Vertigo

I woke up suddenly on the morning of November 3. It was just before 2am. I was lying on my right side and when I turned to look up at the ceiling, the whole ceiling was spinning just like how the ceiling fan was spinning. I thought that there was an earthquake. I felt nauseous and was very scared. The spinning lasted for a few more seconds and then it stopped. What just happened? I felt like throwing up. I laid in bed, flat on my back. I waited for awhile and got up slowly. I didn't feel dizzy so I got up to go to the bathroom. I went back to bed and straight away put on head down on the pillow, lying on my right side and again the spinning sensation came back in my head. I was so scared. I thought I was going to die. I laid down for awhile and went to wake my mom up. I told her I was having dizzy spells. She asked me what was wrong and I said I didn't know. I felt nauseous so my mom gave me a pill to prevent me from vomitting.

I went back to sleep but I was very scared to close my eyes. I propped up my pillow and laid down again. I tried to lay on my right side but before I could fully turn my head to the right I could feel my head starting to spin again. So I slept with my head as straight as possible and it was really uncomfortable. I didn't sleep much after that.

I didn't go to work the next day. I went to see a doctor and explained to him what happened to me that night. He said it had to do with the food I ate. He asked me what I ate the night before and I told him I had squid. I thought if it was food poisoning shouldn't I be having a stomach ache? He checked my stomach and said there was a lot of air in my stomach so he prescribed me with medication for giddiness and to remove air from my stomach.

I stopped sleeping on the right side because everytime I tried, I could feel my head starting to spin again. For the next few days, I always felt unstable when I stood too long. Even when I sat down, I could feel my body slanting to my right. Luckily I could still drive or else I wouldn't know how I would get to work.

I went back to my hometown that weekend because it was a long weekend. I still felt unstable and couldn't sleep on my sides. I found that lying on my left side started to give me giddiness too. I wasn't getting any better and I was getting worried. So I went to see my family doctor in my hometown. I described my symptoms to him and he said that it sounded like I have vertigo! He said it is very difficult to pinpoint the actual cause. I told him that I was badly shaken up on my flight back from KL the Sunday before it happened. Due to the bad weather, the turbulence was shaking up the whole plane and the plane dived in and out of air pockets for at least five minutes. It felt like it was one of the scenes from the Final Destination movies! It was the worst flight I've ever taken and it was really scary. My doctor said that could have caused the fluids in my inner ears to become imbalanced and caused the vertigo. He prescribed me Betaserc which is the most effective medication against vertigo. Not only was I feeling unstable, I felt constant nausea for days.

After taking Betaserc for 5 days, I finally feel normal again. I don't feel unstable whenever I sit and stand, I don't feel nauseous and now I am able to sleep on my sides again without feeling my head spinning. Today I feel normal without having to take the medication. I hope the vertigo is gone. It was a really scary experience.

One thing my doctor told me which I totally agreed with him regarding vertigo. He said most people who experienced it for the first time thought that they were dying! That was exactly how I felt...

My first ride on Rapid Penang...

Today my mom and I went to Queensbay Mall by bus. This is the first time we travelled by Rapid Penang buses because my car is in the service center.

It has been a very long time since I've taken the town bus. The bus ride was comfortable and most importantly the bus drivers didn't speed like the mini bus drivers last time. We had to take 2 buses to reach Queensbay Mall. It was quite fun not having to drive and worry about not being able to find a parking space.

In loving memory of Comel...

Dec 18, 2004 was the day my cat went to kitty heaven. I cannot believe that it has been six years...Time flies...I still miss her very much...

Technology these days...

I must be getting old because I find it extremely difficult to catch up with new technology and gadgets these days.

Recently a friend told me she now has an Ipad. I asked her what is that! She laughed and said that I am so outdated these days. And today I was chatting with another friend on MSN when she said she might get herself either a new phone or a Wii. I remember she mentioned about Wii to me before but I just couldn't remember what it is. I got some scolding from her and she told me to google it. I told her that I am not into these things these days because it is either that I am old or have reached enlightenment (just like Buddha!). She said it is for sure enlightenment! Hahaha.

My friend said that she was always confused between a Blackberry and blueberry! Well, she isn't the only one. I often said blueberry when I referred to the Blackberry phones. Hahaha. I told her that the day she sees me eating a Blackberry and using a blueberry to make phone calls, she better send me to an old folks home...

A mother's sacrifice...

It has been quite awhile since I last wrote in my blog. I was caught up with so many things. Now that I have some free time, I want to write about something which touched my heart.

An old auntie from my apartment fell down a few weeks ago and broke her right thigh bone. The moment I heard about it from my mom, the first thing which went through my mind was who was going to take care of her during recovery and where would she stay. We went to visit her at the hospital and she told us that she wouldn't be able to use her right leg for 4 months and so she will be living at a nursing home during that time. My heart dropped when I heard that. A nursing home is a sad place to be even though if it's for temporary.

