Something unexpected and harrowing happened to my family this week. Thanks to a mysterious viral infection that chose my wife for its next victim!
It was early Sunday morning, the 28th of June, the last day of vacation for our little family of four.
We were packing to check out of the hotel to get to the airport in Jeju Island, South Korea. Our flight home to Singapore was very early, so we had to make haste. Unfortunately, Wifey woke up in our four-bedder hotel room complaining of headaches and body discomfort.
Not quite the fond farewell we wanted out of what had mostly been an enjoyable holiday (save for the first three days we were there when the rain came down non-stop).
The Difficult Journey Home
In spite of her obvious discomforts, we had no choice but to quickly pack up, exit and return our rental car before catching the free shuttle to Jeju’s international airport. There was no time for breakfast until we had checked in our luggages and collected our boarding passes.
By then, Wifey was looking pretty gaunt and pale.
No prizes for guessing that the journey home was stressful for us, especially Wifey. We almost missed the flight cos she needed time in the restroom and we had to move to the departure gate at a gentle pace so as not to tire her. Since we were flying via Scoot, a budget airline, any accommodations for an unwell patient (including requesting for a blanket) were also fairly restrictive.
Through it all, I was understandably alarmed and more than a bit frustrated.
What was going on? How did Wifey end up with such a miserable conclusion to an otherwise idyllic holiday? The rest of us were fine and for most of this vacation, so was she. It was our first plane trip abroad since her cancer diagnosis almost a year ago, so we were already taking things easy. Choosing shorter mountain treks and making sure we aren’t on our feet too long. Visiting museums where seats are aplenty for visitors to rest. Eating local stuff, but making sure not to be too adventurous (never knew Koreans were THAT into spicy food!). Taking breaks and returning back to our accommodations nearly everyday before sunset.
Why is this happening?!
Living With An Invisible Enemy
Recently, I read a NYT article “The Changing Face of Stage 4 Cancer: No Cure, but Years to Live” that really shook me.
The article profiled a few Stage 4 cancer survivors. It was sombre for me reading it, as a caregiver to Wifey who was diagnosed with Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer last September. For the essence of the NYT article was to say, despite the good news that many patients live longer now thanks to advanced treatments, the reality is that the spectre of death still looms.
And that spectre sits heavily on both the shoulders of the patient (Wifey) and the caregiver (Yours Truly). No doubt that’s the case for every household who has a loved one carrying the disease.
Over lunch three days ago, with a friend who works at the Singapore Cancer Society, I learned that based on their research, by 2030, one in three people here would be directly impacted by cancer (either as a patient or caregiver). Talk about dismal news.
While this rise has much to do with earlier and better detection methods, it really isn’t welcomed! Of course the counter-argument is rock solid. To have one’s cancer detected early is the best fighting chance anyone can ask for.
BUT….
…what doesn’t get talked about as much is what does one do with the extended mortality. Do we assume the cancer will never return and live life as we did pre-cancer? Or do we live each day with bated breath, hoping for the best but expecting the worse?
I don’t think anyone fully succeeds in living out the “carefree-ness” that the first scenario seemingly intimates. And I don’t think anyone can carry the impossible weight of the second scenario either. Which leaves us somewhere in the middle.
Not knowing what every sneeze, cough, fever or any number of common ailments that subsequently strike might mean.
Not knowing if it’s wise to travel overseas (we did and look what happened!).
And never quite knowing what tomorrow brings.
Kinda like what happened with us this past week. And how Wifey ended up at the Emergency Department of the local hospital within 48 hours of our return, and had to wait subsequently for 30 hours to be warded!
It’s A “Special” Viral Disease
To say we were dismayed and fed up, both for the unfortunate trip to the hospital and the interminable wait for a bed in the ward, would be an understatement! But more importantly, waiting for the results of the various blood tests and the X-ray felt like an eternity too.
Throughout, it dawned on us how no one can ever truly be prepared for unscheduled events like this. Yes we could have pack an emergency overnight hospital bag beforehand (a sobering thought but certainly common sensical for potential emergencies). And yes we could have prepared a list of medicines to bring along in such instances.
But what I’m thinking about now was how, mentally and emotionally, no one can ever be (or maybe it’s “wish to be”) prepared for it.
However, there was one thing we had prepared since the diagnosis last year — a community of prayer warriors we could “activate” to pray for Wifey and my family.
Especially when we were told the initial diagnosis was that Wifey had contracted a “special” viral disease! (Another heart-dropping moment)
What Viral Disease? Human Rhinovirus aka The Common Cold!
Thankfully, it turned out later that the more accurate diagnosis was she had merely caught a nasty but still common cold virus called the human rhinovirus. In short, the common cold!
Which meant that Wifey simply had to drink and rest more.
Coincidentally, that more accurate diagnosis was delivered by none other than Wifey’s own chemo doctor, who just happened to be doing hospital rounds on her third and final day away from home (which was two days ago).
It was an immense relief for us, and a prayer decisively answered! It meant she could be discharged that very same day. A day that just happened to also be my birthday!
Any wonder that I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday gift?
If you enjoyed reading my thoughts and wish to support what I do, please consider donating, using the button below.
Thank you so much!
