October 2020 was a really tough month for us. Everything seems to go badly wrong:
- 2 family members of the family face the need for surgery
- 1 family member was told he fall short of the required practical hours to graduate this summer.
With love, faith, hope and perseverance, at least hopefully, we are now seeing light at the end of the tunnel, though the road to the eventual outcome requires a lot of patience and endurance.
One of the family member who requires surgery is Felix. In March 2019, Felix had his gall bladder removed and the temporary stent in the bile duct was displaced 7 days later (original intention was for it to be in place for 2-3 weeks). Post surgery recovery was pretty complicated, and took him close to a year to fully recover. We resorted to Chinese and Western medical treatment, which worked well for around 9 months, making him "hospital free".
Between 9-10/20, the bile duct issue re-emerged. Due to explosive ALT readings, Felix had been in and out of the hospital for a total of 5 times, accounting for roughly 50% of the time. The worst thing is that the time interval between hospital and home stay shorten drastically, with the last one being "discharged on Saturday and readmitted the following Tuesday".
Luckily, the Lord hear our prayer and provided us with guide posts to a decision for surgery to place a permanent stent in the stricture of his deformed bile duct.
1) In 6/19, we consulted Dr A of VSH and Dr. JS of CityU on the surgical alternatives suitable for Felix. Dr. JS walked the extra mile to consult his ex-colleagues in California and sourced permanent stent which arrived in 9/19.
2) In mid 10/20, the most swollen area of the bile duct increased to 1.6cm, from the previous 1cm. To me, this is a warning signal.
3) On 20/10 after a lengthy discussion with Dr JY, we decided to give medical treatment the last chance if the blood test reading shows continuous improvement in ALT on 3/11.
4) When discharged on 31/10, vet said Dr VM suggest revisit on 6/11. But an earlier called with the assistant gave us an appointment on 3/11. So I thought for safety reason, better keep the earlier appointment.
5) On 3/11, the clinic called to confirm our appointment. They had never done this before.
6) On 3/11, despite vomiting food and fur on 2/11 and a small patch of white foam on 3/11, Felix is active and hungry. Won't dream of his ALT exploding again. At that moment, I got the feeling that I might not be able to take him home safely any more. So the idea of surgery crept back in.
7) On 5/11, the clinic has a bag of Type B blood (which is difficult to find) which arrived the day before. So perfect setting for surgery.
Conclusion:
- Must save for the rainy days, so that when the need arise, won't have to spend the time and energy thinking about financial issues. Just focus on getting the best treatment.
- Love, Faith and Hope are great companions along the rugged road.
- Rest well to have a clear mind to observe and analyze.
- Comfort and encourage the sick so that they won't feel lonely in fighting the tough fight.
Our thanks to Dr. JY, Dr VM, Dr. JS, Dr. KH and our trusted friend RY for their care and love towards Felix and family.
