Madam WhatsHerName

Madam WhatsHerName was my final roommate at the hospital.  Aged 56 and fair of face, her spoken Hokkien had a northern twist to it.  Her husband was a small thin man with a stony expression.  I guess stony expressions are in vogue these days.  Her two young sons came across as intelligently inquisitive.judging by their well placed questions.  Also, they were courteous towards me.  My greying hair and stooped shoulders put me way up there on the hierarchy of elders. Mirrors don't lie.  I don't feel "elderly" but one glance in the mirror and vanity finds its place.

Gallstones, it was. The lady had lots of those.  What she'll be going through is a six hour procedure.  (Mine took two hours.)

After her procedure, she showed me her wounds.  Three different holes on her abdomen. She was placed on the drip and denied food.  Under standard procedure for General Anesthesia, food is forbidden until six hours after the surgery.

She was always complaining about the pain.  On the first night after the surgery, the nurses brought her the Toilet-on-Wheels.  I have never heard of Toilets-on-Wheels before and had the pleasure of using one on the first night after my surgery.  It wasn't a very dignified piece of work but let's just say that when you gotta go, you gotta go.

She showed me the gallstones they removed from her.  They were the size of mung beans and there were three of them.

"Actually, there's more," she said.  "The doctor accidentally dropped them and there wasn't time to go look."

"So, what's going to happen next?  A follow-up procedure?"

"No.  The doctor said its okay.  It doesn't matter."

"If it doesn't matter, why then do you need this procedure in the first place?"

"Ya-lor!  I'll ask the doctor when I see him later."  

She looked worried.  That night, when she rose to walk towards the toilet, I saw blotches of blood stain on her back.  They looked ugly and it was impolite to ask.

There wasn't going to be any sleep for me that night.  As the hour progressed into the early break of day, she snored thunderously on while I waited patiently for the intermission.

I never did find out what her doctor had to say about the stones left behind.  On the following day, it was time to go home.