Dreamt about her Recovery

I woke up from a dream about my English Boss.

In my dream, I visited her with two other colleagues. When we reached the rehabilitation centre, her bed was empty. We were referred to the physiotherapy room where she was lying on a bed after doing some exercises. Even in the dream, I was full of hope that we could see her supporting herself on the walking bars and trying very hard to walk, while approaching the physiotherapy room.

When I saw her, I had my daughters with me. I showed her my baby and told her how delightful the baby was, and touched her hand with Baby's.

Then she spoke!

And it was exactly how she had spoken before she was down with stroke.

I was very surprised and thrilled that she was speaking, but apparently, she did not want to let everybody know she could speak already.

Then I woke up to find that it was just a dream.

And I was sad.

Although she is remembered in my prayer and I am sure she will recover for the strength of character and determination she possessed, it's difficult not to wonder how long it will take for her to make a significant recovery. Every step that she takes is so tiny and tedious.

A Mainlander colleague was telling me that her aged father had a stroke similar to my English Boss - a blood vessel burst in the brain. Like her, he could not recognise anyone or speak at all when it first happened.

But after 2 to 3 months of treatment at a hospital in China, her father was able to speak, albeit not fluent anymore, and walk by himself before he was discharged. The recovery only became very slow after he was taken home as there was no further treatment.

She felt that the medical knowledge and skills of Singapore doctors were not as advanced as China's and that made a difference to her father's and my English Boss' situations. She said that she had never heard of stroke patients in similar state after an operation in China. To give me a better picture of the medical scene in China, she went on to tell me that trainee doctors are strictly not allowed to perform an operation. Even certified doctors cannot operate on patients unless they have been understudying old and experienced doctors for at least 8 years. She was shocked to know that trainee doctors in Singapore were allowed to operate on patients. Furthermore, doctors in China have more experience operating on patients because of the sheer size of population.

If what she said is true, then it's either the government has been doing a great job at propaganding or we have all been had and are paying premium for a figment of our imagination.