Another Unexpected Event

In my last post, I wrote about how hectic last week was scrambling around at home when my parents were tested positive for COVID19.

To follow up, my father has been discharged from the medical care facility (we call it CCF here which stands for Community Care Facility) after his 10 days quarantine. The quarantine period is 10 days for vaccinated individuals and 14 days for unvaccinated individuals. My father feels happy to be home and my mother is completing her Home Recovery Program on Saturday, which is today. She has been looking forward to this day as being isolated in a bedroom for 10 days can be very boring, especially for the elderly.

In the early hours of Saturday at 4:00am, I received a phone call from my mother. This is how we communicate at home during this period as we are keeping physical contact in the household to the minimum. She told me that she had some discomfort in her chest area with slight difficulty in breathing. But this feeling subsided after some time and she felt hungry after. So, I made a cup of hot chocolate and a peanut butter sandwich to satisfy her hunger.

Everything seemed back to normal after that and at 9:40am, I received another phone call from her, and she said that uneasy feeling is back. Being worried, I checked with the health regulatory if she is allowed to leave home to check these symptoms at a clinic. As she is still under quarantine officially, the only way to seek medical attention is to call for an ambulance. Shortly after, the paramedics arrived and informed that my mother had to be taken to a hospital for examination due to her symptoms and her latest self-test result being positive. Now, she has arrived at the hospital and put under observation till further notice.

The past 2 weeks have been eventful for my family with a stroke of little unfortunate luck. This comes as a surprise to us because my parents have received their booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine a few days before they were infected! Being the eldest son in the family, I must constantly remind myself to keep calm to be able to think carefully. Right now, I can only pray for good news and hope the symptoms my mother has are not COVID19 related, so she can be discharged from the hospital and come home.

Our national media has reported that the healthcare system in Singapore is under strain due to rising number of infections recently. Looking at the paramedics who attended to my mother wearing protective goggles, gloves, masks, and PPE suits under this hot and humid weather in Singapore; yet attending to my mother with patience deserve my utmost respect for them. Props to these medical and healthcare workers for their commitment!

After a disrupted sleep, I shall take an afternoon nap and wait for updates from the hospital… Zzz...

Take care and wishing everyone a great weekend!