rupture with extensive blood and abysses all over the abdomen.  This is the reason why Dad had been having fever non-stop.  A sample was sent to the lab and the result was cancerous.  The condition was so bad that the surgeon decided to just close up the wound as nothing much could be done.

We brought the kids to the ward waiting for Dad to return.  It was another long wait before we saw Dad.  He was in so much pain and could hardly talk.  Finally he fell asleep and we went back home, exhausted both physically and emotionally.

The next morning, we went back to the hospital and Dad was in his jovial mood again.  He was feeling much better and that's where Andrew broke the news to him.  This father-and-son 'serious' talk doesn't sound serious at all.  Dad took it so lightly and he even cracked a joke on it.  He said, "Last time Ma
(my late mother-in-law) used to say that I have a monster in my stomach.  Now we know what is this monster."  My heart was aching listening to him leave instructions to Andrew.  I left the hospital before 11am to resume my duty as a mom.  Andrew stayed with Dad the whole day with his laptop.  I brought the children to the hospital and they were both excited to see Ah Gong wide awake.  Andrew left with us around 5pm as that evening the church had an inter-church event conducted at Wesley.  

Many church members heard the news of Dad being admitted into hospital.  Many expressed their care and concern.  I was caught off guard on how to answer many of their questions, eg. How big is the stone?  What went wrong?  How is your father-in-law?  When will he discharge?  Dad specifically told us that he did not want anyone to know of his condition.  He's a very private man.  He did not want the attention.  Nevertheless, we are so touched by the love that was showered on us by this community of faith.

Andrew went back to office to settle a few things on Saturday since he was out of office for the past two days.  I, on the other hand, was kept occupied by ferrying my daughter from tuition to tuition.  We dropped by the hospital after lunch.  Dad looked well and he was permitted to consume solid food, finally!  Dr Francis thought of discharging Dad on Sunday, however, we were a bit reserved with that.  Sunday was a busy day for Andrew.  In the event that Dad needed help, I alone could not manage with two kids side by side.  So, we postponed it to Monday.

Sunday after church, we visited Dad again in the hospital.  He was up walking around like a healthy person.  In fact, he wanted to walk to the 7-Eleven downstair all by himself before we arrived but the nurse refrained him from doing so.  But the nurse gave the greenlight when we accompanied him.  The children were thrilled, holding Ah Gong's hand and walking by his side as though they were there to take care of him.  Dad even bought a few packets of buah kurma and asked the kids to give it to the nurse-on-duty as a gesture of thanking them for their kindness.  We were surprised by Dad's recovery and regretted for not discharging him on the day itself.

Three days after the operation, Dad was taking a walk at the hospital

It was Monday, Andrew went to the hospital to settle all the bills and discharged Dad whereas I stayed at home.  The procedure might take a little longer and I need to pick up the kids on time.  True enough, Dad came back home only around 2pm.  He looked a bit exhausted and rested in his room. 

The days after his return from the hospital his appetite went from worse to worse.  Initially he could still eat a few mouthspoon of rice or noodles.  Towards the end, he could only consume one or two spoons of soup.  The ulsers in his mouth caused much discomfort as he ate.  The pain in his abdomen was unbearable at times.  He was taking morphine tablets (OxyContin 10 mg) and other types of pain killers twice a day.  It's all about pain management for now.  Dad was trying  his best to be with the family as much as he could.  Spending his last moment with us was too precious to missed.  But there were times he had to hide in his room with his door closed to prevent the children to see how torturous it was with the intensive pain he endured.

Spending time with the family though Dad was weak

Dad went back for another round of check-up on 11th July (Saturday).  The lab report showed that not only did Dad have a very rare type of cancer - gallbladder cancer, it was a very aggressive type as well.  Andrew and Dad mentioned to Dr Francis about his poor appetite and other symptoms;  Dr Francis gave him different pain killers, a higher dose of morphine and medication to help his appetite.


Finally, it was Raya break and Dad wanted to settle a few things in Subang.  We went back on Monday and came back to Malacca on Wednesday afternoon.  Dad was exhausted after the journey.  He rested in his room for the rest of the day.  
 

Three days before his departure