For those who have met my 3rd princess in person, you would not miss her prominent dimple on the left cheek. It is very deep that I noticed it the moment I nursed her in the labour room minutes after giving birth to her.
Balqis smiling away revealing her dimpleAnyhow, not only the dimple attracts people's attention. What come along with her sweet smile are her decayed front teeth. Due to this, she is a frequent to the dentist. A very cooperative young patient, I'd say. She seldom causes any problem to the dental staff. Obediently would open her mouth & understand pretty well of oral hygiene. Lately however, her gum was easily infected resulting from her decayed teeth. As advised by her regular dentist, HB & I agreed to give consent for teeth extraction.
I made an appointment with a dentist at a private hospital which Balqis was admitted before due to Bronchitis. HB was informed that his company would cover for Balqis's procedure. A week before the date of her operation however, we were told that his company would not cover dental for family members. Since I was at the hospital itself, I might as well ask the dentist for the cost of the extraction. According to her, she would only charge RM50 for each tooth. That sounded quite sensible. What more when it could be done as a day care.
For further clarification, I enquired the duty manager for a figure. And guess what? Since it would only be a day care, I should expect the total amount of RM3k - RM4k. That was such a ridiculous figure knowing that the dentist is charging us less that 1k! Come one... it was only teeth extraction which needed to go through GA. Not that someone was having a baby! We were prepared for 2k but double the amount is strictly blood sucking!
It was then I remembered my dear friend (Yes Dr. F... you are my dearest friend ;-D), an anaesthetist practises at a GH. She managed to get us an appointment with a paediatric dentist of the GH in 2 days time!
At GH 2 days after, I was prepared for a long wait in a not so comfortable place. It was good to prepare for the worst which eventually turned out good for us. The waiting room was very cozy, air-conditioned & was far from crowded. And`check this out... the children's waiting room was not only equipped with a 21" TV but amongst the toys I saw were a Barbie doll (original.. I checked!) with a castle & a Polly Pocket Set (sorry am not familiar with boys' toys).
The day of the operation was set on the 6th which was also the same date I canceled at the other hospital. Balqis did not look scared at all & was in fact looking forward. I had jitters but it was not that bad since I knew what to expect. Wardah underwent a tonsillectomy when she was 5.
Balqis started fasting at 2am on Tuesday (the 6th) morning. We had to be at the hospital as early as 7am. I made sure we were there on time. A friend did a favour helping us out & the last I wanted was to embarrass her. You see, the paediatric dentist is the only one at the hospital & she does surgery only every Tuesday & Thursday. We not only did not queue for the appointment, but even managed to opt for the date of the surgery. The dentist had a long list that day. 11 patients! Balqis was the 3rd as arranged according to age. Her surgery started at 10.30am.
No, my friend did not conduct the GA. It was another doctor, a paediatric anaesthetist. Seriously, in the Operation Theatre I did not feel like I was in a GH. Even at *YMC with Wardah the treatment was not as overwhelming as this one. As we were entering the OT Balqis was given a set of slippers. Striking yellow with Sponge Bob character... original Croc OK! Once entered, the anaesthetist handed her a cuddly Barney. Balqis was smiling away, all forgotten about the surgery. The anaest kept saying about Power Ranger's mask. Hmmm... that made me wonder. How exactly did Power Rangers look like & I bet Balqis had no idea what it was.
The mask was strawberry scented. Balqis obediently put it on. Well, I had already elaborated to her of the things she should be expecting. I knew the exact moment when she inhaled the gas. She wore this shocking look but I was still holding her hands. As she was almost giving in to the anaesthesia, the nurses laid her down. She started to fight & calling out for me. That was tough... One second she was crying out for mama & the next, her body gradually became feeble & passed out. I kissed her & with heavy heart was led out of the OT.
45 minutes later, I was called out to be in the recovery area. The surgery went smooth, alhamdulillah... 7 teeth were extracted, 4 top incisors, 1 top premolar & 2 bottom premolars. Once awake, she was crying. According to the anaest it was not due to the pain because she was already given a GA, a local & even a PCM through her rectum. She was not use to the numbness & feeling uncomfortable. I was not panicked. It is normal for Balqis to cry after waking up from a deep sleep.
She was crying non-stop for 15 minutes & the minute I told the anaest that Balqis complained of having some pains at the gum area, she gave her Pentadine. That relaxed her & put her to sleep again. Balqis was sent back to the ward & slept like a log.
She is back to kindy today. No complication but I still give her PCM. If she does not complain of any pain today, I will stop tomorrow.
You know, I never had the experience with our government hospital before. Frankly, the service has improved a lot. Any idea on how much HB paid the hospital? RM51.50 & according to the nurse, if Balqis had to be admitted it would only be RM1.50 daily as paediatric ward is all in one same class.
I made an appointment with a dentist at a private hospital which Balqis was admitted before due to Bronchitis. HB was informed that his company would cover for Balqis's procedure. A week before the date of her operation however, we were told that his company would not cover dental for family members. Since I was at the hospital itself, I might as well ask the dentist for the cost of the extraction. According to her, she would only charge RM50 for each tooth. That sounded quite sensible. What more when it could be done as a day care.
