Thanks for all the birthday greetings that came through Facebook and emails too.
Birthday lunch and cake from my sisters Sue and Wei, during my recent Penang trip.
A durian cake from my family when we were back in Singapore.
Happy Birthday.....!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Another Year Older .....
I just celebrated my birthday so another year older and wiser too....I hope...ha...ha...
Thanks for all the birthday greetings that came through Facebook and emails too.
Thanks for all the birthday greetings that came through Facebook and emails too.
Penang Trip 4-7 Oct 2011
My family & I visited our parents in Penang and here is a slideshow of some photos taken during the trip.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Jason Recovering Well from ACL Reconstruction Surgery
Jas have been recovering at home for more than a week now and progress is good.
Last Sat, we went back to the Dr clinic and his dressing were removed. Dr put some sort of medical glue over the keyhole wounds and the glue will drop off in good time, on it own.
Jas has also been using the Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) machine for his knee therapy; flexing from 0 to 100 degrees.
He has also started physiotherapy treament, twice a week for 2-3 months.
He is off painkiller but still on crutches and using the cold gel to reduce the remaining swelling on the leg.
Last Sat, we went back to the Dr clinic and his dressing were removed. Dr put some sort of medical glue over the keyhole wounds and the glue will drop off in good time, on it own.
Jas has also been using the Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) machine for his knee therapy; flexing from 0 to 100 degrees.
He has also started physiotherapy treament, twice a week for 2-3 months.
He is off painkiller but still on crutches and using the cold gel to reduce the remaining swelling on the leg.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Knee Surgery - ACL Reconstruction
Jason came home with a bandaged knee after twisting it in a street soccer competition.
He said that he was running very fast, stopped and turned sideways suddenly, he heard a 'pop' sound like when you crack your knuckles.
Luckily, he got some cold ice water in a plastic bag to apply on his inured knee and stopped playing immediately.
The MRI scan showed a torn ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) and this ligament prevents the knee joint from slipping forward, no wonder Jas was complaining that while there were no pain and swelling, he felt something loose when he walked.
Jas was wearing a knee guard and using a walking stick until his surgery was done.
The Dr ( Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon) examined Jas legs and we were all give a very good talk on the knee joint and the ligaments. HE even did not look at the MRI but by stretching his injured leg in various directions, he was able to conclude the possible problem which was confirmed by the MRI.
We discussed the options and decided on taking his hamstring tendon to replaced the damaged ACL through keyhole surgery, scheduled for last Sat afternoon.
Jas will be on crutches for 2-3 weeks and then go for physiotherapy session for 3-6 months. HE should not be playing any sports for a year to ensure full recovery.
The surgery was a success and he stayed in the hospital for 3 days to get over the pain and learned how to use the crutches ( eg. walking and climbing the stairs as we live in a double storey terrace house ).
Today, Jas is still recovering at home with his crutches, exercise on the CPM machine and also using an ice wrap to manage the swelling on the leg.
The good news is that he is only using 1 painkiller drug instead of 3 when in the hospital.
Luckily, he is on 6 weeks end of 1st semester holidays.
He said that he was running very fast, stopped and turned sideways suddenly, he heard a 'pop' sound like when you crack your knuckles.
Luckily, he got some cold ice water in a plastic bag to apply on his inured knee and stopped playing immediately.
The MRI scan showed a torn ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) and this ligament prevents the knee joint from slipping forward, no wonder Jas was complaining that while there were no pain and swelling, he felt something loose when he walked.
Jas was wearing a knee guard and using a walking stick until his surgery was done.
The Dr ( Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon) examined Jas legs and we were all give a very good talk on the knee joint and the ligaments. HE even did not look at the MRI but by stretching his injured leg in various directions, he was able to conclude the possible problem which was confirmed by the MRI.
We discussed the options and decided on taking his hamstring tendon to replaced the damaged ACL through keyhole surgery, scheduled for last Sat afternoon.
Jas will be on crutches for 2-3 weeks and then go for physiotherapy session for 3-6 months. HE should not be playing any sports for a year to ensure full recovery.
The surgery was a success and he stayed in the hospital for 3 days to get over the pain and learned how to use the crutches ( eg. walking and climbing the stairs as we live in a double storey terrace house ).
Today, Jas is still recovering at home with his crutches, exercise on the CPM machine and also using an ice wrap to manage the swelling on the leg.
The good news is that he is only using 1 painkiller drug instead of 3 when in the hospital.
Luckily, he is on 6 weeks end of 1st semester holidays.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Happy Birthday, Mummy Poh
We celebrated Mummy Poh birthday last month and here are a couple of photos :
Jason appears taller in the photo as he was trying out his new dress shoes, bought that evening, and his puffy hair gave him some added height too....!
Happy Birthday to you, Mummy....!
Friday, September 2, 2011
Happy Teacher's Day - 1 September 2011
Happy Teacher's Day to all the teachers .......!
Teaching is indeed a very noble profession and they are the ones that are guiding our children to be responsible and contributing to our societies in the future.
I noticed how a teacher can influence the students; eg I still remember during his primary school days, Jason came home one day and told me that eating too much MacDonald fries is bad for health according to his teacher. While he has not stopped eating fries but it definitely has an impact on him.