My mom and I visited "Ah Ee" (that is how auntie is called in Hokkien) on Sunday afternoon at the nursing home. I managed to find the place. I was trying my luck to locate the nursing home as I was not familiar with that part of the island. One thing I find funny about this island is that residential houses are often used for commercial purposes such as clinics, second hand car sales outlets, car repair shops, lighting shops and even nursing homes. There are no such things in my hometown. The municipal council would not allow residential premises to be turned into commercial premises.

The nursing home Ah Ee is staying at is an old one storey bungalow. The bungalow looked pretty run down. Even the tar pavement leading into the house was mostly broken and since it had been raining a lot for the past few days, there were puddles of water everywhere. We had to ask around for Ah Ee as we didn't know which room she was placed in. We only knew she is in a twin sharing room. We were directed to a room so we walked in and found Ah Ee sitting up on her bed. She was really happy to see us. I brought her some magazines to read as I figured she would be bored to her wits since she could not move around.

Ah Ee immediately went into her story telling mode the moment we sat down. Haha. She told us that she had her first check up the day before and she was now counting down the days to her next check up which according to her was another 29 days to go. Every day she would count down the hours and once it was time to sleep she'd look forward to the next day and when she awakens the next morning she would start counting down the hours again til the day ended. It was really sad to hear all that.

As usual Ah Ee spoke fondly of her children. She told us that her son who works in another state was back to see her and he asked her if she wanted to go home. Maybe her son could sense that she wasn't happy there. Mothers being mothers, Ah Ee told her son that she was happy staying there so that her son wouldn't get worried and sad. My heart dropped even more upon hearing that. Mothers...they really sacrifice a lot for their children. Good thing that Ah Ee's daughter visits her every day. At times like this what the old folks really need from their loved ones is their love and support and even though their loved ones cannot do much to help them, their presence would mean a lot to them. It gives them the emotional support which is helpful in giving them the will to recover faster.

We sat with her for about half an hour. During that time we didn't really look around. It was sad enough listening to Ah Ee's stories. She told us that there were 30 patients in the nursing home and she is the only one who can go home. The rest are either bedridden or couldn't move much anymore. While talking to her, I kept noticing her roommate's eyes looking at us. Her roommate had suffered a stroke and could not move anymore. I don't think she can talk either and she had a tube down her nose for feeding purposes. It was really sad to look at her. It seemed like our visit entertained her even though we weren't visiting her. I cannot imagine the feelings of these people knowing that they will never go home again. I wanted to go home so badly when I had to be hospitalized a few years ago. And that was only for 3 days!

We left the nursing home with a heavy heart. We will visit Ah Ee again sometime soon. We pray for Ah Ee's fast recovery so that she will be able to come home sooner. We really miss her.

Time flies...

Time flies...April 5...my sis and Mike arrived from US. Today they flew back. Just like the blink of an eye, they were here and now they have gone home...I miss them already...sigh...

I felt the earth move...

It was around 2pm. I was sitting on the sofa...watching tv, surfing the internet on my new laptop and reading the newspaper...multitasking as usual. All of a sudden I felt dizzy. It felt like the apartment was swaying. It lasted for a few seconds. I thought I was not well because I also felt a bit nauseous. Could I be imagining all this??? Was there an earthquake in a neighbouring country??? After watching so many disaster movies, I started to imagine the floor cracking and the building crumbling to the ground. Should I run??? I continued sitting on the sofa, not daring to move. I thought if I was meant to die that moment, running would not have helped. I shifted to another spot on the sofa. The dizzy feeling came back. I felt like vomitting. My mother was busy in the kitchen and she didn't seem to have felt anything. I must be sick I thought. I just sat there and soon the dizziness and feeling of nausea subsided. When my mother finally came to sit nearby I told her what had happened. I told her that I suspected that there was an earthquake somewhere. She said she didn't feel a thing. She said lets wait and see if there is news about an earthquake.

Watching the 8pm news, it was confirmed that a 7.2 magnitude earthquake had hit Aceh at 1.59pm...

My new laptop...

My new Toshiba Satellite M500-S433. I got it on April 30. My HP Compaq of 3 years old has gotten extremely slow. It takes ages to startup and shut down and it often doesn't respond when I am on the internet. So it's time to get a new laptop...I love my Toshiba Satellite...

My first published article...

This the first article I wrote which was published in Ezine...
http://ezinearticles.com/?Ways-to-Live-With-an-Open-Heart-After-Being-Hurt-by-Someone-You-Trust-and-Love&id=3890147

The tiger roars in...

Today is Chinese New Year and it is the year of the tiger. Today is also Valentine's Day. I read that this has only happened twice in the last century and the next one will be 38 years from now in 2048. I wonder if I'll still be around then! With Chinese New Year being a bigger celebration, Valentine's Day seem to have taken a backseat this year.

I am looking forward to meeting up with some friends on the second day of Chinese New Year. This is the only time during the year where we get to meet up, catch up with each other and have a good laugh.

Wishing everyone a Happy & Prosperous Chinese New Year, Gong Xi Fa Cai & Happy Valentine's day!