OK

This is my new favorite photo of our sassy little girl.

She’s been talking more, and more coherently these days it’s both fun and funny to spend time with her.

Last night, she wanted her Daddy to play the song for Jiejie’s concert so she could dance to the music. But she’d already been doing that for probably 7 or 8 times nonstop, so her Daddy said, “You ask Mummy.”

Basically it’s our way of saying no: To pass the ball to the other parent’s court. 😅

She ran over to me happily and babbled something.

Before I could say anything, she ran off to her Daddy and exclaimed, “Mummy say OK!”

😆😂😆

I did not?

So we watched her perform again, while Jiejie took photos of her dancing (with her own feet in the photo too lol).

Jiejie’s present to Daddy.

When she knew her Daddy was in hospital, she was upset when I said I’d visit him while she and Allie went to school.

“Not fair!” She said.

But she immediately sat down to draw this picture for her Daddy and reminded me again and again to give it to him.

It started on Thursday morning, when the hubs remarked to me casually, “Oh I got an insect bite on my leg.”

We didn’t think much of it and went to work after dropping the girls off in school.

Sometime mid morning he texted me to say he’s feeling very cold in office again, just like what he felt on Tuesday.

He had a fever and went to see the GP in the evening, who gave him fever meds and sick leave for Wednesday, but told him to visit the A&E if the fever persisted.

It might be dengue fever, she said.

He took the meds and slept, and was ok on Wednesday. His fever broke and he didn’t take any medication throughout the day.

I jokingly said he might be allergic to the office.

Then I received a call from Allie’s teacher who informed me that Allie had tripped and fell and knocked her face against the cabinet.

Sigh.

It was Allie’s first day in school for the week. We’d kept her out because she was coughing quite badly since Sunday.

I’d brought her to see her PD on Monday. She coughed so badly she vomited twice on Monday night and once on Tuesday night.

I told the hubs about it and he called me immediately.

His voice didn’t sound good. He was taking very deep breaths and trembling very hard.

He told me he saw a GP who told him to head down to A&E immediately.

The GP suspected it was a case of cellulitis caused by the bite.

I didn’t realise how serious it was until I didn’t get any reply from him when I texted him.

I tried calling the SGH A&E hotline to locate him, and the staff who picked up the call told me he’d gotten his queue number and is waiting to see the doctor.

I asked her if she could look for him, because he wasn’t responding to my messages at all.

She said to me, “Sorry miss there are too many patients here.”

Very helpful.

So I closed my laptop, informed my boss and ran off to take a Grab down to SGH.

Texted my colleagues to let them know I won’t be able to join the meetings in the afternoon, including one where I was supposed to lead.

They were all very nice and kind about it.

When I got to the A&E I found the hubs seated in a wheelchair, groaning in pain (while the people around him looked at him incredulously 😂).

The waiting time to see a doctor was some 120 minutes.. which later became 220 minutes.

Long story short, we eventually got to see a doctor who started him on a drip and meds, and he felt better while waiting to be admitted.

By then the bite had become so swollen it’d become two-thirds the size of his calf.

I parked his wheelchair at the side against a wall so as not to obstruct the walkway. A middle-aged man in a wheelchair approached and was about to turn out.

There was definitely enough space for him to manoeuvre but instead he charged straight at the hubs, bumped his wheelchair against the hubs’ and shouted, “Don’t block the way!”

I knew he did it deliberately because I saw it in his eyes. He saw the space but decided not to take it. Then I saw the anger in his eyes as he charged towards the hubs but turned just enough to cause a hard knock at the side of the wheelchair instead of a full-on collision.

It must be the air in the hospital, making people angry and weird.

It was 5pm by the time we got his ward and bed, and I left the hospital to go home to the girls.

His fever spiked after I left. And it was the case for the next two evenings.

I was due to fly to Guangzhou on Friday morning. It was supposed to be a 3D2N trip with my work friends to visit another friend.

I’d already got the roaming plan, changed some currency, bought travel insurance and checked in for the flight.

Called SQ to cancel the flights.

Maybe it isn’t a bad thing not to go, so I wouldn’t get guilt-tripped for going on a holiday on my own, however short the trip might be.

The first night was the toughest. I kept my phone on, with sound and all (it’s usually on silent mode), just in case the hospital or hubs called.

His fever went up to 40°C despite the fever meds and antibiotics drip.

I woke up every other hour to check my phone, but there weren’t any updates.

Dropped the girls in school before heading to the hospital.

My FIL was already there, and he bought us breakfast.

The hubs’ fever broke and he was sweating buckets.

The doctors came and ordered more tests to be done. They suspected it might be dengue fever since his temperature was so high.

Made my way home mid afternoon so I could pick the girls up from the school bus.

Boy, it was raining so heavily.

The hubs’ fever came back again in the evening.

Took the girls to their gym and art classes on Saturday morning.

Allie was so awesome in class, until she kept walking over to her teacher to knock his noodle off the floor, and laughing cheekily.

Dropped the girls home before heading to the hospital.

This time, I brought along the cards which Clarissa had drawn and packed into a bag.

She asked her teacher to help her spell the words “Get Well Soon”. ❤

In fact she was telling so many people about how her Daddy was in hospital with a fever. 😂

On our way to gym/art class she told me she was going to tell her art teacher about it.

I told her it’s ok, not everyone needs to know that Daddy is in hospital.

She said to me, in her own sweet tone, “But this is my mind. I can decide what I want to think.”

😂😆😂

Hmm true.

And then when the cleaner greeted her a good morning while we waited for the cab, she said to him, “Good morning! My daddy is in hospital.”

My gosh.

We spent Saturday evening playing Uno Stacko and some form of it.

The girls were up from their naps by 3pm and watched Frozen for the nth time.

Sigh I guess I can’t expect my helper to entertain them without turning them on the TV.

Sunday, I took Clarissa out to visit her Daddy in hospital.

Allie had to stay at home because she was still coughing.

We snuck out of the house while she was showering. When we came back she was napping. My helper left for her time-off.

When she woke up, she cried for Yaya and ran away from me to hide in the kitchen.

I guess she was angry with me for leaving her at home.

Took the girls to my mum’s place after Clarissa woke up from her nap.

They were so noisy in the cab. 😂

Here’s Allie tickling her sister with her head of hair.

The driver was so kind and even gave a toy car to Allie!

Much needed relief.

I’d originally planned to take a nap while the girls played with their Yiyi and Gorgor but I ended up playing with them. 😆

My mum cooked up a storm.

It is good to be home.

Had another game of Uno Stacko before we headed home.

Showered the girls and tucked them in bed.

And then it was Monday.

I dropped the girls off in school and headed to the hospital.

The hubs was much better by then. No more fever!

I spent the day shuttling from the hospital to my mum’s place to pick my mum and sister up to our home, and back to the hospital again because the hubs said the doctors discharged him!

We picked up our car from his office and drove to the school to pick the girls up.

They were pleasantly surprised.

Daddy is back!

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It has been a exhausting week, the shuttling to and from the hospital, the uncertainties and the nights of fitful sleep.

It could have been any insect and any general bacteria that caused the infection and fever, according to the doctor.

So there was no way we could have prevented this from happening.

I’m just so glad that the hubs is back.

It could have been worse.

Now, here’s to a speedy recovery and hope we all work hard to stay healthy.

We will be OK.