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Showing posts from June, 2017

Dear Mum

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This post is specially dedicated to my scoliosis warrior mother. Dear mum, Thank you for taking care of me since the day you found out you were pregnant with me. But above all, I want to thank you for being my mother.  You brought me home the day before mother's day. I didn't get you a gift for you but you said that me being home from the hospital was the greatest gift. On mother's day itself, you spent 6 hours in the kitchen cooking all my favourite food. Even with all you aches and pains you still managed to do so much for me and still go to work.  Making milk for myself was the least I could have done for myself but you didn't even allow me to do that as you just wanted me to rest after my operation. There's no words that can describe how grateful I am to have a mother like you. Any kid that has you as a mum is truly blessed and I'm glad that I am that kid. I don't know how you do it all but you are amazing! Thank you for everything you

First follow up

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Had my first follow up appointment with my surgeon last week. He was really happy that I'm looking and feeling much better. He said my scar has healed up really nicely, to continue using the scar cream twice a day and to scratch the scabs off my back if I want to. With my surgeon Dato' Dr Fazir A couple of people has approach me to ask if they can see my surgeon. FYI, he has a scoliosis clinic every 2nd,4th and 5th Friday of the month. You can call the hospital to get an appointment to see any of the doctors there. They are really a nice bunch. Till my next visit in 4 months time!! <3 Cai Lin 

Post op - 5 weeks!

12/5/2017 Wow! 5 weeks since my operation already? I actually kinda lost track of time as I was just counting down till 4 weeks so I can eat whatever I want again. 😋 (For my non Asian readers, this is because I was having some sort of confinement after my operation. One of the few things that I wasn't allowed to eat was seafood and duck. And no, this wasn't recommended by my surgeon. It is a belief/practise that has been passed on by generations and my mum wanted me to follow it. Thank goodness I didn't have to strictly follow it. 😭) I started driving this week and have been sitting up for much longer than usual. Was glad that I was able to attend my uncle's 90th birthday dinner too! I had a bit of discomfort while sitting down halfway through dinner so I rolled up the napkin and put it behind my back for a while to ease the discomfort. And yes, it worked! I was also eager to go out and catch a movie but wasn't too sure if I could sit down for so long or if

Previous surgeons

I don't know about you but for me, getting the right surgeon or GP is very important. Unless I'm just having a cold then any doctor will do. But anything more than a cold and I will choose which doctor to go to. Here is my experiences with my previous surgeons before I had my scoliosis operation. Surgeon No.1 I remember when I went to see the first surgeon about my scoliosis, he sent me to the x-ray room even before meeting me. While I was walking into his room to see him, he was already measuring my cobb angle and without saying anything he turned around and said 'need to operate la.' Operate la? What on earth! I was so furious at him because he didn't ask me anything at all, not even a simple 'how are you?' or anything about my back at all. I immediately stood up, took my x-rays and left the hospital. To me, doctors like that only want one thing, cut you open and take your money. He didn't care if I was a national swimmer or if I wanted to go fur

Do's and Don'ts

I'm sure you must have read so many blogs or heard advice from a lot of people before going for an operation. I know what it's like cause I've been in that situation before. So this is from my personal experience. DO 1. Packing to the hospital. Pajamas, sweater, sweat pants, towel, small pillow, toiletries, face and body moisturizer, lip balm, disposable underwear, toilet roll and toilet seat cover. Pack a set of clothes to wear when you get discharge from the hospital as well. Preferably a loose shirt or a button up shirt as it will be really hard to lift up your arm after surgery. 2. Shave or wax body hair (if that's what you usually do) BUT shaving your back may not be advisable just in case you get a cut and it causes an infection then your operation will be postponed. 3. Cut your nails beforehand, especially your toe nails. Don't leave nail polish on. 4. Make sure your room is ready before you leave for the hospital. Make sure everything is within a c

Post op - 1 month!

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30/5/2015 Today marks ONE MONTH since my operation!!! 🙌 I'm definitely getting better and stronger. Of course I have good and bad days (maybe even some lazy days too), but I'm very blessed and grateful that I have more good days than bad. This week was the first time I went out for lunch. I still fell a bit stiff sitting in the car but it was definitely better compared to last week when I went out to get dinner.  It still takes time for me to reach over to the driver's seat to lock the car but I'm managing well. It was so nice to go for lunch with my mum just before she headed off to work. No prizes for guessing what my first choice was! Chicken Rice of course! I also started to take my dog out for a walk because now I can squat down to pick up his 💩. 🙊 Towards the end of the week my back started to hurt a lot less. On one day I didn't have any pain at all! I'm sure I'll start to have more days like this. I'm starting to take longer wa

Post op - Three weeks!

29/5/2017 I can't remember which blog I was reading but the blogger did mention about week 3 is where it all just gets much better and I could not agree more. I'm starting to be more independent now and able to help out with some chores at home. Still not for long but it is definitely an improvement for me. I still get numbness in my hips but its definitely not as much as before. I'm sure it will all slowly go away. I finally took off the dressing on my wound today. To be honest, it is pretty damn scary. Why? This is the first scar I'm having and I don't really like the look of it too much. I guess also cause it's all dried up and whatever I'm seeing now is the scab so it looks like a 10 inch black line running down my back. Hopefully the Dermatix Ultra scar formula that my mum bought for me will work! <3 Cai Lin