Living with TB 3: The Recovering Process

3 days into antiTB medicine, only have blood when I spit after cough.

I was responding positively to the medication!

Well, I better. Swallowing 12 pills every morning to this day isn't something I look forward to (stopped taking the 2 huge pink ones a day after I started antiTB medication)!

I was told by the doctor I could leave the hospital, but need to stay "house arrested" for 2 weeks.

Hey, this was great news! I immediately called my mum and aunt and got them to go on speaker phone just so I got to freak them out! Oh yeah, I freaked them BIG time alright!

(When I went back home for Chinese New Year, I could even tell them how the Hong Hong TV series they watched did not portray a TB patient accurately! Hey, I know, I been through it).

Hee hee...

5 days into it, only small speckles of dry blood found in my sputum when I spit.

10 days into it, no more blood. YES!!!

Had to clean my face from all the blood after I was admitted, just so cousin Joo Lee could take this picture to send to my wife who was in Singapore at that time (she called her when I was being poked and hooked up to the machines).

Receiving a phone call at about 6am and being told your family or loved one has been admitted to emergency ward would freak any normal human being out (well, at least she didn't tell her about the blood)!

Had to take this pic to assure her I was ok (despite being in emergency ward!) and she should only come back as planned.

What I had to go through daily:

2 blood tests, 4 blood sugar tests, 4 insulin injections, 2 injections straight into the needle at the back of my hand, plus urine and kahak (sputum) samples.

Thought I would get used to seeing blood and needles after this.

Definitely NOT!!!

Still freak out the few times I needed to give blood samples for testing after I was discharged.

The ones that gave me pain and pleasure!

Overall, It was a good experience!

To be continued...

Living with TB 2: At the Hospital

Reached the hospital emergency ward with no more bout of throwing up blood.

The team of medical staff was busy hooking me up to all sorts of equipment and inserting IV and more needles within minutes.

For someone that can't stand the sight of blood and needles, I was doing rather well. At least I did not faint!

My main concern was to stop the bleeding.

All I recalled was I spit (not threw up!) a fair bit of blood from both my mouth and nose quite a few times between being hooked up to machines, poked and pushed to the X-Ray room and back.

The next few hours was the wait to get the test results.

"Pneumonia, virus infection of the lungs, TB (tuberculosis), cancer" I was told by the doctor in-charged of the possible causes.

Pneumonia or virus infection is fine. I remembered saying that to myself as it is not contagious.

Not TB, as I wouldn't want to pass this on to my family members and loved ones.

I have been spending a lot of time both in Penang with my mum, aunt and 2 dogs, visited my in-laws and played with the nieces. As well as Kuala Lumpur with my wife, cousin Joo Lee, her mother and niece. I know TB is curable. But it takes time.

At the same time, I hope it wasn't cancer as I wasn't prepared to deal with that.

I called my mum, told her I went to hospital for X-Ray and was told to be admitted as the hospital needed a few days to make certain what's the cause of my prolonged cough (I wouldn't want to tell her the whole truth as I wouldn't want her to rush down to KL or stressed out in PG. The plan is once I am on the way to recovery, I would dramatize the whole incident! Hee hee.).

2 days later, I was officially diagnosed with TB.

I freaked out! Not so much because I have become a TB patient, but the possibilities that people I have come in contact with the last few weeks/months may have gotten it!

I couldn't forgive myself should this happened. Honestly, I wouldn't be able to deal with this should it be the case!

A week later, feedback was that my family and loved ones tested negative!

To be continued...

Living with TB 1: The Morning it Happened

I honestly have no clue when it started and how long I was having it.

All I know was I had cough on and off for about 6 months.

Thought it was due to all the late nights and extreme lack of sleep, plus the weather change in Hong Kong.

In October last year, I decided to focus a little more on my health and came back to Malaysia for a break.

I spent most of my time in Kuala Lumpur.

Once a month, I would go to Penang for meetings, seeing my family and checking on my 2 dogs that I moved up to Penang some time in June-July; for my aunt to help look after due to my frequent overseas trips.

I will always remember what happened that early morning in January...

Woke up at around 3am felt like throwing up, I threw up alright. Blood!

Fresh blood!

Freaked out, I looked at myself in the mirror.

I looked fine, no pain, no injuries, yet in front of me in the sink was blood, a lot of blood!

Second bout came and I tried to stop it from coming out by shutting my mouth. It came out through my nose, I opened my mouth to catch a breath, it continued to come out from both my nose and mouth!

All this while, I was looking at myself in the mirror with the blood oozing out from my nose and mouth.

All I could think of at that time was, "God, I don't want to die, I can't die, I need to take care of my family!"

I said to myself I need to go hospital.

I walked out from the bathroom, packed some clothes, brought a roll of paper towel and a huge plastic bag with me.

Called my cousin.

Good, she answered within 3 rings.

Asked her to come immediately and send me to hospital.

Then rushed back to bathroom for another blood oozing session from nose and mouth.

After that, I cleaned the bathroom (to the best of my capability) and went downstairs waiting for cousin Joo Lee.

To be continued...