Caring for a sick sibling

I now know wat it feels like to care for a family member who is unhealthy.

As i mentioned in my earlier blog, i was in Germany because my sister was injured during one of her cheerleading practices. all the three ligamen in her knee were torn hence the doc had to replace it with that in her thigh. it was a painful experience for her. she now has three titanium screws in her right knee and she can't take part in any extensive sports anymore. it scars her for life.

Her injury and now her recovery stage have an impact on me and mom. for me personally, while caring for her in Soltau, i had to deal with a lot of emotional rollercoaster. for one, i was sadden by what had happened to her and my inability to ease her pain. also, her temporary disability makes it almost impossible for me to leave her bedside while in hospital. she couldn't walk very much so i had to help her to visit the toilet and bring her stuff whenever she needed something. it was physically very tiring.

The journey home was definitely not a pleasant one. The German airline screwed up our seatings ie. we weren't sitting together and sis' seat to the toilet was at least six rows away so everytime she had to go to the loo, she had to walk about 20 steps. she also found the trip very tiring because she couldn't relax her legs since there was someone sitting in front of her. the check-in person at the counter was really inconsiderate when she set our seats. while i admit that i was not specific when i told her to arrange the seatings properly due to sis' condition, i assumed that she had the common sense to think of behalf of the passenger. afterall, i'm sure that sis was not her first disabled passenger. for such a mistake, she had made our journey very distasteful --> this same feedback will be sent to airline as well.

Upon arrival, i admitted sis into a hospital near to our home. i was appalled to find out that most of the terms and conditions that i had to agree to were related to finances. in addition, we had to pay RM2K as deposit for admission. the money would only be refunded upon the receipt of guarantee letter from company. this made me conclude that this is a rich-man's hospital. i can hardly imagine a poor, sick person to be able to get medical care from this place.

Sis' two day stay in the hospital cost about RM1,100 including medicine, treatment and accommodation. sadly enough, the premium was not in tandem with the services provided. the nurses were slow to respond to patients' needs. urine on the potty was left overnight until sis had to tell the nurse to remove it. medical report from Germany was supposed to be photocopied and returned to us but the nurse did not do so until we repeatedly requested for it. the doctor forgot to issue medical certificate for sis resulting in us waiting for 45 mins before we could discharge --> so ok, sis forgot to ask him earlier but shouldn't the doc realised there's a need for MC since sis couldn't walk? does the patient have to specify everything?

Sis is now staying at my neighbour's place because our home is on the fourth floor and stairs are not conducive for her at all. she is undergoing physiotherapy accompanied by mom almost everyday. mom also brings sis meals three times a day. she also stays with her through the night as sis still needs a bit of assistance when going to toilet. m sure all these are taking a toll on her, or eventually. i'm impressed by her sustainability. she never once complained and she did it very sacrificially. for that, i'm very grateful.

I don't know when we would be able to live normally. probably it won't be for another three months but i'm sure by then, we would have grown stronger as a family. afterall, it takes times of adversity to bring people together.