I'm back, ALIVE!

Some people might have noticed my recent disappearance from the world of internet,
or rather i have completely been away from internet for more than a week.

WHY??

None other than the lovely disease that actually taken down my left lung
>>> Pneumothorax



This is actually what had happened to my left lung. The tear in the lung caused air to accumulate in the pleural cavity and pressurised the lung to the extend that it cannot inflat.

Gah, and the worse part of this is:

" It most commonly arises spontaneously (most commonly in tall slim young males.. )"
- wiki

I know wiki is not a good place for referencing, but who cares. This is not uni assignment anyway. Well, it seems a bit biased for it to happen in tall and slim young males, so guys out there, beware! It could be your turn anytime...

So there i am, having a falsely diagnosed asthma for a month period which deteriorate progressively. Finally, it freaked out my GP and he sent me for chest X-ray. On the second day after the X-ray, i have been asked to do something rather amusing.

Below is our conversation:
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The nurse at the counter said, " Mr Chew, there is some problem in your X-ray. I would like you to take this X-ray, walk over the street, admit yourself into Prince of Wales Hospital under emergency."

I said, " Err, i got class to attend later. Can i admit on Friday instead?"

The nurse said, "No, admit immediately!"
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From that point onwards, i was speechless, or rather sensed something is really wrong with me. So i did the coolest thing in my life, admit myself to the emergency department, no knowing how serious my case is. In fact, at the moment of admittance, my left lung has completely collapsed. Gosh, how wonderful is it to know that one lung is more than enough for our body.

Long story short, there i am, lying in the emergency department. Final year medical students start playing around with my body. Then doc came, looked at my vitals, not bad, then gone again. When i thought the registrar (docs under specialist) was gonna operate on me, things turn out to be opposite. I am gonna be operated by some final year medical student. Shit! I am not even on general anaesthesia, only local anaesthesia, so i was awake all the time surrounded by tons of medical student. But the thing i cannot forgive is the med student which cuts me open dunno how to stitch my wound, and the registrar needs to teach her on the spot. Fuck, i nearly blacked out.

With the chest drain inside me, my movement was much immobilised. Then i was sent to the respiratory ward. Not bad, lots of pretty nurse, friendly also. I pray that the tear on my lung will heal on its own but i was always the unlucky one. Things doesnt turn out right and i have to undergo a surgery to close up the leakage in my lung. Surgery postponed from Friday to Monday, then Monday to Tuesday morning. Everything is about $$$. If you can show that you can afford this '$$$', good!

After surgery, as usual the pain is back. But the good thing is i am on morphine. Wahaha, i am a drug addict. So i have my own switch to control the morphine dosage into my vein. Cool eh. But in turn, i feel drowsy all the time, not to mention the nausea feeling. However, i was moved to the cardiothoracic ward. Lousy ward, less girls, got male nurse instead =.= But the chemist is super pretty lol.

Then bla bla bla, after two days they removed the morphine. A day later the chest drain was removed too and i am free to roam around. But with the pain, i guess i should stay on bed. Friends came, mum's friends came. Then times up, say bye bye. Finally i was able to discharge on the saturday. I couldn't wait to go home, but no flying for me for 3 months period. Now i am still contemplating whether should i defer my semester because apparently it take weeks for me to heal.

Otherwise, i am fine now. Just feeling a bit tired, weak. But the worst part is the pain in the chest on and off. It's like everytime when you take a deep breath, you hurt yourself. So if you ask me whether have i enjoyed my Sydney trip, my answer would be:

" I have done the coolest thing in my life and i never felt better!"

p/s: Sorry some pics are taken in hospital, but i forget where i place my card reader. Ops!