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About ME
Name: Isaac Cheang Wei-Yi
Age: 19+
School: Republic Polytechnic; DBMS
Boy dies of Leukemia
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
No Words are Enough to describe the fun we had together when Watson was alive .... A true account by Isaac on Watson Wong Yee (20 Apr 1989 - 28 Feb 2009)
Somewhere in mid-November last year, I heard of the news that Watson was hospitalized at CGH. It took me by shock as he looked healthy the last time i saw him; around September, when he visited my brother; Aaron, in hospital. At that time, he was working with Siemens for his industrial attachment.
The events that lead to Watson's hospitalization ...
According to Watson's parents and brother, Watson complained of frequent gum-aches and was brought to a dentist. Suspecting that it was an infection, the dentist advised him to floss his teeth. However, in the process of flossing, his gum got cut and it bled non-stop. This alerted his parents to send him to the hospital for further checkup.
At Changi General Hospital, Watson was diagnosed with dengue fever as his platelet count was low (a typical sign of dengue ...). Bad news came, days later, when the hematology lab at CGH told his parents that they found abnormal cells during a lab test. Due to insufficient facilities, the hospital requested that Watson be shifted to SGH for a 2nd opinion.
It was a weekend and this was my first visit to SGH; my first time visiting Watson. He was in relatively cheerful mood and could even complain about how cock up the hospital(s) were. He said something like "Ahya...don't know what nonsense the hospital saying ...one time say dengue and now say what bone marrow problem. FxxK them la". However, deep inside, he was afraid as he kept asking me; "err Isaac ah, u got learn about this in school anot? What is leukemia ...". I told him briefly what i knew about the pluri-potent stem cell and maturation to specialized cells.
All we could do is to hope for the best ...... days passed and the bone marrow biopsy results were out. Sadly, Watson was diagnosed with leukemia instead the previously thought, dengue fever. He underwent chemotherapy and even told us that he was afraid to die. We comforted him and told him not to worry ... but deep down inside, i knew that if he had the "acute" kind of leukemia, he would not survive for long. (I did not know what type of leukemia he had till much later on Christmas day- Acute myeloid Leukemia)
Several weeks passed and Watson's health deteriorated due to frequent chemotherapy sessions. I remembered that there was one point in time where his parents did not want us to visit Watson due to his low resistant level. Nearly every week, we would sms Watson's father to check on his condition.
The first shocking incident .... There was once when we smsed his father, we were informed that Watson had entered ICU due to some complications and also lung infection. He asked us to pray for Watson that he would recover. He eventually recovered and was shifted to ward 77 to recuperate. Till this point. it was weeks/a month since i visited Watson.
2nd Shocking Incident ....
About a week or two after shifting to Ward 77, we recieved an sms from Watson's father that Watson's heart had stopped for the very first time. Only after about 15minutes was he resuscitated.
According to medical science, the brain will suffer irreversible brain injury leading to coma or death if the person is not resuscitated after 4 to 6 minutes. Being resuscitated after 15 minutes is already itself a miracle. Doctors even warned Watson's parents that Watson was in very critical condition and that it was best to "let go". The reason that his heart stopped was due to several reasons; kidney failure, rejection of chemoteraphy and weak health physics.
The Surprise Visit ...
On Christmas day, Aaron, Eric ( a friend) and I decided to take a bold step by making a trip down to SGH;without asking permission from Watson's parents. We went to ward 72 and asked the nurses which bed and ward Watson was currently in. The nurse directed us to ward 4x; the mICU (medical Intensive Care Unit). We proceeded to the room and there, Watson lay in a dark room behind a glass panel. There were numerous tubes and machines attached to him; one which monitored his BP and the other his breathing pattern. Among the 6 patients in the ICU, Watson was one of the worst there.
Weeks passed and Watson was transferred out from ICU, back to ward 72. As weeks progressed, his condition improved dramatically.
The Miracle ...
Previously, after about 15minutes of oxygen deprivation to the body, Doctors predicted that Watson would totally be in vegetative state (just like the living dead). His brain motors will not be able to respond to external influences and would have to rely on life support to survive. However, Watson proved the doctors wrong. Not only was he able to blink, he was also able to yawn and move his mouth. Doctors did test on him and confirmed that he had the ability to respond to sounds and certain external influences. There was once, I was cleaning his saliva at the side of his mouth; he turned and allowed me to wipe off his saliva.
The sunday before his death (21 feb 09), Aaron and I visited the hospital and found that his tracheotomy tube was removed and that he did not have to rely on machines to aid his body in normal function. We read verses from the Bible to him and prayed for him. His mother also told him that the army had waved his NS and that his school had already prepared his Diploma Cert. The words that Watson's mother said was "baby get well soon. Your school already sent me a letter that your diploma is ready for collection. When u get better, we can collect it together".
The Warning that was Unheeded ....
After over 2 hours stay in the hospital, Watson's mother told us carry on with our activities and told us to enjoy ourselves on a weekend. Watson was also sleepy so Aaron and I told Watson to rest if he was tired. On 2 occassions, we told Watson that we were going off ... "Watson, We are going off...take care, rest well ah. Aaron, Jovi and me will be visiting you next sunday" and he immediatly turned his head to his left. On both this occassions, all of us told him not to worry and gave him our promise that we would visit him next week. Even on the 3rd time, when we wanted to leave, his mother had to hold his head and told us to leave quietly. We did not know that this was a warning of his death in the next few days to come.
On 28 feb 09, I recieved a call from Aaron that Watson had passed away. I was in a state of shock. He was well the week before and had his tube removed; how could he be dead??? Only if i had knew what he meant that Sunday, we wouldn't have left.
According to his family members, Watson had sudden difficulty in breathing on Thursday and it followed him till his death. Rest in Peace Watson ... You have fought a good fight of faith and is now seated at the right hand of God; our Father in heaven
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 timothy 4:7 (NIV)
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21: 4 (NIV)
{ 10:10 PM }
Final GPA - Republic Poly
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Please click to enlarge
{ 6:48 PM }
Send your old folk's to homes in JB
Monday, February 16, 2009
... It is cheaper down there(These words are from our dear minister Mr Khaw)
Live in nursing homes in JB? by LEE HUI CHIEH
SINGAPOREANS could consider living in nursing homes in neighbouring Johor Baru, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan suggested yesterday.
It would be cheaper, yet be near enough to Singapore for family members to visit and for residents to return for medical care if necessary, he said.
He said: 'It is mind-boggling. The cost of land and construction cost is so low that my cost of putting up just a polyclinic (in Singapore) is probably more than his cost of putting up a 200-bed nursing home (in Johor Baru).
'The monthly cost of keeping a resident in a private nursing home in Singapore, you can stretch it easily to pay at least 2-1/2 months of nursing home care in Johor Baru.'
Based on a forum post ....Friendster profiles of the 4 arrested who beat boy to death in Chinatown; the agressors who attacked this poor boy was caught!!!
The Long Waited School holidays are here again. This time round, IASK visited Singapore's Renowned Fish Farm; Qian Hu, as part of the December break time outing. Despite our tight schedule and plans, we managed to find time off to meet up & enjoy this sub-urban visit to the "unseen" part of Singapore.
{ 6:07 AM }
Who can help me solve?
Friday, November 28, 2008
Ah Lian spends $8 to buy a chicken, and sells to me for 9 dollars. Then she thinks that it is not worthwhile, and spends $10 to buy back from me. She sells it to another person for $11. I earned $1, but how much did Ah Lian earn?
