Category: All About Mum

Nineteen years of shirking housework has finally caught up with me. I have not done any housework since the day I broke my neck, not that I have done much prior to that. As Mum is still indisposed, I have taken over the tasks of preparing beverages, cooking simple meals, doing the laundry and washing dishes ? simple tasks that are sometimes challenging due to the weakness in my hands.

However, I have exceptionally helpful neighbours in Mr. Tan, Soon Leong and his wife who helps out with the more arduous housework like mopping the floor, hanging the laundry and buying groceries. Soon Leong?s wife has been cooking lunch for Mum and I for several months now. Mr. Tan usually buys dinner and occasionally lunch too. I am fortunate to have neighbours like them.

Mum came back from the hospital a while ago after being warded for 27 days. She has fully recovered from the pneumonia and her anemia is under control. It is unfortunate that she complained of back pain that was diagnosed as spondylitis while a being warded. Spondylitis is a form of rheumatism that causes stiffness and pain in and around the spine.

Mum had complained of extreme pain in her left leg in the early nineties. Traditional massage did not do any good. After all the traditional treatments proved futile, she then consulted Dr. Kazem. He operated on her lumbar spine to relieve pressure on the nerves that was causing pain and weakness to her leg. The surgery was successful but the damage was already done because of the delay. She now walks with a slight limp.

Mum never looked more frail. She has lost a considerable amount of weight due to her poor appetite. The pain in her back has been alleviated somewhat by Dihydrocodeine, Celebrex and a lot of bed rest. With time and a balanced nutritious diet, she should recover.

I called Mum’s haematologist just now. After several unanswered calls to her handphone, Dr. Goh called back. It is reassuring to know that Mum has fully recovered from pneumonia. Her CBC (Complete Blood Count) looks good. According to Dr. Goh, Mum?s blood count has never been a problem. Like all CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia) patients, Mum have enlarged spleen (splenomegaly) and liver (hepatomegaly). At the moment, Mum still complains of giddiness. So Dr. Goh is keeping her in the hospital a while longer.

The good doctor had also referred Mum to the Hospice At Home Programme that is being run voluntarily by the National Cancer Society Of Malaysia. Karen Gan, the Palliative Care Nurse, went to see Mum yesterday. When I spoke to her on the phone just now, she was very reassuring and told me to call her as soon as Mum is discharged so that she can come visit.

Palliative care provides treatment to relieve pain and suffering in terminally patients. While there is no cure for CLL, I believe Mum has not reach that critical stage yet. However, she needs to be medically monitored, get sound advice regarding her condition and proper nursing support which is what the Hospice Programme is all about.