Category: All About Mum

Third Transfusion

Mum had her third blood transfusion today. I left the hospital right after the transfusion was completed therefore I am unaware if it is doing her any good. Her appetite is still poor. She looked so frail. I am beginning to get really worried for her. The illness has dragged on for far too long. The doctors have been very conservative with their treatment thus far. Perhaps it is time for a second opinion and more treatment options.

I learnt to operate the washing machine for the first time today as the laundry was piling up. I thought it would be difficult because I have never washed a piece of clothing in my life before. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised! The fuzzy logic automates most of the task and removes the guessing altogether. After I put the laundry in, the LED lit up and indicated the amount of detergent to use. It then filled itself up with the appropriate amount of water and started the wash and spin cycles all by itself. I have heard of fuzzy logic before but this is the first time I have seen it in action. And I am amazed!

Mum’s Blood Transfusion

Mum had her second blood transfusion on Tuesday. Her first was during her hospitalization two weeks ago. She is slowly recovering. She is suffering from Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) which increases the lymphocytes in her blood and bone marrow dramatically. Lymphocytes are important to the immune system but due to CLL, her lymphocytes are malformed and interfere the way other blood cells function.

She has a weak resistance against infections, is anemic and has an enlarged spleen. While her condition sounds serious, she is generally healthy and active for her age. With proper care and precautions, she should not have too much health complications.

As for me, I have been busy redesigning my homepage. Nothing fancy. Rehashing the site navigation, removing all the frames and adding photos here and there for aesthetic purposes. At the same time, I am attempting to tweak how the homepage information is listed in search engines like Google and Yahoo.

Bird’s Nest Soup

Mum, who was hospitalized since last Wednesday, was discharged yesterday. The doctors did not want to keep her a day longer than necessary, probably because of her weak immune system and the current SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) epidemic. She was admitted for a persistent cough that refused to go away after several weeks of medication.

I learnt to double-boil bird’s nest soup with cordyceps and red dates for Mum. Wuan brought them for Mum when she was here the last trip, and provided step-by-step instructions through the phone. Double-boiling is a method of cooking where the food is placed in a ceramic jar, which is then placed in a pot of boiling water. It was not as difficult as I had anticipated. I just had to remember to replenish the water every now and then. Perhaps, I may cook up something more elaborate for Wuan when she is here the next time.