Special Request

Update: Thanks everyone for the prayers and the well wishes. I am sure she needs plenty plenty and plenty of support and prayers. I am glad that she survived the emergency op.  Here is the latest update of her status:

Yet another eventful day.

Started at 7 am when I received the dreaded call from the hospital. Maxis 3G crapped out on me again. Luckily, they were smart enough to call Jenny’s phone which was GSM-capable only.

Apparently, her intracranial pressure started shooting up after midnight and they decided they needed to do an emergency evacuation of the new blood clot and a decompressive craniectomy (removal of part of the cranium to relieve pressure on the brain).

It was really touch and go at that point because her ICP was persistently around the 28 mmHg level at that point. I immediately shot everyone a message because she could very well die on the table or even before the op at that point. Her mother and sister immediately came from Penang.

Fortunately, she survived the operation. They removed about 60% of the new clot, and the removal of the cranium succeeded in lowering the intracranial pressure. She’s now back in the ICU under sedation for another period of cerebral resuscitation.

Thank you, guys for your kind messages of support. She made it past this hurdle, and we really hope this is the end of her unlucky streak. It’s going to be a really long haul… and we will have to take it step by step and be thankful for every victory, no matter how small.

Today is a special day, to whoever reads this post, I need all of you to pray for my friend, Jenny, who is right now undergoing through an emergency operation. She is a doctor, young, and has saved many lives.  She surely deserves better.

Here are some excerpts of what happened.

How it started:

Early yesterday morning, Jenny suddenly complained of a severe headache and within minutes, collapsed and started vomiting. I knew right away it was dead serious. I immediately called for an ambulance but bloody Maxis wouldn’t connect me to 999!

Ended up using my landline to call for help. Unfortunately, the ambulance didn’t know how to get here. I went out looking for it, and the ambulance crew and hospital kept trying to call me but guess what – Maxis kept dropping my calls!!! My phone even went “off” the Maxis network several times!

In the end, I had to drive back to my house to give directions on the land line. Finally managed to meet the ambulance on the second trip out. By then, it was already what.. over 40-50 minutes since my first call?

She finally arrived at the Sungai Buloh hospital where they discovered she had cerebral haemorrhage, so she underwent an emergency operation to remove the blood and clots, to relieve the pressure in her skull.

She finally came out late last night… and is currently in the ICU. They didn’t manage to get much out, only about 20%, and there’s a chance of a rebleed… so I guess things aren’t as rosy as we hoped it would be. But we will still hope and pray for the best.

Latest update:

It has been a really bad day today.

The hospital called me early in the morning to get consent for a procedure. Apparently, they discovered she has an infection in her brain, probably caused by the very tube monitoring her intracranial pressure.

They had already started antibiotics but they needed to replace the tube. Nothing much we can do but agree, of course. An infection is always something you dread in the ICU but I guess, a real possibility after days of sedation.

Unfortunately, the EVD (extraventricular drain) replacement procedure resulted in FRESH bleeding at the site of entry and a new clot of about 2.5×2.3 cm in size. As a result, her intracranial pressure went skyhigh and she was in real danger. Her pupils were also fixed and dilated.

They managed to bring her ICP back to normal range within minutes… or so they tell me. And they did an emergency CT scan which showed that while there was a new clot, there was no rebleed of the old one (which was now slightly smaller in size).

It was a really harrowing time, especially since I just arrived home when I received a call to rush back to the hospital. They wanted me at hand in case they needed to do an emergency craniectomy (removal of part of the skull).

I arrived in time to see them wheel her back in from the CT scan. They managed to get her stable again… and she’s back on double sedation.

Just went back to check on her tonight. Seems like her ICP is in the normal range, and her pupils have shrunked to 4 mm… and is at least a little sluggish in response. Some promising signs in light of the extremely dire circumstances.

It’s been a really tiring, stressful day. Thanks for your support, guys… Things look real bleak, but I hope tomorrow’s a brighter day.

PS. God, I sure could use a break. Right about now would be nice. Thanks.

So everyone here,  I hope everyone can say a prayer for her to help her get through this.

Thanks everyone.

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