OH MY SWEETHEART!

I had no idea Eli wrote such a short and sweet update re: me, my chills and non-stop teary right eye. So sweet! He even asked for remedy from you!

(Ok, are we delusional? Talking to ourselves here? Because I am pretty sure we get at least a handful of readers each day, yet no one reached out to help this sweet man?)

This sweet man catered to my every whim and need the entire Sunday. From the moment he woke up to the time he could finally lay his tired body on the bed. He cooked for me, fed me, threw covers over me when chills hit me, hugged me tight when blankets wouldn’t keep me warm, fanned me and picked up the blankets that I kicked off like a spoilt brat when heat waves enveloped me. He put aside all his plans for the day – and Sundays are so important to him, the only day he gets to catch up on stuff he couldn’t do during the week, AND the one day he really looks forward to because he gets to relax and lounge by the pool with me – to take care of a whimpering, irrational and fugly looking me.

It was more than just the chills and hot waves. My right eye was also giving me problems to the extent that it was swollen, endless gargantuan tears randomly oozing out and blurred vision. A shearing pain shot through the middle of my eye if I tried to open it.

I looked so hideous, I am almost thankful I couldn’t really see and didn’t have to put up with my own fugly mug in the mirror. Eli, the sweetheart that he is, reassured me that I looked good and always beautiful in his eyes. He did not scorn me even when I did myself.

This poor man had to put up with my constant whining and endless revolving cry: I’m hot. I’m cold. I’m hot. I’m cold. AND HE HAD TO DO SOMETHING TO FIX IT. (But no doctors please.)

Fix it he did. He is would fan me when I felt hot and warm me up when I felt cold. He is the best heater ever! He did also bring comfort to my crazy eye by blowing in it and icing it.

Eli even had to deal with some dream talk, which he was required to participate in and entertain me with responses.

I would also tell him that I was hungry but when he brought food, I would refuse to eat because I didn’t have any appetite. God Bless Eli’s patience!

After a day of refusing medical intervention, I was ordered by this sweet man to the nearest ER because my eye wasn’t getting any better. I only acceded because he said he wouldn’t be able to sleep that night if I didn’t get better.

This is no joking matter. I now understand why there have been numerous cases where people die while awaiting assistance in the Emergency Room.

First you have to “punch in” with the supplied slip of paper, get a time stamp.

Wait for triage to be available. Talk to nurse at triage – I had a very kind nurse.

Register with administrator.

Wait FOREVER for a doctor to be available.

I was classified a “3”, with 1 being most urgent and 6 being the least urgent. I was told that I would be called as soon as the eye chair is available.

I tell you, I felt way better at home than I did waiting at the ER.

The eye chair was available about 40 minutes later. In this chair, I would wait another hour and 20 minutes before a doctor came to see me. In this chair I endured more bouts of chills and heat waves. In these two hours, Eli had to be by my side the whole time (because I am clingy even when healthy). While still catering to my hot and cold whims, he also had to put up with my questions: “Where is the doctor?” “Why doesn’t this room have a bed?” “I want to lie down.” My poor sweetheart had to look for nurses to ask for blankets and do the kiasu thing of stopping any staff in the hospital to ask where is the doctor because his woman is being extremely whiney!

Doctor shows up and thank God! He drops some freezing liquid into my eye. It hurt, but very quickly brought relieve. I still wasn’t able to open it properly though and the doctor had to physically hold my eyelid up while he shined some ridiculously blinding light into my eye. He then drops iodine into my eye, blinds me with light again and tells me the diagnosis – which I do not remember. Except it has something to do with my contact lenses. Abrasion? I don’t know, but I should no longer use that particular pair.

Right now, I have to stay off contact lenses for a week, and every four hours, drop anti-inflammatory drops into my eye.

I am feeling much better than I did yesterday, and I am so grateful to Eli for standing by me the whole time, taking such marvellous care of me and showing me just how important I am to him.

This is his first and only experience with taking care of someone, and someone who is not just down with a cold but temporarily partially blind. I say he just conquered a steep learning curve today. It is in his nature to be so attentive and caring. And I am not entirely surprised by his actions today because Eli has always been this way, jumping to my side and making sure I am well. I am just very touched and grateful.

“There will be many Sundays to come, but there is only one you and I can’t replace you,” said Eli when I apologized for “ruining” his Sunday plans.

I am blessed.