Land of Lemons

I first heard of NUH through my BFF. During her first pregnancy, she was six months pregnant and her gynae in Thomson Medical Centre discovered that her baby's head growth was abnormal and they could not detect the reason. Her gynae referred her to Prof Biswas and said that he was one of the best doctors to deal with complicated pregnancies and he was experienced with doing foetal blood sampling. Prof Biswas was the one who suspected that the baby could have Thalassemia. True enough, the baby had it and it was major type, meaning, it would be stillborn even if she had carried him to term. They had no choice but to remove her baby. She and her husband would always have one in four chance that the baby would be a stillbirth. Her second pregnancy also ended up having an abortion due to the same reason. She shouldered on and conceived a third time. By now, she was Prof Biswas's patient. During her 27 week, she had contractions and was warded. She was labeled as preterm danger. ...

I plucked up whatever courage and strength I had left to call NUH. I explained my situation to the nurse on the other line. She informed me that Prof Mahesh Choolani only sees pregnancy losses on Thursday afternoon. It was quite easy to book an appointment.  Before I went to see Prof Mahesh, I researched online and had a rough idea what the investigation for repeated losses was about. When we arrived at NUH Women's clinic Emerald, the receptionist told us to wait outside his consultation room. There were many Indians and Caucasians waiting outside. We were the minority race. We waited for an hour and finally for to meet Prof Mahesh for the first time. He looked very kind and fatherly. I guessed he had handled pregnancy losses cases many times because he looked so sorry when he introduced himself. He also had good bedside manners. Some doctors just know how to let you know they are sincere. He shook our hands firmly and told us to go for the full spectrum of tests. I was rel...

After the last visit to Dr Loh Seong Feei, I was put on bed rest. I moved back to stay with my mother because I needed help with lunch because my husband had to work. I took medical leave and my boss encouraged me to listen to gospel music. It was agonizing. I stayed in bed whole day while doing my work. My sister came into my room, carrying her laptop. She told me to watch Xia Xue Guide to Life. At that time, I only heard about Xia Xue but never really read her blogs. I only knew her as someone who had plastic surgery done on her nose. In between breaks, it was Xia Xue Guide to Life video that gave me a brief respite from my worries. Her straightforward view towards Life and her brand of humour lifted my spirits. I watched 137 episodes over a few days. Strangely, I felt that Xia Xue was there for me through her blogs and videos, cheering me up. I was grateful to whatever she was doing online.  My sister is a fan of Xia Xue and she shows my mum updates about Xia Xue on her Dayr...

I called Dr Henry Cheng first when I spotted. They had closed and I realised that I wasn't even given any emergency number to call.  I was so stupid that I had not asked them for an emergency number. I searched online but to no avail. Desperate, I told my husband to go down to the clinic to check. He said that there was an emergency number on the door. After calling the number, he managed to talk to Henry C. He told my husband to ask me to rest and see him tomorrow morning when the climic opened. Lost, I decided to call my friend who was also on clomid with another doc, Dr SF Loh and conceived successfully with him.  The only fertility specialist - Prof PC Wong that I trusted was still away in a conference. I was disappointed with Dr Henry Cheng for not wanting to see me now. I remembered previously that my spotting had turned into a fountain of blood that very night. That fear propelled me to think of other solutions. That was why I went to Thomson AnE. Dr SF Loh did no...

Clomid is a drug that helps trigger ovulation and to regulate your menses. Dr Henry Cheng prescribed me to take two tablets a day. I have to take it from day 2 to day 6 of my cycle. During my first cycle, menses came on Day 15 just like how a normal period is supposed to be and something I was lacking for quite a while. I told myself that it was good news that Clomid worked for me.  My husband was overseas so I wasn't hoping too much. It was a wasted cycle as he had to attend an overseas conference and thus, we missed the golden period to have sex, have sexual intercourse or MAKE LOVE. After all these shit that had been happening, I truly realised why having sex is called making love. Love means love, why do you need to make it? Suddenly, I realised that two person came together trying their best to make a baby - the product of their love. Therefore, it is called making love. During the second cycle, I switched to Prof PC Wong. I was such a crappy doctor hopper. My mother did que...

I drove straight to Gleneagles and was pleasantly surprised at how huge the clinic was. It had a big waiting area that was designed to look like a living room with plushy sofas. There were expensive paintings on the wall and the place was tastefully decorated with plants too. The reception had a few staff manning the counter. My mobile phone had no battery and they gladly helped me to charge my phone. I chose a plushy sofa at a corner and waited. This atmosphere was a stark contrast to the previous clinics I had been too. I felt so relaxed that I decided to catch a wink by slumping my tired body against the soft cushion. Before I could fall into a deep sleep, it was my turn! I was ushered into a big consultation room but Dr Christopher Chen was not there. I overheard a male voice doing consultation in the very next connected room, separated by a thin wall. The nurse was young and friendly. She told me to be seated and to wait for Dr Chen as he would be here shortly. A few minutes...

If you have read my previous posts, you would have known that during my desperate attempt to save my second pregnancy, Dr Henry's nurse had advised me to set up an appointment to see the gynae as he could help prepare my body for another pregnancy. I agreed to it because Dr LC Cheng asked me to take it easy and was not keen to do any tests on me. I also checked online forums and Dr Henry's reviews were quite positive. Dr Henry's clinic is at Bishan St 11. I arrived late for my appointment and had to wait for 2 hours plus to see him. Like I said, all the gynae visits involved a lot of waiting so I was immune to it. Dr LC Cheng looked like a businessman; Dr Henry looked like a father in his late forties.  He spent quite a long time with us and I was satisfied with the consultation because he was a doctor who would bother to take out diagrams and explain in detail with us despite a long queue waiting for him. Gynaes tan dua lui (make a lot of money).  I explained to him abou...

Dr LC Cheng had arranged for me to see him again to take my last beta HCG test.  Somehow gynae appointments are about waiting and waiting. I reported to the lab as usual for my blood test to check the HCG level. I chose to go to the laboratory at TMC because there was this Indian nurse at LC Cheng's who could not do a proper blood test. She tortured me so much by using the needle to fish for the vein and could not manage to draw any blood. She would then put the blame on me, saying that I was too nervous. I stopped her from any further tries and requested another nurse to draw for me. It was then that they referred me to the laboratory upstairs. The staff was an expert. They drew blood efficiently and WITHOUT PAIN. I did not even know that they had finished drawing. It was that amazing. Since then, I had requested my blood to be drawn at the lab instead of the clinic downstairs. I arrived around 9am to take my blood test and my appointment was at 1130am. We saw the doc...