Sunday, 18 September 2005
.:: Corneal Ulcer ::.
Been recuperating at home since my discharged fr hospital last wed....warded due to this eye infection called the corneal ulcer.....main culprit -> CONTACT LENS!It all started with a mild discomfort on Thurs 08/09/05 & being ignorant went to work still wearing lenses... if only i knew.. :( By evening,it got worse so put some leftover eyedrops & went to bed hoping that it would go off....Anyway...it was not my 1st time having eye discomforts due to contact lens...
Pain got worse in the middle of the night & practically begged hubby dearest to bring me to the 24hr clinic....(Fri, we were supposed to drive up to Trengganu for a short getaway with my parents) After doing some check, the dr was telling that it could be a either corneal abrasion which is something not serious & would go off in a few days OR corneal ulcer ....something which he warned was serious & would caused permanent blindness & needs cornea transplant if not properly treated......He wrote me a referral letter to A&E telling me to admit myself in the hospital if things got worse in the afternoon.....Thinking that its just an abrasion.....took the eyedrops he prescribed & off we went to the eastern coast of Malaysia, Trengganu.......
During the journey, I could only squint my eyes each time i open them & most of the time i was closing them as it lessened the pain.....the pain was like as though there was something under the eyelid that just wouldn't go off.....more of an irritating pain than a throbbing pain.....When we stopped at Mersing for a toilet break, panic slowly crept into me as i discovered that my vision was slightly hazey on the right eye.....it was like a hazey day with a psi of 45 to 50.....and i have never experienced this vision before......the psi increased as we had lunch at Pekan.......it was no good......my dad was like rattling off & giving lectures & sermons about me going to this trip when knowing abt my serious eye condition.....blah..blah..blah.....so typical of him......my mama....she's cool....telling me that everything gonna be fine & reassured me that we could go to the local hospital at Trengganu if things got worse......
By the time we checked into the hotel, Permai Park Inn, there was only 1 thing in my mind & its the HOSPITAL! I need immediate medical attention......True enough after paying RM50 for registration & check up at the A&E of Kuala Trengganu Hospital, the drs diagnosed I had corneal ulcer & it was quite serious......they insisted that i had to be warded for 'aggresive' treatment or i could go BLIND....but i wasn't ready to be admitted as they told me that i would be there for 2 to 3 weeks....they even said that they currently have a patient who's been hospitalised for more than a month and not well enough to be discharged! 2 to 3 weeks?!!! FORGET IT! I told them to give me enough supply for me to go back to Spore & seek medical treatment at my own homeland......
Btw, what's with this mishap each time I go to Trengganu? Its like a curse for me each time i go there....the last time i went there in 1996 I had this torn ligament in my left knee (due to a fall) and went to SGH for treatment when I came back....now almost a decade i didn't return to the east coast of M'sia....its another unfortunate event.....feeling quite phobia in returning to that particular state of M'sia.....
OK back to the story....they gave me 2 types of hourly eye drops and managed to book a flight back to spore for myself, hubby & my son. In the middle of the night one of the drs from the hospital even came to the hotel lobby to pass another medication of eyedrop (something like a painkiller). I was touched by her gesture but at the same time felt afraid coz a dr giving me extra medication in the middle of the night would mean that I'm in serious trouble..........I was desperately thinking that was I gonna go BLIND??
The flight to Spore via KLIA was alright, although having this bad experience with the ticketing officer at Trengganu airport.....shall not eleborate the incident as don't wish to critisise other country's customer service since we have to improve on ours! KLIA seemed to be a place i need to go back coz 'can't see much' with the ulcer & needed to be seen in detail by moir! :)
It was afternoon by the time I was at SGH A&E and around 5pm plus when i gotto to see the eye specialist....yup she confirmed again its corneal ulcer & noted that i was partially treated in M'sia.....Got myself checked into an A class ward as my desired ward of class B1 was full......Anyway...they 'kicked' me to the B1 ward ( 2 bedded) the next day..... and the rest is history.....
For 5 days the nurses at Ward 63A of SGH without fail gave me hourly eye drops and was fit to go home last Wed. Now my eyedrops are reduced to 3 times a day & although my vision is not yet well, I'm glad that I've gotten back my vision! Boo hoo...no more contact lenses for me & gotto start thinking abt wearing fashionable glasses.....time to shop!!!
Learnt my lesson (although too late...) and now I'm banned from wearing lenses again as i can't afford to have my other eye to have the same problem......My advise to those avid contact lens wearers -> PLS CLEAN YOUR LENSES PROPERLY INCLUDING THE CASING!!!
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