I've been feeling a chest pain of late and on Wednesday I saw a general practitioner. She listened with a stethoscope to what my body had to say and the lower part of my right lung sounded unusually glum. I was sent to hospital for a checkup.
I arrived hoping it would only take an hour only to discover that I was now an in-patient. I was shown to a bed (though I resisted lying on it) and my temperature etc was taken. My blood was sampled and my lung functionality was assessed. I was X-rayed and prodded with needles. I was soon told that I would have to remain in hospital overnight.
The Filipino nurses took care of me, measuring my blood pressure and body temperature with the latest medical gadgets. My near neighbour was in a grave condition but he faced it with humour and graciousness. His bravery was a true testament to the resilience of humanity when faced with mortal danger.
The next day I had a profusion scan. This involved injecting technitium-90, a shortlived radioactive isotope, into my veins and following its path along the highways and byways of my circulation system. Any blood clot on the lung would be spotted. Fortunately, the test turned up negative and I was allowed to leave.
I now have seven days of antibiotics to take. I was granted ibuprofen and paracetamol to ease the pain. I hope for a speedy recovery.