Dear friends,

Your kindness, support and encouragement has been so very precious! Sorry for the slight delay in posting this update. It has been a very stressful few weeks for my family and I and the support I've received have really helped! Thank you!

My heart is doing a bit better now that my Cardiologist has adjusted my medications. Hopefully my blood pressure and heart rate will soon stabilise. I will know more when I go for my next round of blood tests and follow-up consultation with my Cardiologist in March. It has been a frustrating time for me and I've been on a rollercoaster of emotions. Life can be so unpredictable and fragile sometimes. I'm not the most patient person and it has been hard for me to "just rest". It has affected my life in so many ways. I had a scare when I came down with a nasty flu a few weeks ago and almost had to go to hospital. Thankfully, I recovered quickly from it. I really need to get my flu shot soon!

I've since learnt that inflammation of the heart muscles caused by a virus (flu, etc.) is more common that we think. One of my cousins who is in his late twenties had to be hospitalised for chest pains recently and subsequent investigations revealed that his heart muscles were inflamed. Like me, a flu virus had attacked his heart. Thankfully, he was diagnosed early and the damage to his heart was not too serious like mine. He is expected to fully recover. My cousin works at an Aquarium as a diver. While he was still recovering from a flu, he continued his diving work and unfortunately, the flu virus attacked his heart. Apparently, cardiomyopathy (inflammation of heart muscles) is a common cause of sudden, acute cardiac arrest in young people. Dear friends, please listen to your doctors when they tell you to rest and not exert your body when you are ill with flu or any other illnesses!

As for my neck pain, I'm trying everything to manage the pain - Acupuncture, Physiotherapy, Chinese "Tui-Na" (medical massage therapy). I need to take my painkillers almost daily too. I was hoping the Acupuncture would work well and quickly but it hasn't been the case. I will keep doing it as it does help a bit with my pain. However, it's pretty clear the only treatment that will really be effective is a procedure known as "Radio-Frequency Denervation" where my doctor uses radio-frequency waves to "burn off the inflamed nerves". I'm not excited about undergoing this procedure because it is a torturous procedure. I've been through it 3 times since 2012 and it is excruciatingly painful as I am kept immobile but awake during the procedure. I need to be able to communicate with my doctor while he is performing the procedure to make sure he is placing the needles at the correct spot and burning off the right nerves without affect those nerves that control feeling or motion of my arms. It's no fun having a doctor poking around your inflamed nerves. But it works and it is probably my best chance at living pain-free. I will undergo the treatment as soon as I have the funds to do so.

Chinese New Year ("CNY") is supposed to be a happy time of celebrations - not for us this year. We had pockets of enjoyable time while catching up with relatives over the CNY break but at the same time, everyone, including my extended family, is concerned about my mom's kidney failure. My mom has been under a lot of stress and anxiety as she slowly comes to terms with her condition. We know her kidneys (now functioning at only 10% will totally fail within 6-12 months. Thereafter, treatment will be dialysis (temporarily) and kidney transplant. As my mom has co-existing medical conditions, she is only eligible for living organ donation (kidney donation from a living person) and not cadaver organ donation (kidney donation from a deceased person. However, she will not be high in priority on the already-long kidney transplant list due to her co-existing medical problems. Her renal doctors told us it is almost impossible for my mom to have a kidney transplant. We have therefore been researching on kidney transplant in China and India. I've checked with my doctors and they have advised that I am not a suitable donor due to my heart condition. It is heart-breaking to watch her suffer both physically and emotionally.

I am, despite my circumstances, constantly reminded to soldier on and keep the faith! I am trying my very best to do that! Please keep my family (especially my mom) in your prayers.

Thank you for journeying with me!

With love,

Lynn