A Stressful Week

It was a week where family and work pressures came to a boil. Thankfully, I had strong support from my wife to help me weather through it.

My younger son was feeling unwell for the past week, having dizzy spells and fluctuating high fevers. We thought that he recovered over the weekend but he vomited on Monday morning and we decided to bring him for a blood test. The results showed that the markers for his liver and gallbladder were off the charts and the doctor recommended that he be warded immediately. His chest pains were also getting more intense. A series of further tests had to be conducted straight away.

At the same time, I was preparing for a term test paper that evening for my Business Analytics night classes and my first official trip to Myanmar as a Treasury consultant to take up my position as ALCO Chairman. It was a difficult time to have so many conflicting demands happening at the same time. The specialist doctor saw him and assured us twice that he was not in mortal danger, which was assuring but yet as we see him in pain, it was heart-wrenching. Thankfully, my other son was in the army camp for now and my wife decided to take urgent leave from her hectic work.

After completing my exams that evening, I went home to collect my stuff for my business trip and headed to the hospital to spend the night with my son. At that point, I was still unsure if I should go to Myanmar. A number of bank meetings were already set up to introduce me and I had to meet senior management people to prepare for a 1st major meeting on Thursday and a training session on Tuesday.

His condition stabilized by Tuesday early morning and I decided to head directly to the airport at 5 am. The next few days were a blur as I immersed myself in this new role but was checking on his condition every few hours. My wife was so strong, she held the fort all by herself with some help from our close friends. More tests were requested by the specialist and so the hospital stay was extended to Thursday.

Meanwhile, I shortened my trip by a day, pushed some meetings to Thursday morning and then purchased a new one-way Thursday afternoon flight home. He was discharged on Thursday afternoon and further appointments were arranged for next week, one with a heart doctor next Tuesday to get a second opinion about his chest pains, to help ease our concerns. Meanwhile, some of the test markers were still high due to the unknown viral infection. A follow-up meeting with the specialist was also fixed for next Wednesday. His junior college term starts next Friday, so I hope that all would be well by then for him to enjoy his new term.

This was a week I never expected, a lot of escalating anxieties with twists and turns to the unfolding story. Thankfully, I could depend fully on my strong wife. She has always been the pillar of the family and she did a brilliant job handling the family crisis.