Seeing my mum everyday, I never really noticed the lump on my mum's neck until it was pointed out to me, and then within months it had grown. The advice from doctors initially was that it was a harmless lump.
I attended a Dr Cheng consultation, as we were all concerned, and felt we needed to understand what the risks of this lump were. Dr Cheng gave a clear and sound diagnosis of the lump. After the visit to the Hospital, we discussed as a family, each providing support to my mum, encouraging her that the operation was the only way to remove the lump.
A few days prior to the operation around May 2003, mum had to make a visit to the Hospital for a pre-briefing of the operation. This was a worrying time at which all our words of encouragement and support were wiped away. The doctor informed her of all the possible risks from the operation, and there were many others, which we had not considered. This worried all of us, so we arranged another consultation with Dr Cheng, who confirmed these were all the possible risks, as the Hospital had to be complete in providing information on all the potential outcomes, however the probability of other side-effects were low. It was the hardest point, for us as we had waited weeks for the operation and now were all having second thoughts. Dr Cheng provided much assurance as he explained he personally would be doing the surgery, and it was our trust with him and regular prayers that we urged my mum to go and complete the operation and remove the unsightly lump which had made her so un-happy of late.
My dad and two brothers were as worried as I was, and we made daily visits to the Hospital during the day operation, and the days after at which she remained in the hospital. The day after the operation was the most difficult, as my mum looked very frail.
Dr Cheng assured the family that the operation had been successful, without complication, but it would take weeks to assess what side effects had happened to her senses and sound.
When she came home, we made sure she did not strain her voice, or make sudden movements as this gave her pain. We noted one or two apparent side effects, but they were as explained by the doctor and were relatively minor and acceptable, with regards to what had been gained.
As the weeks passed, mum became stronger, and back to herself. I accompanied her on several visits to Dr Cheng to assess her recovery. There was a point when mum herself would forget, she had been through major face surgery and needed to take it easy, so we would always remind her. We are glad to say she appears to have made a significant recovery, with the only notable effect being the loss of sensation to the earlobe. I think mum still needs to take it easy (an excuse to tell her not to raise her voice or get too excited at anything for risk of damage) but overall we feel the risk is very low. We are glad that such a qualified and competent doctor performed the surgery and thank the hospital for the care they provided during her stay at the hospital and their patience to our numerous family visits.
Kartik Gandesha
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