Generally, Jason looks up to all his teachers but there are a few not so good teachers that he told me about. Luckily, these few are from the old generation where they are never wrong and the rule the class with an iron fist.
I have the privilege of teaching in Temasek Poly for a year and I really enjoy my time there. I still keep in touch with a few students through Facebook, mainly.
There is always this one student that have been sending me a Happy Teacher's Day greetings for the past few years. In fact, I just received his greeting through sms just now.
I am glad that I have made a difference to him and hopefully, a few other students too.
It is not easy when you have difficult students but it is very satisfying when you can feel that you are making some contribution or a difference to the students.
So teachers out there, I salute you and keep up the good work!
David
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Teeth Crowning
After 4 weeks of recovery from my crown lengthening, I finally went for my 2 crowns to be done this morning.
I have done this before and this is my 3rd crowning to-date.
The price has gone up by about S$300 but my dentist was kind enough to waive it but my total bill for the 2 crowns still came up to S$2K+.
She shaved the teeth and made moulds of the teeth in order make the crowns which will be ready the following week.
I hope these will be my last crowns.....sigh
Apparently, my teeth got stained quite fast by my coffee drinking but luckily, the stains are behind the front teeth so they are not so visible when I smile.
The good news is that the staining does not cause teeth decay but the accumulation of tartar instead so I need to see her regularly to do scaling to remove them. So far, I go for scaling about once a year though she advises me to do it every 6 months.
My parents are wearing dentures but the children have better teeth as we grew up with better dental care and I am sure the grandchildren will be even exposed to better dental care at an early age.
So please take care of your teeth and you will be able to enjoy all the good food and no problem with chewing them when we grow old.
David
I have done this before and this is my 3rd crowning to-date.
The price has gone up by about S$300 but my dentist was kind enough to waive it but my total bill for the 2 crowns still came up to S$2K+.
She shaved the teeth and made moulds of the teeth in order make the crowns which will be ready the following week.
I hope these will be my last crowns.....sigh
Apparently, my teeth got stained quite fast by my coffee drinking but luckily, the stains are behind the front teeth so they are not so visible when I smile.
The good news is that the staining does not cause teeth decay but the accumulation of tartar instead so I need to see her regularly to do scaling to remove them. So far, I go for scaling about once a year though she advises me to do it every 6 months.
My parents are wearing dentures but the children have better teeth as we grew up with better dental care and I am sure the grandchildren will be even exposed to better dental care at an early age.
So please take care of your teeth and you will be able to enjoy all the good food and no problem with chewing them when we grow old.
David
Friday, August 12, 2011
Dental Surgery - Crown Lengthening
During my regular dental check-up, my dentist told me that she has problem putting in 2 crowns on my molar teeth as there are quite a bit filling so no original tooth to hold the crown and suggested that I consult her colleague, a Periodontist, to do crown lengthening surgery.
So what is crown lengthening surgery?
Crown lengthening is a common surgery. Gum tissue or bone is taken out. This exposes more of a tooth.
I rather control my own destiny than wait until the filling breaks then panic to get it done.
So I have the surgery done last week and I am recovering now. I am due back in a few days'time to have the stictches removed.
The surgery took a bit longer than expected as my gum were very fibrous ( I think lots of veins as blood kept on oozing out, according to her ) but this means it is very healthy and will recovered very fast.
Also, my jaw bone is very tough as she has to used 3 blades to grind it and they were all blunt after the procedure! She commented that this is very unlikely for Asian men but more for Westerners.
While it did not really hurt during the surgery after having the gums numbed but it is not something that I like to go through again.
As advised, I iced the area when I reached home and on the second day too so the swelling and bruising are kept to a minimu if not almost non-existence.
In 4 weeks' time after a complete recovery, I will be going back to have my 2 crowns done.
This surgery cost me S$2K+ and the crowning another S$2K+.....!
No choice as dental health is also very important.
The areas circled in black are where the stitches were put to hold the gums in place. The red lines indicates the amount of teeth exposed after cutting away some gums and grinding the jaw a bit so that the crown can sit in securely.
So what is crown lengthening surgery?
Crown lengthening is a common surgery. Gum tissue or bone is taken out. This exposes more of a tooth.
I rather control my own destiny than wait until the filling breaks then panic to get it done.
So I have the surgery done last week and I am recovering now. I am due back in a few days'time to have the stictches removed.
The surgery took a bit longer than expected as my gum were very fibrous ( I think lots of veins as blood kept on oozing out, according to her ) but this means it is very healthy and will recovered very fast.
Also, my jaw bone is very tough as she has to used 3 blades to grind it and they were all blunt after the procedure! She commented that this is very unlikely for Asian men but more for Westerners.
While it did not really hurt during the surgery after having the gums numbed but it is not something that I like to go through again.
As advised, I iced the area when I reached home and on the second day too so the swelling and bruising are kept to a minimu if not almost non-existence.
In 4 weeks' time after a complete recovery, I will be going back to have my 2 crowns done.
This surgery cost me S$2K+ and the crowning another S$2K+.....!
