I was born with an eye ptosis. When I was a baby, doctors told my parents that I had to go for surgery to correct it. If I didn’t I would lose my eyesight.
My parents were very worried but was concerned about putting me through surgery at such a young age. So with the doctors in agreement, they waited until I was 2-3 years old before I went for my operation.
I have this memory lodged somewhere at the back of my brain of me being in surgery but my dad said it was impossible because I was put under general anesthetic. I guess it was just a dream that my mind recreated and stored into my memory.
The operation was successful and I was the youngest in my family then to ever go through an operation. It was a record that I held until yesterday.
While I was at work on Monday, Shorty told me she was bringing Penny to the hospital because there was an odd swelling near her crotch. I was scheduled to go to Bangkok the next day for some meetings but I didn’t think the swelling would amount to anything. So I booked my flights anyway.
A few hours later, Shorty messaged me. Penny had a hernia. Her ovary had dropped into a hole and the swelling we see on her crotch is her ovary sticking out. The doctor said they need to operate on her as soon as possible to correct it.
Like most modern parents would do, we searched online for information about her condition. We found that it wasn’t common but it also wasn’t totally uncommon. And if operated quickly with a good doctor it’s something that can be resolved without too much fuss.
Still the thought of Penny, barely 1 month old going under the knife was heartbreaking. I canceled my trip to Bangkok (as a result burning my budget airline flights) and the next day followed Penny to the hospital.
Her surgery was set at 11.30AM. We wheeled Penny in on a full sized hospital bed and were told to change her into a hospital gown of sorts. We changed her, wrapped her up in a thick blanket that the nurses provided and then waited. There was a man on a hospital bed in the queue right ahead of us, waiting to go into the operating theater. Just like anyone going for surgery, he looked a little worried.
I thought to myself that on the bright side, Penny didn’t know what was going to happen. She didn’t have to worry.
Finally the time came and the nurses wheeled her away from a teary Shorty and me. I too teared at the sight of my tiny daughter on a bed too big for her, being wheeled away into an operating theater. I patted Shorty on her head and she sought comfort on my shoulder.
“So poor thing…” she said.
“Don’t worry” I replied. “She has the best doctor and healthcare…. she’ll be okay”.
We went for lunch to calm ourselves down and a little more than an hour later we were called back into the operating theater. Penny was out and crying. Awake from her anesthetic. Shorty recognized her cries almost immediately. I had my doubts but when I listened to it a second time I knew Penny was wide awake.
They only let one person into the waiting area so Shorty went in and calmed Penny down. The operation was a success and Penny was fine.
She gets discharged today and she walks away not just with her ovaries all fine but with a new record. The record of the youngest one in my family to had gone through surgery.
At just over a month old.
Timothy Tiah – Co-Founder of Colony, Kuala Lumpur Co-Working Space