Red-letter Day

10 May 2021

        It was a red-letter day for me. In the morning, hubby drove me to the Stadium to receive my 2nd dose of the Covid-19 vaccination. The crowd awaiting vaccination today was much larger as the senior citizens were also there for their 1st dose. But today's wait was not a chore; in fact, it was enjoyable. This is because I did not have to worry about returning to school late and more so, I had my dear friend's company. Suet Fun and I had hatched plans to arrive there at around the same time, so we had fun catching up whilst waiting for our turn. 

With Suet Fun, a dear friend who has also been my pillar of strength throughout this trying period

"I have been fully vaccinated!"

Occasion made even more memorable, with Suet Fun by my side

      Then in the afternoon, hubby dropped me off at the hospital as I had my surgical follow-up. My surgeon congratulated me with the good news that my cysts are benign. Apart from continuing my hormone replacement medicine, there's no further treatment so she discharged me from the Surgical OutPatient Department and referred me to the visiting surgeon at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta for subsequent care. Therefore, my period of trepidation (from the incidental discovery of the swelling on the right side of my neck on 17 January 2021, first consultation at the SOPD on 20 January, a 2-week wait for my thyroid ultrasound to be done on 4 February, the radiologist's discovery of a suspicious nodule on the left thyroid, undergoing the uncomfortable procedure of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology to remove a small sample of tissue for further assessment, another agonizing 2-week wait to return to the SOPD on 17 February for the results, feeling my world come crashing down when told point-blank by a junior doctor that "it's cancer", being advised to have the entire thyroid gland removed, going through all the pre-op assessments like ECG, x-ray, blood tests, voice box assessment using laryngoscopy and assessment by the anaesthetist, a 6-week roller coaster ride of emotions as I awaited my total thyroidectomy, a pre-op surgical consultation with Ms Chan Ai Chen on 22 March, enduring the stinging Covid-19 swab test on 28 March in preparation for the surgery, being wheeled into the cold sterile operating theatre on 1 April for my total thyroidectomy, and finally to the further test of patience to know the results of the histopathological examination) has finally ended today.

        Praise God for his power, mercy and grace!