Here I am, writing from the comfort of my own house. After a few days of round-the-clock duty at the hospital, I'm finally home. And even though I wasn't the one lying in the hospital bed, the physical and mental exhaustion is almost unbearable. The biggest culprit? A severe, relentless lack of sleep.
When you are the full-time caretaker of a child admitted to the ward, you quickly learn that hospital nights have an entirely different rhythm. You are constantly running on adrenaline, and the nurses, as dedicated and attentive as they are, will gently wake you up almost every single hour to check vitals, administer medications, and monitor progress.
Just to give you a little peek into what those nights looked like:
12:00 AM: Just when I was finally drifting off and closing my eyes, a soft knock on the door:
"Puan, sebut nama penuh anak ya, kita nak bagi antibiotik."
1:00 AM: An hour later, a quiet check-in:
"Puan, temperature masih tinggi, tapi heartbeat okay."
2:00 AM: The middle-of-the-night routine continues:
"Puan, sekarang kita nak bagi ubat cair kahak, sebut nama penuh anak ya."
3:00 AM: Adjusting the lines:
"Semua ubat dah settle, sekarang kita kena sambung drip ya Puan."
4:00 AM: A familiar spike:
"Temperature naik balik, kita nak drip PCM, sebut nama penuh anak ya Puan."
6:00 AM: Dawn breaks, time for morning meds:
"Puan, ada 2 ubat oral yang kena ambil. Check nama penuh anak dulu, lepas tu boleh kejut untuk makan."
7:00 AM: And right on cue, the cutest alarm clock goes off:
"I'm hungry, Mom."
That was pretty much how I spent every single night at the hospital, playing nurse's assistant, watching the monitor, and making sure Adam felt safe through every single checkup.
Now that we are finally back in our own space, let's just say I feel like sleeping for three straight days without moving an inch. But seeing him resting comfortably in his own bed makes every single sleepless hour completely worth it.
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