hunter-killer
Member
My 90 year mum experienced difficulties in breathing on Tuesday morning last week and in view of her advanced age, I took her to the SGH’s A&E department immediately.
As she had a slight fever (37.4 degree centigrade), she was put into the isolation ward for observation.
There was a shortage of beds in the general ward and she found herself confined to the isolation ward for three nights even though she was virus-free.
While she was thus confined, the Government announced that it was banning visitors from hospital until next month.
This meant that even when she came out of the isolation ward, I would be unable to see her as the hospital is being turned into a giant isolation ward.
The confinement turned out to be a nightmare for her and caused her illness to deteriorate sharply.
When I sent her to the A&E department, she was clear-headed and complained that she didn’t see the need to see a doctor because she was fine.
I was even able to drive her to the hospital without activating an ambulance.
The night before, she was still eating perfectly and watching TV.
Because she had previously suffered two strokes, she is wheel-chair bound and unable to move her hands.
This handicap, together with her advanced age, makes it impossible for her to handle gadgets like the mobile phone.
As a result, I was unable to keep in touch with her while she was in the isolation ward and I could only rely on my conversations with the nurses to ascertain her condition.
On the third morning of her confinement, I managed to get a nurse to take my iPad into the ward so that I could do a video call with my mum.
When I saw her on video, I was shocked by the deterioration in her condition in just three days.
She was incoherent and she couldn’t recognise me at all. Worse, she appeared very frail.
The next day, she was put into the “dangerously ill list” and I was finally able to visit her.
More at https://tinyurl.com/yy5j7r2f
As she had a slight fever (37.4 degree centigrade), she was put into the isolation ward for observation.
There was a shortage of beds in the general ward and she found herself confined to the isolation ward for three nights even though she was virus-free.
While she was thus confined, the Government announced that it was banning visitors from hospital until next month.
This meant that even when she came out of the isolation ward, I would be unable to see her as the hospital is being turned into a giant isolation ward.
The confinement turned out to be a nightmare for her and caused her illness to deteriorate sharply.
When I sent her to the A&E department, she was clear-headed and complained that she didn’t see the need to see a doctor because she was fine.
I was even able to drive her to the hospital without activating an ambulance.
The night before, she was still eating perfectly and watching TV.
Because she had previously suffered two strokes, she is wheel-chair bound and unable to move her hands.
This handicap, together with her advanced age, makes it impossible for her to handle gadgets like the mobile phone.
As a result, I was unable to keep in touch with her while she was in the isolation ward and I could only rely on my conversations with the nurses to ascertain her condition.
On the third morning of her confinement, I managed to get a nurse to take my iPad into the ward so that I could do a video call with my mum.
When I saw her on video, I was shocked by the deterioration in her condition in just three days.
She was incoherent and she couldn’t recognise me at all. Worse, she appeared very frail.
The next day, she was put into the “dangerously ill list” and I was finally able to visit her.
More at https://tinyurl.com/yy5j7r2f