A Wake-Up Call

Last night was a terrible night Mommy had. I couldn't sleep a single wink even though I went to bed close to 2am. Every single time I closed my eyes, I had this vision of the white piece of thing emerging from Kieona's nostril. How can anyone not have nightmares when she thought that she had dug out her daughter's bone at the nostil or something deep within her nose?

Early this morning, I decided it was best to have her examined by our GP since Heaven knows if there was any infection within that Mommy really have no clue how to find out. Mommy decided that school can wait and rushed down to the clinic after gulping down her breakfast to queue for a number. The helper was given instructions too to have the kids dressed up and ready for school so that I can come fetch them for the consultation, after I get the number since they were both not done with their breakfasts yet. We were first in the queue and thinking that Dr Cheah normally comes in at 9am (clinic opens at 8.30am), Mommy took her time to get the girls and reached the clinic within 20 minutes. Well, we were late as the queue number was already at 4, but we were glad we were able to consult the doctor as soon as patient number 4 came out.

Dr Cheah was told what happened and Mommy also brought the offending object to show her how large it was. Kieona was thoroughly checked for any signs of infection. The result? Dr Cheah said although the area seems red, it does not seem like infection had set in and thinks that it will probably clear on its own. However, we were given a mild antibiotics to prevent any bacteria from forming. She also asked how Mommy got it out and whether I knew what it was before I pulled it out of her nostrils. I said I didn't, but had a shock when I saw it once it was out. She said lucky it was done pretty well, since there was little injury to the delicate nostril as well. What a relief! Mommy asked Dr Cheah to also highlight to Kieona the risks of putting things into her nostrils, since this has happened many times and no amount of talking to from Mommy seems to have worked. Each time it gets worse. Mommy really cannot imagine what could have happened if it had gone undetected for another few more days. We could really have lost Kieona as the doctor also said that if a foreign object is left in our body for too long, infection will set in and that can be fatal.

If only I had known how at risk she was and how much I would lose sleep over this, I would have insisted Daddy to bring her to the hospital for checks last night.

This incident is like a wake-up call to Mommy. I kept wondering to myself if this was my fault, and that there had been too much focus on Eugene and little time for the girls, especially Kieona (since she was the oldest and by far most sensible). I suppose I had overlooked the fact that she is still a very young child, and I wonder if the repeated attempts of stuffing things inside her nostrils was a way of her asking for my attention. Her learning in various areas seems to have also taken a beating, since I haven't been able to focus my energies on her with my busy schedule everyday and there was always a rush to cramp our time for playing and for revision.

What should I do? Throughout the night I had been tossing and turning in bed. Whatever the outcome, the decision will be a tough one but I suppose there will never be a perfect solution.