After the giddy is gone...

If a doctor or nurse in Singapore asks if you're giddy, they don't want to know if you're feeling pretty, witty and wise. They want to know if you feel dizzy. The good news is I only occasionally get dizzy now and the headaches are gone. The bad news is I may have a second fracture in my neck or back. No one asks if this makes you giddy. More on that in a moment.

I've been home almost a week and you can see that my black-eye is quickly fading. Luckily, I've had a polo shirt to match the changing colors of the bruises -- black, blue, orange, yellow and now a lovely lavender. It's been an eventful six days, by my bed-ridden standards.

Last Sunday, as I was heading out to watch a little basketball at Boomerang, I met Kumar a construction worker who gawked at me as if he'd seen a ghost. In some ways, I suppose it was a resurrection. I introduced myself and asked if he had seen me fall. "Yes," he said. "Can you show me where I fell?" He pointed down the street. "Did I make it across the intersection?" "Yes."

The road was freshly paved and painted while I was in the hospital. They could have memorialized me by changing the wording to Lump Ahead.

      Kumar explained that as I crossed the street coming back up the hill from the river, I stopped, kind of swooned and then went down like a felled tree, bouncing off my forehead first. The ambulance arrived in minutes, he said.

     "Was there blood?" I asked.

     "Yes," he assured me. "Lots of blood."

     A couple of days later, I was back at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) for a follow-up CT scan of my head. Of course, I demand nothing but the finest equipment and SGH delivered with the Siemens SOMATOM Sensation 64 CT Cardiac Scanner. Don't let that cardiac reference fool you. This baby can show you 64 slices of any body part you want except your soul. I'll get it all on a CD next week.

May you never need this deep a portrait.

     Later, Dr. Raj showed me how my head is mending nicely. There's a much smaller puddle of brain-fluid leaking out, hence my improved color. The skull isn't causing me any problems compared to a nagging pain that moves around my upper body -- chest, back, arms, neck. 

    Dr. Raj said it could be due to a second fracture somewhere in my neck or back, which like my skull can only mend with time. Taking more x-rays won't necessarily find a very small but painful crack, nor would it change the prescription. But he said if the pain doesn't start to fade in a week or so, more investigation may be necessary. Yippee...

    On the positive side, Dr. Raj said my heart is fine and did not cause the blackout. The general consensus is dehydration may be the culprit. It's not just me. I saw in the local newspaper yesterday that two Singaporean soldiers were also recently hospitalized due to "overheating." The army is launching an investigation. 

Dr. Raj looks over my record and pictures.

Doc's orders for now include:

• Avoid exercise except walking for three months.
• Drink something like 100 Plus and eat an energy bar before future running sessions.
• Take calcium pills for three months to help the bones mend.
• Take daily doses of Panadol, Tramadol and Celocobrix pills and apply Ketoprofene plasters to the neck, back, etc., until the pain starts going away. All the meds can be mixed. No kidding.

     The pain meds will be managed week-to-week. They're concerned about Tramadol being habit-forming, but I don't think it's good enough to make anyone crave it. Two pints of a decent ale would likely be more effective. 

     Celocobrix is a different story in my opinion. It's the generic of Celebrex, which has been marketed for arthritis relief. This can seem a bit more mind-numbing than the Tramadol. So take pity on any arthritis sufferers in your midst currently using the stuff. They're not going daffy necessarily, they' may be just high. Quietly do them a favor if needed. Turn off the oven. Get their keys out of the front door. And sweep up any broken glass. It could be you someday.