First Time Not Celebrating My Birthday...

This is the first time in 27 years that I actually cancelled my birthday dinner with my family & also my birthday outing with my Fiance Rebecca. I am supposed to be on annual leave today but I had to see a doctor for the second time immediately when I woke up this morning.

The first time I saw the doctor was on Saturday after my part-time course at SHRi. While on the way to my grandmother's house to have a simple dinner to celebrate my birthday with my parents, I suddenly felt feverish... & it gradually led to body ache & phlegm. I started shivering on the bus home, so I decided to go to the Siglap Medical Clinic to see the doctor.

I waited for 50 min before I managed to see the doctor! When I asked the clinic staff (an aunty probably in her 50s), how many patients before me... this aunty said 5... but in the end, I waited & waited... there was actually 11 patients before me! I was so annoyed with her. Can she count or not? The patients' names were all written down on the piece of paper in front of her! How could she not know? I know that she's an older worker, but 5 and 11 is quite a big difference! Especially for a sick person waiting in the midst of many other sick people inside the clinic.

Anyway, the doctor said that its a viral infection so antibiotics won't help, so gave me medicine & told me to rest. I still remember that the doctor shook his head when he saw my throat. He said that my lymph nodes are swollen after feeling the sides of my neck. And this bad infection cost me $37! So I rested for the rest of Saturday & the entire Sunday. Yup, I missed church... but Amos (Rebecca's brother) was so nice to SMS to me that he is praying for me! Really warmed my heart! I can't believe that I slept 14 hours on Sunday! But in 14 hours, I woke up 5 times... so you can guess how disturbed was my sleep. So annoying!

I returned to work on Monday, hoping that I am on the road towards recovery, but in fact, I was still unwell & coughing persistently. After rushing through a morning of work, I rushed to a job interview, which miraculously went smoothly for 40 min without any coughing, thank God!

After meeting Rebecca for dinner, I came home & my throat started to feel very warm. Like a burning kind of sensation. Uncomfortable. Like an internal volcano brewing inside my throat. I had difficulty sleeping in the beginning coz when I lay down, I would cough until I sat up straight on my bed. Maybe its the phlegm tickling my throat. I was very grumpy after cancelling my birthday dinner the next day with my family. I was also worried & uncomfortable about this burning sensation in my throat, but somehow managed to fall asleep.

When I woke up this morning (which is the actual day of my birthday), I went to see a different doctor immediately. I didn't have any appetite to eat. Oh well, at least 1 good thing that came out of this is that my waist line has reduced by 1 belt hole! That's good! Though not exactly a good way to lose fats... but seriously, my food / calorie intake has dropped by about half over the past 4 days. I seldom fall sick until I lost my appetite for days. Must be some elite virus!

This time, I waited for almost 2 hours to see the doctor. I refused to budge coz I didn't have any appetite to eat anyway & the sun was blazing hot outside. This doctor was more detailed than the other doctor at Siglap clinic & explained what was going on. I was glad to see him coz my Mum told me that he treated my brother when he got dengue fever the last time.

Anyway, the doctor diagnosed me as having a sinus infection / complication & the downward flow of thick green phlegm has been stuck in my throat, causing my throat to become very raw from the infection; thus resulting in the persistent coughing, occasional giddyness, ear block & vomity feeling. The doctor gave me antibiotics to attack the infection at my sinuses. Wow, first time I heard that there is antibiotics to treat directly the sinuses! I still remember the doctor looked at me seriously & said, "I don't like the look of your throat." And he also told me that any further strain will result in me losing my voice. I was also in a contagious stage, so he decided to give me 2 days MC (today & tomorrow) to stay away from office.

I had already taken leave for today, but when I am this sick, I seriously couldn't be bothered. So here I am now, trying to recover. I haven't really spent time with Rebecca for almost 1 week, though I do grab the opportunity to chat with her over the phone. Miss her... sometimes when one is ill & down, the presence of a loved one can be so assuring...