Ooh ! I had a bad fall last night after taking my shower. It was outside the shower booth. After I dried myself. I need both hands to powder myself which mean I have no hand to hold on to a grip bar. In that split second I fell backward and sat onto the floor hurting my buttocks. Fortunately I didn't bump my head. But my legs were so weak and the floor so slippery that I couldn't get up. I didn't call my domestic maid to pull me up as I was all naked ! Finally after much effort, I got myself up.
After that whenever I sleep, my lower back was painful even when I lie straight in bed. The worse was that more than once each night, I have the urgent urge to pass urine due to my urinary incontinence. I just have to bear the extreme pain and swing myself up to walk across to the toilet to do it..
My own well-established method of acupressure for relieving and killing pains does not work any more.
Very early next morning, 7 Nov, as my conditions had became really unbearable. I emailed my old friend who is a retired anesthesiast to make,on my behalf, an appointment for a brain operation at NNI.
She made the appointment and took me to see Dr Ng, the Head of Neurosurgery there. After seeing my very recent MRI and discussing with me, he decided to do the surgery himself on Mon 25 Nov.
But because a brain operation has a risk of death or coma, I have been asked by relatives to sign an LPA or Lasting Power of Attorney to protect my financial assets. I have to engage a lawyer as the document is quite complex. It has now been done and submitted.
Tomorrow, 23 Nov, a friend is going to drive me for my 2 pm Admission to NNI for the pre-operation procedures. I think this involves complete or partial shaving of my hair, and testing my blood type.
The nursing manger said my hospital stay will normally be one week. In the meantime I have to plan changes at home. I will likely purchase and place downstairs a motorised hospital bed that can bend up my back at my waist. I'll be using the toilet/shower-room downstairs currently used by my maid. As I have to make changes there I quickly ask my usual renovation workman to come and tell him the changes that I want like adding and adjusting the position of my hand-hold bars. My maid will then use the extra toilet/shower-room upstairs. All these seems like a military operation. With all these ready and in place, I just have to relax and wait. After all, one can never predict the outcome of a major operation.
Unfortunately there is another problem. My urine incontinence is bothering me not only at night. I have to wear the pamper pad even in the day time.
Probably during the Admission and the actual Surgery, I also have to wear it. Sigh, this is life !
[To be continued, latest update 22 Nov 2013]
