I figured this post is important

It's important because yesterday marked the first (and last hopefully) time ever that I entered a hospital and underwent surgery. :-O

Oh, the drama. With blood spurting everywhere, me gasping in horror..

Ok, really.

Ok, not really.

Well, somewhat like that anyway. (In my head.)

Don't know if I ever blogged about it, but I've been having a nasty corn on my right sole, under my 4th toe for the past few months. It appeared in Singapore but it only began to really, really hurt the past 2 months or so.

So I used all sorts of medication that expanded the corn and helped it to drop off... only to recur over and over and over again. So with my gait getting worse and worse... (I began favouring my left leg and walked with a limped lately)...

I took out a blade in frustration and was about to solve it once and for all. The internet told me to cut off the whole thing, no matter how deep it went. And dang, mine was DEEP. 3 layers of hardskin and it was still bulging hard skin.

My heroine of a mother saw me brandishing the blade (to cut paper) and stopped me just on time.

=P

Nothing as dramatic as that, but basically that's the simple story la. Haha. She decided that I needed to head to the hospital... and so we did, yesterday.

(Just so you know, I'm pretty paranoid about doctors and hospitals and needles and blood and the whole bloody works... so it takes great courage for me to actually drag myself to one.)

Headed to Assunta. I wanted UH, but a doctor there told me that I'll probably have to wait months for this problem to be solved. Since it wasn't urgent and I wasn't in danger of dying.

Was nervous the whole morning there... pretty much knew I would have to undergo some sort of surgery lah. You should have seen me! Mum was patient with me despite me being a nervous wreck all around her. :-O

Went to see an orthopaedic doc/surgeon... who asked me this and that about the medicine I used, told me it's a virus.. and finally, as if he's talking about what to eat for lunch, "Ok, so we'll get rid of it la. Since your previous medicines all didn't work. I'll cut it out, then burn the end of it and hope it doesn't recur. 'Cause it's a virus, so it may recur. Hope it doesn't."

It was about 11am at that time. So I asked him when it could be done, wanted it done asap. He glanced at the clock, "1pm can? 30 mins only."

Oh gee, so I was his lunch hour specimen lah.

*deep gulp*

So yeah, it was time for the long wait.

At about 12pm, his nurse called me in to put some sort of numbing cream (Emla) to numb my skin before he injected the local anesthetic.

With the cream in place, I felt all set for my "surgery".

At about 1pm, I touched the area on which the cream was placed. Crap, why still got feeling one??? Oh DIE.

Went in the Day Surgery Unit, was told to change into a gown everything (who would have thought right?? So professional, padahal I would have preferred to have it done in his office).

Was escorted to the Operating Theatre, told to get under a thick nice blanket, and a nurse placed this pipe blowing in warm air under my blanket since the room was freezing. At this point my brains are scrambling all over in fear, it's like a nightmare you can't get out of. The doctor was casually lounging in the OT (remember, lunch time specimen).

With me set in place, the doc came over and asked if my feet was numb. To which I answered a loud resounding "NO!" (well, it was probably a squeak at that time but it sounded loud enough to me).

Guess what the doc does next?

In this order:

1. He completely ignores me.
2. He tells me that he will be injecting my foot.
3. He ignores the fact that I said it wasn't numb.
4. He grabs a needle.
5. A nurse stands next to me and tell me to relax.
6. "Breathe in everytime it's painful."
7. I hyperventilate.
8. He injects me.
9. I hyperventilate.
10. Nurse tells me to suck the pain in.
11. I hyperventilate.
12. Doc constantly asking me if I'm all right.
13. "Err.. a bit painful." (More like, FREAKING PAINFUL, HOW CAN YOU INJECT A PERSON'S FOOT FOR GOODNESS SAKE. NO FATS THERE HELLLOOOO!!)
14. Doc ignores my answer.
15. Doc asks again if I'm ok.
16. "Painful."
17. Doc ignores the answer.
18. Nurse tells me it's painful cause of the injection. (Yes duh, then why bluff me about some numbing cream?? False hope!)
19. Then I feel the doctor touching my foot. Hmm, no more pain.
20. He walks away.
21. Phew, that was QUICK.
22. Doc snaps on his gloves.
23. Oh. He hasn't even started.