No choice as dental health is also very important.
The areas circled in black are where the stitches were put to hold the gums in place. The red lines indicates the amount of teeth exposed after cutting away some gums and grinding the jaw a bit so that the crown can sit in securely.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday Blues - 25 July 2011
25 July 2011, a Monday, was indeed not one of my better days...!
I left home without my mobile but thought that I should be able to manage without it as my wife was with me and we were taking her mother to the TTS hospital for her doctor's appointment; a 2-3 hours event.
Everything went as expected until the taxi dropped us off at my mum-in-law's (MIL) block of flats in Toa Payoh.
We were careful to ensure that MIL took her time to get out of the taxi and was moving with her walking stick.
BUT after a few steps, she somehow switched to two hands on her walking stick in front of her.... and she lost her balance and fell on her left side.
We were behind her but it happened so fast that we were caught off guard.
We helped her up but it was obvious that she was in pain and her left elbow was badly bruised but luckily, she did not hit her head on the ground.
We wanted to send her for an x-ray to check that there was no broken bones but MIL refused and claimed that if she has any broken bones, she could not have walked back to the flat with our help.
Never argue with an old stubborn lady...sigh
We iced her hip area and I cleaned and put some iodine on her elbow wound area.
She was in pain so we gave her her pain killer medicine just obtained earlier from her Dr.
Later in the evening, we managed to convince her to go to TTS A&E to have her hip looked into as she was really in pain and having difficulty walking to the toilet.
I followed the ambulance and got off the taxi at TTS A&E car park.
A few steps later, I realised that I might have dropped my wallet after paying my fare.
My wife called NTUC Comfort and managed to get them to locate the taxi and he agreed to return to the TTS A&E car park for me to pick up my wallet.
We were impressed by their prompt service and very grateful as we were not in the mood to go to the police to report the loss of the wallet and then to call the Banks to cancel all my credit cards.. and replace my NRIC too!
I gave the taxi driver a small reward and he refused but I insisted on it.
The X-ray showed no broken bones but MIL was warded to do a MRI the following day.
By the time she was warded and we waited to meet the Dr on duty, it was almost mid-night.
What a day...... a Monday, the start of a new week too....!
David
I left home without my mobile but thought that I should be able to manage without it as my wife was with me and we were taking her mother to the TTS hospital for her doctor's appointment; a 2-3 hours event.
Everything went as expected until the taxi dropped us off at my mum-in-law's (MIL) block of flats in Toa Payoh.
We were careful to ensure that MIL took her time to get out of the taxi and was moving with her walking stick.
BUT after a few steps, she somehow switched to two hands on her walking stick in front of her.... and she lost her balance and fell on her left side.
We were behind her but it happened so fast that we were caught off guard.
We helped her up but it was obvious that she was in pain and her left elbow was badly bruised but luckily, she did not hit her head on the ground.
We wanted to send her for an x-ray to check that there was no broken bones but MIL refused and claimed that if she has any broken bones, she could not have walked back to the flat with our help.
Never argue with an old stubborn lady...sigh
We iced her hip area and I cleaned and put some iodine on her elbow wound area.
She was in pain so we gave her her pain killer medicine just obtained earlier from her Dr.
Later in the evening, we managed to convince her to go to TTS A&E to have her hip looked into as she was really in pain and having difficulty walking to the toilet.
I followed the ambulance and got off the taxi at TTS A&E car park.
A few steps later, I realised that I might have dropped my wallet after paying my fare.
My wife called NTUC Comfort and managed to get them to locate the taxi and he agreed to return to the TTS A&E car park for me to pick up my wallet.
We were impressed by their prompt service and very grateful as we were not in the mood to go to the police to report the loss of the wallet and then to call the Banks to cancel all my credit cards.. and replace my NRIC too!
I gave the taxi driver a small reward and he refused but I insisted on it.
The X-ray showed no broken bones but MIL was warded to do a MRI the following day.
By the time she was warded and we waited to meet the Dr on duty, it was almost mid-night.
What a day...... a Monday, the start of a new week too....!
David
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
My July 2011 Penang Trip
I just returned from my trip to Penang to visit my parents and my elder sister.
I accompanied my Mum to the hospital for her twice a week Physiotherapy sessions, each lasting an average 2.5 hours and about 6 exercises.
This is the Physiotherapy centre, a separate building and entrance from the hospital proper, next to the car park at the side.
I am glad that Mum has gotten used to going for her Physio sessions and she looks forward to them. I jokingly say that it is her social club as she knows all the staff there and also a few of the other patients.
My sister with her car parked near to the Physio centre. There are no taxi running on the road in Penang so it is more convenient to have your own car especially when it is so much cheaper there compared to Singapore.
I managed to go down to Prangin Mall to do some shopping...but nothing much unless you have something in mind; eg I repaired my son's mobile as it was about S$10 cheaper there.
I also went out with my sister and my Dad separately for a meal and a movie; seeing the movie, Transformers - Dark Side of the Moon, twice as there was no other interesting movie showing then. The movie cost me less than S$3 per person...!
It was a good break from life in Singapore....ha...ha...
David
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