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Showing posts from September, 2009

A post for mummy...

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What would you do if you have one million dollars? What would you do if you have all the money in the world? What would you spend on? Those questions always pop up every now and then between friends. Either you did the asking or you've been asked. I used to say if i had all the money in the world, i'd spend it on all the things that probably all of you have ever thought of buying. Yeah, all those stuffs that you're thinking of right now. But now if you were to ask me that question, i'd give you another answer. If i have the money, all i wanna do is take my mom for a good long vacation. I'll take her to all the places that my dad once promised her he'll take her once he retires but too bad he kinda retired a bit too early . I just think mom needs a well deserved break after all that she's been through. Taking time out from the constant updates on my brother's condition i just want to brag about how amazing my mom is. If someone were to ask me to describe ...

Health care systems

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I came across this article while reading The Straits Times today. I thought the information are very beneficial for those who are curious about the health care systems in different countries. What happens if a healthy person breaks a leg in the US? - At the hospital emergency room, her leg is X-rayed two views for about US $30 (SGD $43) and radiologist fee of US $100 to US $200.If it is a simple fracture, the cost of having an orthopaedic surgeon tend to her would be about US $3,000 to US $4,000. But a more complicated break would mean operating room, hospitalisation and medication fees of about US $15,000. Follow up visits and physical therapy would add US $200 to US $300 a session. - If she has a private insurance policy, the provider picks up in full or part the bill depending on the policy. For example, the monthly premium for for a 45 year old person ranges from US $60 to US $600, depending on the amount of co-payment. - As she is under 65 and healthy, she is ineligible for Medic...

Look who managed to walk today?

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Big guy finally walking on his own after months of not being able to walk! God indeed is awesome. Other than having some uncomfortable feeling on his right thigh which is still swollen, he seems to be doing well. For those who do not know, he's been bedridden since he's gotten here so that was almost 2 months but his whole leg swelling started a few more months before that. All in all, he hasn't been able to walk properly for almost 4 months so to see him up and limping around today is really a good progress! Another thing that you might need to know is that from now onwards, bro will need to use tight spandex for a long long long long time due to his lymphedema. This is to prevent his leg from swelling any further so the only solution for now is to wear tight spandex to compress it. So far he's been having good appetite after his first round of stem cell transplant. Until his cells count increase again, he's going to be doing his second round of stem cell transplan...

Wu Chun, Brunei's pride!

For some reason, whenever i see Wu Chun talking about Brunei or promoting Brunei, it makes me feel proud. No, i'm not a fan of his Fahrenheit band but the fact that he represents Brunei so well and talks highly of my country, the country i was born and raised, it really does give me that pride to be a Bruneian! Kudos to Brunei's only international star. Then again, they do have quite a number of catchy songs. LOL! And he's like the guy almost every Chinese is related to...well most!

Stem cells transplant...

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Bro successfully completed his stem cell transplant today just about an hour ago. Physically he seems quite weak and tired. It's going to be a rough couple of days / weeks especially once his cells starts working in his body. 1 down, 2 more sessions to go for the big guy. Currently his heart rate is a bit low which is scary for me especially hearing the heart rate monitor beeping and then making some ringing sound when it's much lower. Average person's heart beat per minute is 60 - 100 if not mistaken but his is around 45. Keep fighting brother!

Bigger than your average thigh

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Today bro will be doing his first out of three chemotherapy until Saturday. After his sessions of chemotherapy, they will proceed on with his stem cell transplant. Do pray for all his sessions to run smoothly and that he won't feel much of the side effects because the nurse mentioned that this upcoming session of chemotherapy is going to be very different from all the chemotherapy he has done. Meanwhile, here's an update on how bro's leg look like. You can see that his right thigh is still huge. Mom decided to take 2 weeks off from Singapore to take a rest although i know mentally, her mind will still be constantly worrying about my brother's condition. So far day one without mom at the hospital wasn't too bad. I think i can manage handling the big guy. I mean worse case scenario, i'll just ditch him and let him fend for himself. Haha. I kid, i kid. But indeed it sure made me realize a whole lot what mom had to deal with and go through when she was here all alon...