another visit to cgh to see my 二舅. he has been warded for 2 weeks already and put in isolation in bed 1 at ward 36 'cos they suspect that he might be suffering from tuberculosis. his difficulty in swallowing has been attributed to malignant tumours in his throat.we had to put on n95 masks to see him in his room. according to the instructions at the door, we even need to be gowned and gloved but we didn't bother with it except to sanitise our hands with care before and after visiting him.
the nurse came in after a while to feed him. i was asked to explain to 二舅 that she will change the feeding tube after the feed as the current one is meant for 2 weeks only. so my mum and i waited... and waited...
the nurse gave up and undrew the curtain seeking our help to tell 二舅 to swallow [in teochew] when she's inserting the feeding tube through his nostril. i think the gag reflex somehow interfered with the insertion and the tube kept looping out into his mouth instead of getting into his stomach. not a pretty sight.
then she got 二舅 to sit up after several failed attempts on the right nostril and decided to insert the new tube onto the same [left] nostril. with much retching and our promptings of "吞", sections of the tube were painstakingly inserted until the nurse estimated that it has reached the stomach. she confirmed that by aspirating some fluid with a syringe.
finally some relief for my 二舅.
you can see how it's done here.
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