It was 10.00 pm and i received a call from my sister; mom had been vomiting and tormented with extreme giddy spells since she returned home from our dinner early.
Since i stayed a mere 5-6 minutes' walk away, i rushed to my parent's place and there was my mom lying on the kitchen floor as she was too giddy to stand up. It was a frightening sight and although she can articulate well; we decided to call for a non-emergency ambulance (dial 1777) as she couldn't stop purging!
It was my mom's first visit to A&E, and in an ambulance! Refreshing for her no doubt but she was simply too ill to care! By the way, the cost for non-emergency ambulance is S$150 a trip and it can send the patient to their designated hospital; wait is about 30-45 minutes. For emergency ambulance (by SCDF), there's no guarantee you would be sent to the hospital of your choice and if the case turns out to be non-emergency, the cost is about S$250.
Emergency department of Khoo Teck Puat hospital (KTPH) at midnight - there were quite a lot of people and we only managed to check out the status of my mom an hour later. The doctor asked a few questions and shared that giddiness is also a pre-symptom for stroke. Am i worried? Of course i am! Anyway, we were asked to return home as the checks could take hours and since we live rather near to the hospital, the doctor said they would give us a call.
I received a call at about 7.00 am from my younger sister that the hospital had called and said my mom is ready for discharge; the medication worked and she's no longer vomiting and her dizziness had dissipated. Hence, my way to the hospital again with less than four hours of sleep!
My dearest mom was in her usual talkative self although she was adamant i mustn't show the pictures with her face in this blog! Therefore, let's have one with her face covered.
The doctor explained that it's likely a balance disorder due to an organ in our inner ear and she would be referring my mom to see a ear, nose, throat (ENT) specialist. It didn't take long for the nurse to come by and remove the intravenous (IV) catheter and for us to make payment and collect medication.
For her ordeal, and the fact that she had purged out the entire content of the dinner (including durians) she had yesterday, i think it's a necessity for her to have some food at KTPH food court before returning home for a rest! p.s. i am like a zombie now but i have to get ready for work in the afternoon! :(
Thank you for sharing you information.
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