DNA Tan

Baby Dominus @ KKH

The recent spate of virus invasion had landed Baby Dominus in KKH for pnuemonia. He first had fever, runny nose and cough on 21st July which persist despite several visits to the PD. The ultimatum came when we saw that he was breathless when he coughs and we could hear him breathing super deeply for the oxygen to get past those phelgm. We headed to A&E at KKH on Sunday 27th July evening after depositing Donovan at Grandma's house.

The doctor suggested for Dominus to take an x-ray with blood test to get a clearer picture of his condition. We waited with much anxiety and Mummy had imagined the worst about Dominus having to be warded. The results were ready in about 90mins time and true enough, after a string of medical explanation, the doctor announced in the straighest expression that Dominus had to be admitted for more tests and monitoring as his blood test revealed that he had pnuemonia. Mummy was trying to contain her tears but they betrayed her almost immediately after the doctor directs us to complete the procedure for admission. The doctor probably repeats this procedure everyday to countless patients but Mummy was having difficulties accepting the news. Luckily, Daddy was around to be her pillar of strength.

When we first reached ward 4608, Dominus was given the cannula (picture below) to administer the Amoxicillin anti-biotic. The nurses came and carried Dominus away to carry out the procedure. According to Daddy, Dominus was crying the whole time. We came to understand the reason behind the crying as we saw that Dominus had multiple plaster on his hands as well as his left legs, which disclose the failed attempts to insert the cannula. The final attempt on his right leg was successful. Phew! Poor baby...

During the 3 days of stay at KKH, every passing minute is painful for Mummy as she had to comfort Dominus during his most difficult times eating medicine and getting to sleep without a cradle. The first night was horrible as he has had very little sleep and ultimately, he was defeated by fatigue from crying. Upon seeing that, Mummy knew she'll exchange anything for him to be home and comfortable, gently giving way to the soft rocking of the cradle. During the 3 days stay at KKH, Mummy lost 1 kilo (she's not very happy actually) and she functioned on 'auto-pilot' mode while taking care of Dominus. Perhaps it is in the fine print of a Mummy's job description to lose sleep so that their children can sleep better, breathe easier etc.

It is only when we come to experience such painful episodes in life that we realise how vulnerable we are. However, it is also from such events that we emerged stronger and tougher to hold the family together. There were times during the hospital stay that when Mummy had some quiet moments while Dominus is sleeping, she'll quietly pray for God to give Dominus strength. Why didn't Mummy ask God to give her strength instead? Cause she knew that only her children have the power to make her a happy Mummy.