Survival Choreograph

What a bad day?

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What an even worse day?

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How bad can it be?

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.. VERY BAD INDEED ..

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I used to believe that things can’t turn really bad because we if we collectively make a good decision one after another, risks of bad events (say 0.1% change) become negligible. An event contains many events. To have a very bad day, every single event needs to go bad. We are probably looking at probably of (0.1%)^N which evaluate to limit to zero ~ very unlikely ~ never happen. Is that true?

I was on a holiday in Italy with my wife and two best friends. Before the holiday even started, we need to plan the trip. There were few options:

1. Driving from Eindhoven in my manual VW poly
2. Taking plane to Milan and rent a cheap car with manual transmission
3. Taking plane to Milan and rent an automatic (AT) car Out of those choices, it’s obvious that I would prefer the 1st option but I don’t object any other options because I don’t like the idea of being the only driver. Some said what if “you are not fit to drive”, who could take over? I’ve no better argument. We went with the third option which turns out to be another good decision we’ve made.

The trip begins with a nice MG HS plugin hybrid. We were enjoying the drive in Italy. We had great fun hiking in Dolomites. Everyday is fully of laughs. We cooked a beautiful homemade dinner in a warm cozy apartments.

Half way into the trip … My enjoyment started to end PREMATURELY.

I’ve had a fever for 3 days. It seems to be under controlled with paracetamol. Two days before the original flight back to Eindhoven, the first bad thing started to happen. During the night, I had difficulty to pee despite feeling of a full bladder. I woke up every 20 minutes to pee for few CC or as little as few drops. I made a first call to my dad asking for prescription. It was pretty lucky that I had my medicine kit around - He was suspected of urinary inflammation. I had one Curam and Cyproxyl in the hope that it will reduce the pain …

That day we went to Zermat .. The view and museum were stunning but I could only wish I enjoy it more, because the pain is getting real. The same afternoon we headed to Lake Como - the final attraction of the trip. At the restaurant I walked in-and-out from the toilet almost 10 times, simply to let out a few droplets.

That afternoon I felt like I really need a rest, so I spend the afternoon there trying the fight with the pain. I really need a sleep but the pain was there all a while … Until, I thought of making an appointment with house doctor in Eindhoven tomorrow soon after I land. I made the earliest appointment on the next day.

Around midnight – 24 hours after the last pee – my wife started to see that it was becoming worse … At that point, I can’t even stand straight, a stride is probably 30cm … She made the best call to get ambulance. Is this called emergency? I hesitated but now that I recall what has happened: YES, THIS IS EMERGENCY

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A group of two men and two woman arrived. One man was a volunteer helping with the translation. They interviewed my symptom. I was so scared that I didn’t deserve the level of emergency. Heart rate was high 90. Body temp was rather normal with a bit of fever. A guy said we will take you to the nearest ER. They bring the chair and with one man and one lady they carry me down the apartment into the ambulance. I felt sorry to them carrying me down the alley.

Ride was really horrible. I cannot stop the pain of water sloshing when the driver was trying his best to navigate around small narrow road along the lake cliff but I had a peace of mind knowing where I was going to and wishful that everything would be better in the coming hour. I was talking to the lady sitting next to me. She said she had covid two years ago. They were volunteers and their shift starts from 2000 to 700 the next day. What a great people! I like helping others but never imagine myself devoting to helping others at this level. 30-minute ride doesn’t seem to have an end. I turned my body left and right to find a better spot.

Finally, the ambulance stopped. I was pulled out on the bed from the van. Few more checks – BP, body temp, interviews by the hospital staffs, ID check. I was asked if I had Covid. I guessed yes but I hadn’t done any tests. I got the test. Nurse pressed her finger on lower stomach and I screamed out very loud. Before the volunteers left, I said You are the Best! After around 10 minutes – felt so so long at that time. The pain was getting worse but knowing it would be taken care of gave me assurance. I feel so thankful to my wife that she had made an ambulance call 3 hours ago. I couldn’t imagine how would I be staying in that apartment – be fainted?

I was pushed into the operation room. They wet the ultrasound probe. Soon as it touch the stomach, they aborted knowing that there are full of water. I was asked to pull down my trousers and nurses padded the bed with gel lining. Doctor said he will insert the urinary catheter to drain the bladder and in ten minutes you will feel much better and you could get discharged the next morning with catheter in for a week. The situation could only gets better from now, I told myself. The nurse used a syringe to suck the urinary tube. It felt like the valve that had been blocked for 24 hours has opened. Pee flows out with almost no effort. Within the next few minutes I am sleeping on the damp clothes flooded with water. Then, doctor decided to continue the drain with catheter. As much as it sounds scary, it was even more painful… 10 minutes after it was in, the pain from insertion has gone. Water got to drain … It felt much better.

The shock wasn’t over yet. A nurse come back with positive covid result … the little hope of flying back to Eindhoven on the next morning was gone. Immediately, I was pushed to Covid ER where I joined 3 other uncles in the same room. It was 3:30AM. I tried to take a nap but it was really hard because the backrest was a bit high, you can hear the sound of operations in the next room, noises from life supporting machines, people talking in Italian, uncle asked for helps from the nurse, after all I was a bit thirsty from not able to properly hydrating for the past 24 hours. Turning the body was painful with the catheter attached. Tube has to be aligned at the right spot to prevent the pain.

8:00AM - the next shift had started. The nurse walked the covid ward and I was the last patient where she stopped. She told me that all data looked really good and the doctor wanted to discharged me now. 1.4L of urine was drained last night!! The best part was catheter would be removed as well. But … the process of removing it was really, really painful. I bursted into tears when the nurse said you are good to go. It felt like a slow motion wishing other people in the ER the best, thanking the nurse, walking out from one door after another.

It felt almost like having a second life when I walked about from the hospital into the sun. I rang my wife and I saw them just on the other side of the hospital. I felt so grateful seeing them again. They had spent last night planning on the situation where I extended my stay in Lecco for recovery. Straight away, my friend drove us to the hotel in city center. They drove back to Milan to catch a return flight that noon. What a timing!

The story of my bad day was about to end. I went to a restroom in the hotel to wash my face. I washed my glasses as they are oily … One of the leg detached itself from the glasses. What a day! I was laughing. It was the turning point for my bad day. One-by-one thing was resolved. I started to pee again. I had the lunch pasta. I got the lens fixed on the new glasses. Every pieces of my life started to come together.

Nothing has been lost. Stories has been learnt. Every one has been so kind to me. I can only wish I thank you all enough the wife, the best friends, the parents, the parents-in-law, the volunteer, the doctors, the nurses, the Italy. Grazie Mille