The adage ‘ no pain, no gain’ is undoubtedly a misnomer for me. i love figure skating but it came at a price. Brave little me had a chrondroplasty done on my Rt knee with a diagnosis of chrondromalacia grade 3.
8 mths post recovery, i underwent another op for my left knee on 17 Aug 07 at CGH with Dr Chang. My diagnosis was left patella maltracking, patellofemoral joint cartilage central ulcer grade 3. The doc did an arthroscopic lateral release of the patella ,debridement of medial plica.
What shocked me was the Doc’s report of a crack in my cartilage (meniscus tear) at the tender age of 24. i must’ve thought i was invincible on ice as the knee guards did their best to protect me against the hard knocks & falls at 40km/hr on ice. It felt surreal being a patient, after treating so many myself. At the receiving end, i could now wholly empathasize with anther human being, a human touch is ESSENTIAL, rather than being “just another patient of ward 36/bed 25″. Because i was immobilized, the nurse had to wheel me to the toilet in a special chair. The chair had a huge hole cut on the seat to fit the toilet bowl. I thought that was an ingenious, innovative idea compared to a bed pan. My mum and sis, Clare were angels, they took care of my every need and i am blessed to have get -well soon wishes from friends and colleagues and even a parent from KKH, Apple who shared her testimony with me and prayed with me after her daughter’s speech therapy session with me. Annie’s msg was most encouraging, Isaiah 41:13 has become my favourite verse- Here hoping it’ll bless & comfort you out there with life’s trials and tribulations ” For i am the lord, your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear, i will help you. Do not be afraid”. Hugs
