Trabeculectomy

Most of the people whom I know who have recently gone for eye surgery were to improve their vision, and I will be going today too, but it's to save mine. Yes, the right eye which has stabilised for the past year has gone hay-wire again. The IOP (i.e. eye-pressure) spiked again, even when I am on 3 types of meds. This leaves me not much of a choice but to go for a Trabeculectory to relieve the pressure.

The op is this afternoon and I am supposed to fast from 10:30 am. I just finished my last sip from my Slurpee about an hour ago and I'm already feeling a bit thirsty :P. Anyway, hope this op will fix this problem once and for all.

---[Updates]---------

30 Jul 2009:
Reached early for surgery. Drove myself and Dad there. Wifey would be driving us home after the op. The surgery went pretty smoothly although it was kinda scary at times. Especially when injecting anesthetic near the eye and during the surgery itself. The entire duration was about half-hour, and near the end it was a bit painful as I can feel the stitching done near the cornea as the anesthetic was wearing out.

31 Jul 2009:
First review at the doc went ok. Doc said the op went "uneventfully". Did some cleaning up of the eye and Doc said pressure was at 8 mm/Hg (Ideal is about 10-12 mm/Hg).

3 Aug 2009:
Second review at the doc. Doc measured pressure and it dropped to 4 mm/Hg. Was told to reduce frequency of medication to help increase the pressure. Next review on Wed.

12 Aug 2009:
Third review at the doc. Doc measured pressure and it was still at 4 mm/Hg. He did not seem too concerned as he is confident that the healing process will eventually bring up the pressure. Further check on the retina and vessels did not show any bleeding or wrinkling so everything seemed to be fine. Next review will be 2 weeks later.

24 Aug 2009: Fourth review at the doc. Eye was feeling prickly and the surface of the eye seems to have some wrinkling whenever I look to the centre. So went to see the doc earlier to see if anything is wrong. Thought I would have a long wait since I didn't have an appointment but surprisingly there weren't much patients. Doc checked and said it was ok, the wrinking was caused by excess fluid being filtered out and showed that the Trabeculectomy was working fine. Pressure was up to 6 mm/Hg, just out of the official hypotony range. Vision has improved slightly and the next review will be in mid-Sep.

Orchard Central

Yesterday was wifey's facial appointment again. So I was a CentrePoint kid for an hour or so. Was a bit lazy so spent some time in the car listening to music before heading out to the mall to take a walk around. Didn't manage to buy anything during that half hour walk though.

After wifey was done, we went over to the new Orchard Central mall just across the road from CentrePoint. It was an interesting experience. Designed by DP Architects and developed by Far East Organisation, it is touted as Singapore's first "Vertical Mall" at Orchard. The building is narrow and tall. Even though not all the shops were open, you could get a feel of how it would be like when it is fully "operational".

The building has lots of steel and glass. Glass lifts and plenty of escalators. They even have a rock climbing area at the long and narrow atrium. Yesterday, they were playing jive music and some shoppers (not sure of they were really shoppers) were dancing the jive at the atrium!

The shopping area is divided into various clusters. There are 12 floors in total with about 8 floors of shopping. All the levels are longish in design. Some of the shops are "open concept" and you actually walk through them without knowing where is the actual "entrance". Most of the retail shops are fashion with some sports shops on the 4th and 5th level. Although the concept is refreshing, it could get a bit confusing trying to navigate through the shops.

The highlight of the day was the rooftop garden at the 11th and 12th floor. Although not officially ready, we managed to walk through the "construction area" and got to see the view from the top floor of OC, nice! I think the view would be much nicer at night. I am also guessing that there is going to be some restaurants on the roof garden when it is complete. Too bad I did't bring my camera along. Will definitely come back again to take a look next time.

Comparing Home Loans

If you are looking at financing (or re-financing) your property in Singapore to save $$$. Check out this website => SMARTLOANS.SG

Has a cool wizard to perform calculations for you, and you can see what the various banks are offering before contacting them for more details.

Sanctuary

Everybody has their little space in the world. Some find comfort in a little place at home, some at the poolside, at the beach or even (yes) in the bathroom.

Mine just happens to be in a little portable 1.5m x 2.5m space behind the steering wheel. Yes, it's the car.

It's where I spend 2 hours a day (or more), and I enjoy the time when I am driving alone on the way back home. Whether I'm sad, stressed, angry etc. a slow drive home with the appropriate music usually fixes things.

Even during the day, this little private sanctuary provides comfort during lunchtime or when I need a break from the office. Because it is portable, I can choose my environment and ambience depending on my mood.

Anyway, today was no exception. With several things on my mind, the usual 20 minute drive took me twice as long, and the music twice as loud. Surprisingly, I wasn't even bothered by all the inconsiderate drivers...

Imagine ...

Your Section had received orders to take this very important hill at all costs. Intel informed you that the area is lightly defended, so you take only what you need. When you arrived, you find yourself surrounded by a well entrenched platoon, supported by mortar fire. You press on ...

It was an uphill battle. One Section against so many enemy troops, you are outnumbered. Fighting for days, you grow tired. Reinforcements are badly needed, but none were in sight. You begin to wonder about the real importance of this hill ...

Suddenly, HQ radios in that reinforcements were available. They join in the fight. However, as they were engaging the enemy, some of your comrades are hit by their friendly fire ...

Through the smoke, you can see the objective at the top of the hill is now near. The battle is nearly over. In a hours time, you could be standing on top of the hill and planting your flag. However, even though the battle could be won, the war is not over.

Your troops are exhausted and some are wounded. You are still stuck with your reinforcements, and there is a high chance of an enemy counter attack. The question is, will you stay and defend because of that piece of land, or because you fought so hard for it?