Day 15 - Best Meal and THE CALL

(Sorry again for this super late update... this is a retroactive update... I should have posted this 7 days ago... Too many things have happened!... I had problems using a laptop for many days...) 

Today is Friday 24 September 2021.

Today is Day 15 since my diagnosis two Fridays ago and Day 13 since my arrival at this isolation facility (CCF: "Community Care Facility") two Sundays ago.

Today I await the results of my COVID PCR test yesterday.

I was thinking they would call me or SMS me (today or tomorrow) to inform me of my result (just like what happened after I took my previous COVID test at my neighborhood clinic on 10 September).

But that did not happen - they did not notify or update me regarding my test result. 

Anyway, on another note, I wish to share the highlight of today - Today's lunch. It was the best meal I had at the facility so far!! In all the two weeks I was here!!




Fried chicken drumlets. I haven't had fried chicken (whole pieces of wings/drumlets) all this time.

I could smell the chicken yes, but my sense of smell has not completely returned. In fact, I would still put my loss of smell at 80%.

Still, you really could enjoy friend chicken a lot without smelling it much. The look of it, the feel, and the taste. You can't really taste well without smell, but still there is some taste.

I thought today was going to be uneventful...

Then.... at around 10.20pm today, when I was lying in bed trying to sleep.... I received a phone call to the landline phone in my room.

THEN THE BOMBSHELL LANDED...

The caller told me that I have fulfilled the conditions for discharge and I should get ready by 9am to 10am tomorrow to leave the room. 

I asked if that means my test result was negative. The caller did not answer my question directly, but said something like the medical team had determined that I fulfilled the conditions for discharge, based on my recent tests. (?!?!?!) What conditions?? I was so confused by that, so I tried asking further to clarify what that means. He/she said I can check my test result on a mobile app/website called health hub which is accessible through the TraceTogether app. Then he/she said she can arrange the medical team to contact me tomorrow to give me details about my condition. 

Ok, so after I put down the phone, many questions came to my mind. 

...............

So was my result negative?

But how can it be negative when I am still coughing?

Or am I still positive, but discharged because of the huge surge in new COVID cases in Singapore, so they decided that the facility did not have space for me anymore, since my symptoms are not severe enough?

If I am still COVID positive, then what about my parents? After discharge I would be returning to stay with them. That would put them at risk. Surely I should be able to request for an extension?

If I can get my stay extended, then wouldn't that mean I shouldn't pack anything tonight - so I should wait tomorrow for their answer before packing.

Next, I went to my mobile phone and checked Health Hub for my test result. 

(hmm... the fact that this platform exists means I could have checked my test result earlier today instead of just waiting for them to notify me.)

Health Hub said my test result (for my COVID PCR test yesterday) was POSITIVE.

Errmmm... Errr..... so why am I discharged if I am still positive???

I was too curious and didn't want to wait tomorrow for an answer, so I decided to call the 24 hour medical hotline.

Meanwhile, between 10.28pm to 10.37pm I started blasting WhatsApp messages to my family/friends to happily tell them I am discharged tomorrow...

It was 10.47pm when I called the medical hotline.

I asked the doctor about the conditions for my discharge. The doctor said people are discharged usually because they not infective anymore. He then sounded a little bit displeased - he said that the hotline was supposed to be for emergencies only. So the conversation was pretty short (52 seconds). I could get more answers from the medical team tomorrow.

Next I called home, at 11.09pm, to inform my parents that I might be coming home tomorrow morning.


Then I went back to sleep.... sometime before midnight. 

I usually do not sleep so early!!!

But, to ensure I have sufficient rest to pack tomorrow morning, I am most happy and most eager to sleep early, for once.

As I was lying in bed trying to sleep, I noticed something really annoying which I haven't noticed before - the light on the landline phone in the room was quite bright. It was annoying me as I was trying to sleep. So I went to put my mask on top of the phone to block the light and went back to sleep.

I guess when you are trying very hard to concentrate to do something, any small thing which stands in your way of doing it becomes hugely annoying....