Sooo... yeah. I know, a lot of drama for such a tiny thing. But it's a big thing to me and I'm blogging it to laugh at myself in 10 years time!

After the REAL numbness set in, the real surgery began.

They washed my foot and brushed my foot with some super cold liquid.

Then doc begins to cut the corn. I could feel him doing it, I was soooo *arrrgh* at the thought of him doing it. (I'm the kind of person who can't watch skin being pierced, hence my irrational reactions in bloody movies, can't watch scientific documentaries on surgeries etc.)

I couldn't do anything, only stared helplessly in the reflection of the light above me to see what was going on at my feet.

After he cut, he washed it again. This time I saw red! in the reflection. Red blood + water! He cut off raw flesh! Aaaahhhhhh.

*shudders*

Then he started using a machine to burn it. They stuck a some kinda pad on my thigh to channel away the current from my body.

I'm soooo awfully disgusted at everything that happened to me. :-O The whole 30 mins of surgery all I could think of was, "YUCK. EEEW. DISGUSTING."

And then he stitched my foot. :-O I could feel the needle going in and out... then he pulled the needle till the thread was tight.. IN MY FOOT.

Gosh. And he snipped. And stitched again. and again.

3 stitches, all in.

If I could have puked, I would have.

Probably sounds like irrational fear to y'all, but me, to me, it was horrible!

Bandaged me up, wrapped my foot, and told me happily, "You're done!"

Fantastic. Get me out of this nightmare.

So I was about to get up and walk right out of the OT. Then the nurse pushes another bed next to me and tells me to shift bed.

What??

They're wheeling me out as if I'm an invalid. Now, all this was a new experience to me, and nothing I ever want/wanted to ever experience. I'm staring at the ceiling as they wheel me here, wheel me there.

Finally pushed me into a ward. And leaves me there! "Recover here, ok?"

What's there to recover?? I'm perfectly fine!

I was still in shock over my whole ordeal, I had no time to ask questions.

At last, another nurse comes. Smiles and takes my pulse and blood pressure. I immediately ask her when I can leave.. "When I settle all your paperwork."

Sigh.

She leaves me and leaves me strapped on to this machine that monitors my pulse (some kind rubber thing on my left index finger).

I stare at my heart rate. So low?? Despite my lack of exercise ever since my corn started giving me problem?? It showed an average of 57 beats per min.

Never mind, nurse didn't comment so I didn't comment.

Began fiddling with the rubber thing on my finger.

Machine begins beeping loudly ("lost pulse") and the man snoring in the bed next to mine stops snoring. Ooops, sorry.

I tried to fit back the rubber thing but the machine wouldn't stop beeping noisily. The nurse ignores me. Haha!

Did a lot of staring helplessly into the ceiling to wile away time. Told myself I'll always lead a healthy lifestyle to minimise risks of me ever having to enter the hospital for anything. (Besides pregnancy la.) It was soo darn boring and unstimulating and boring!

Kept fidgeting with nothing to do.

They showed me my corn soaking in a bottle of clear liquid, told me it'll be tested, standard procedure. Up to you, k?

Finally, I was told that I could leave. Yaaaay!

The nurse saw me trying to fit my huge bandaged leg into the slipper. "Dia boleh jalan ka??" She asked another nurse. I quickly said "Yes! No problem!"

The last thing I need to top off my horrendous experience is to be wheeled out of the ward like an invalid.

Hehe.. so soon I was walking out and changing into my usual clothes.

Thus ended my ordeal.

=P By the time I was out, it was about 2.45pm. So much for a 30 min procedure.

Called Joash immediately after, and he said, "So fast???" Really?? It felt like a lifetime to me! Haha, the subjectivity of time and space.

Now, I know it really is just a minor thing, and I oughtn't make such a fuss over it. But it's just how I felt throughout, if you have the paranoia that I possess about blood and piercing of skin etc etc you'd understand how I felt.

Anyway, over and done with! Now just have to hope it heals fast! =)

That aside, I got my internship with AMG as a writer! =) No longer need to worry about finding a place to intern in, and I actually get to do something I enjoy!

Have a pleasant day and Happy Easter!

=)
Jo