Complicated

I realize it has been 4 weeks since I last wrote anything in any of my blogs. But I have the perfect excuse for this lengthy absence.

And it’s not that, umn, complicated.

In a nutshell, when I said that the bitch was back, I spoke too soon.

July 23: in my supposedly last appointment with the doctor before my supposed departure (August 1), the fluids that have been draining from my surgical site remained bloody. It needed to be clear before the drain can be removed. I was put on Heparin (a blood anti-coagulant) and was advised to postpone my departure. Hence, first re-book to August 8.

July 30: next appointment with the doctor, the fluid have become less bloody, but bloody nonetheless. The doctor decided to remove the drain and I was put on antibiotics (co-amoxiclav). I was able to go out and see my friends thereafter because of the convenience of not having something dangling out of my belly.

August 1: started having fever though I didn’t complain. I figured it could be because I got rained on earlier. I started feeling unwell that I wasn’t able to see my friends this evening.

August 2: after going to the mall with my family, started having chills and fever. My mother called our doctor and he advised her to give me paracetamol and to monitor my temperature. I was put on another course of antibiotics (levofloxacin) and I was advised to postpone my return to Cambodia again. So, second re-book to August 15.

The next days followed this morbid pattern: I’d wake up fine, with normal temperature but as the day wore on, my body temperature reached low-grade fever status, peaking at 38.6C thereabouts. This low-grade is imperceptible unless I measure my temperature with a thermometer. Otherwise I felt normal. Before the week ended I was put on a third antibiotic (cefuroxime).

August 10: my 35th birthday. I wasn’t in a celebratory mood at all, on account of the frustrating fever that wracked me the past week. But my mother wouldn’t let this day pass without preparing some ‘birthday food’ of noodles and some festive dishes. A couple of friends dropped by to say hi. Relatives and friends greeted me through email, sms and phonecalls. I was also fever-free the whole morning but it came back around 3PM, further dampening my spirits.

August 11: Mother and I went to Delos Santos Medical Center so I can get an abdominal CT scan. The results showed that there was a sizable abscess at the site of the surgery. This explained the persistent low-grade fever that has been plaguing me the past days. However, the prospect of returning to the hospital loomed over me like a stormcloud.

August 12: another consultation with our doctor. I was hoping there would be an out-patient treatment he could do to get rid of the abscess but there was none. My options were: (1) another laparoscopy, or (2) an ultrasound-guided aspiration. Both required hospital confinement. I chose the second option. My doctor did an ultrasound to see if the abscess was indeed accessible by the procedure. When he gave the go signal, I went back home to attend to some work, notified my health insurance provider, and rebooked my flight yet again (to August 22). The same afternoon, we were admitted into the Philippine General Hospital.

August 13: in preparation for the ultrasound-guided aspiration, I was put on an IV antibiotic (imipenem) every 6 hours. Joyce, Nilda, Riki, and Helen dropped by late in the afternoon. Otherwise, I spent the day in bed, watching cable TV with Mother, with an IV line, enduring boredom, frustration, and apprehension.

August 14: an inept medical resident fetched me from my room before 8AM, ignoring that I needed pre-operative medicines and other procedures (putting on a hospital gown, laying me on a gurney, etc.). Very irritating. Took them about 30 minutes to sort things out and then I was finally in the operating room. I was already light-headed from the sedative. My doctor was performing an ultrasound when I vaguely heard him call out to my mother. He told her that the abscess was almost non-existent already. My stubborn body finally responded to the antibiotic and the procedure was no longer necessary.

So I was wheeled back to my room, mildly sedated. My doctor decided to just continue the IV antibiotics for 3 more days. I was told I could go home the next day, if I wanted. Since there were many nurses at home, Mother decided we could go home on Friday and just continue administering the IV medicine at home on Saturday.

I went home with a hep-lock on my left hand and last night, after the last dose, it was finally removed, freeing up my hand. Yesterday I also had a complete blood count, where it showed my white blood cells returning back to normal levels. My doctor advised another course of antibiotics (cefuroxime) for 5 more days. However, I have yet to recover from the anemia that started right after my surgery last month. Iron supplements have been ordered.

So here I am, back at my parents’ house, feeling really well for the first time in quite a long while. I feel I’ve been overstaying here in Manila. I can’t wait to get back to Phnom Penh and to wherever I might be going next. In a way, I’m glad that this complication was detected while I was still here in Manila. It would’ve been more troublesome if I got sick again in Cambodia. Credit goes to my mother and aunt, who both have been very vigilant about my health and well-being.