(Life's trials) A series of unfortunate events

Hi =D

It's been a loooong time.

During the period of mid March to mid April, a series of unfortunate events happened to our family. It was a very tough and challenging period and I wish to document it so that I can look back and recall the lessons we learnt. I'm so glad that we got over the period with God's grace and the immense support of our family and friends.

Here's a rough timeline of what happened:

15 March - Jo, our helper, did not come back from her home leave. We actually went to the airport to pick her up and to my immense dismay and disappointment, we did not see her. There were no calls or even messages from her. It was terrible. I felt so betrayed and sad because she promised she would come back. The least she could do was let us know by dropping a message. But nope, no sound, no word from her. Our helper was gone just like that. 

For the next 2 days, I was emotionally very disturbed. I would imagine her being in our home, playing with Leia. Going about her housework. I was so used to her being in our home, being a part of our family. At about 2am at night, I would wake up and cry silently because I was very upset. Every time Leia mentioned her name, my eyes would well up with tears. I didn't expect to be so affected. But I really was. I was sad that she wouldn't be there for Leia's baptism as Leia's proxy Godparent. 

18 - 20 March 

We had a 2 night staycation at Amara Sanctuary with Leia! This wasn't unfortunate and in fact, it was a good break for Gerald and I. We had real quality time with each other and our little girl. My mum, sister and her kids joined us on the first day and the children went swimming together. Leia had so much fun in the pool! 

On the 2nd day, after our buffet breakfast at Shutters, we brought Leia to Siloso beach to play with sand! It was awesome fun. We parked ourselves at a cafe which had a sand area that was sheltered and taught her how to build sandcastles. She overcame her fear of the sand =D We had lunch at McDonald's and Leia had her first full kid's meal hehe. After our nap, we visited the Merlion area for a children's funfair before we headed back for a nap. Mike, ky and Luke joined us for dinner at DTF before our awesome day ended.

22 March

Maybe we had a bit too much fun at the staycation, I fell quite sick and started having very high fever, till about 39 degrees. I just saw a GP to get some pregnancy safe paracetamol and flu medication.

24 March

It was Leia's turn to fall really ill and she started to have SUPER high fever. One of the nights, her fever peaked to 40.6 degrees and I was freaking out. I was already giving her paracetamol and alternated it with ibrufen and was sponging her. I was so worried she would get into a fit and suffer brain damage -.- On Good Friday, we brought her to Mount Alvernia's 24 hour clinic because she was still so unwell. The doctor gave her some antibiotics and more affective medication to stuff up her bum bum. 

26 March

This was the day of our baptism. Leia's fever had subsided and she seemed better. We were so happy that we could make it for our Baptism at the new St Peter's and Paul's church! Everything went well although Leia cried quite a bit before the ceremony and I was worried. But during the Baptism, Leia didn't cry at all when Father Ed put the holy water on her head! 

29 March - 1 April

For reasons unknown, I had to be admitted into Mount Alvernia Hospital for pneumonia. I was suffering from immense pain when I breathed and just felt very weak. Apparently, I was suffering from mycoplasma pneumonia and my flu strain had both Influenza B and Mycoplasma. Due to possible pregnancy complications, they warded me into ICU for 3 days. On the first day, I had to go through a series of tests, then sponged with ice water to bring my fever down. My doctor told me that I had to bring my fever down or I might go into pre term labor.

I was so afraid that something bad might happen. The sponging was a horrible process but I kept telling myself to bear with it for my baby. I was put on IV antibiotics and given oxygen to breathe due to my shallow and painful breathing. I felt a lot better the 2nd day when the painkillers and anti biotics started to work. Dr kept me in ICU just in case before I was transferred to normal ward on Thursday and was discharged on Saturday. Towards the end, I was coughing a lot as it was apparently a symptom of recovering. 

27 March - 29 March

The day after I was warded, Leia was admitted into KKH hospital because her fever came back and wouldn't go away. My poor baby and Hubby stayed in KKH for 2 nights. In the day, my MIL and FIL would accompany Leia when Gerald visited me. It was a very tough time for Gerald because he had to be strong for 2 of us. The 1st night, he couldn't rest because they were in 4 bedder ward and there were other babies crying throughout the night. But we're really thankful for the doctors and nurses there who helped Leia recover and she was able to be discharged.

3 April

Leia stayed at my in laws over the weekend whilst I recuperated at home with Gerald. I was soooo happy to see my baby again when she came home. My in laws continued to come to help me during the weekdays since we were helper- less. To make things easier, G ordered tingkat catering so that we didn't need to cook dinner and wash dishes at night. 

In the meantime, we started actively looking for a transfer maid to help with the housework and cooking. We knew it was gonna be difficult for me to handle everything, especially when our baby comes. I know I would be susceptible to falling sick or get a relapse if I didn't rest enough in my third trimester. 

8 - 9 April

My mum's agency called and told her of a potential transfer maid for hire. Over the 2 days, we had skype and face to face interview before we immediately confirmed her and she came on the 14th! 

Once she arrived, things got a little easier and I managed to rest. Leia also started school again so that we have more time in the mornings.