For further clarification, I enquired the duty manager for a figure. And guess what? Since it would only be a day care, I should expect the total amount of RM3k - RM4k. That was such a ridiculous figure knowing that the dentist is charging us less that 1k! Come one... it was only teeth extraction which needed to go through GA. Not that someone was having a baby! We were prepared for 2k but double the amount is strictly blood sucking!
It was then I remembered my dear friend (Yes Dr. F... you are my dearest friend ;-D), an anaesthetist practises at a GH. She managed to get us an appointment with a paediatric dentist of the GH in 2 days time!
At GH 2 days after, I was prepared for a long wait in a not so comfortable place. It was good to prepare for the worst which eventually turned out good for us. The waiting room was very cozy, air-conditioned & was far from crowded. And`check this out... the children's waiting room was not only equipped with a 21" TV but amongst the toys I saw were a Barbie doll (original.. I checked!) with a castle & a Polly Pocket Set (sorry am not familiar with boys' toys).
The day of the operation was set on the 6th which was also the same date I canceled at the other hospital. Balqis did not look scared at all & was in fact looking forward. I had jitters but it was not that bad since I knew what to expect. Wardah underwent a tonsillectomy when she was 5.
Balqis started fasting at 2am on Tuesday (the 6th) morning. We had to be at the hospital as early as 7am. I made sure we were there on time. A friend did a favour helping us out & the last I wanted was to embarrass her. You see, the paediatric dentist is the only one at the hospital & she does surgery only every Tuesday & Thursday. We not only did not queue for the appointment, but even managed to opt for the date of the surgery. The dentist had a long list that day. 11 patients! Balqis was the 3rd as arranged according to age. Her surgery started at 10.30am.
No, my friend did not conduct the GA. It was another doctor, a paediatric anaesthetist. Seriously, in the Operation Theatre I did not feel like I was in a GH. Even at *YMC with Wardah the treatment was not as overwhelming as this one. As we were entering the OT Balqis was given a set of slippers. Striking yellow with Sponge Bob character... original Croc OK! Once entered, the anaesthetist handed her a cuddly Barney. Balqis was smiling away, all forgotten about the surgery. The anaest kept saying about Power Ranger's mask. Hmmm... that made me wonder. How exactly did Power Rangers look like & I bet Balqis had no idea what it was.
The mask was strawberry scented. Balqis obediently put it on. Well, I had already elaborated to her of the things she should be expecting. I knew the exact moment when she inhaled the gas. She wore this shocking look but I was still holding her hands. As she was almost giving in to the anaesthesia, the nurses laid her down. She started to fight & calling out for me. That was tough... One second she was crying out for mama & the next, her body gradually became feeble & passed out. I kissed her & with heavy heart was led out of the OT.
45 minutes later, I was called out to be in the recovery area. The surgery went smooth, alhamdulillah... 7 teeth were extracted, 4 top incisors, 1 top premolar & 2 bottom premolars. Once awake, she was crying. According to the anaest it was not due to the pain because she was already given a GA, a local & even a PCM through her rectum. She was not use to the numbness & feeling uncomfortable. I was not panicked. It is normal for Balqis to cry after waking up from a deep sleep.
She was crying non-stop for 15 minutes & the minute I told the anaest that Balqis complained of having some pains at the gum area, she gave her Pentadine. That relaxed her & put her to sleep again. Balqis was sent back to the ward & slept like a log.
She is back to kindy today. No complication but I still give her PCM. If she does not complain of any pain today, I will stop tomorrow.
You know, I never had the experience with our government hospital before. Frankly, the service has improved a lot. Any idea on how much HB paid the hospital? RM51.50 & according to the nurse, if Balqis had to be admitted it would only be RM1.50 daily as paediatric ward is all in one same class.
To Dr. Norliza, Dr. Sushila & all the staff, thank you very much for the hospitality. And of course to our dear, dear friend... let's do lunch, our treat! ;-)
Enjoy the pics. It was not allowed to shoot in the ward but I managed to snap this secretly using HB's point & shoot without the flash ( will I be charged for this???)
Enjoy the pics. It was not allowed to shoot in the ward but I managed to snap this secretly using HB's point & shoot without the flash ( will I be charged for this???)
The ward
This one was when we just reached the ward & HB was helping Balqis to take off her necklace.
The tag & on the other hand a cream applied as a pain relief for any intraveneous procedure. Which however did not work on her. She was pricked in the OT after the GA.
Balqis, bathed & showing off her soon to be extracted teeth.
Dozed off after the Pentadine episode.
A close up. She had to bit on the gauze as to stop the bleeding.
Wasn't that cute? Nope, she didn't complain of any pain.
Awoke & was in a good mood.
Doodling away. Hungry & asked for something to eat.
It was difficult for her to speak so she drew this. Any idea what was her request for lunch? That was a piece of pizza! Hahaha... We got her mushroom soup instead.
Almost time to be discharged. All freshened up, hair combed, accessories on but no longer posing a wide big smile... ;-)
Of course she didn't want to reveal this...
Proud of you Balqis! You were one brave girl.... Pssst, more ice cream in the freezer! ;-)
