The 3rd Time..

It was on 4th April, '09 ( Sat ) , Qiaoyi went for her third injection treatment.

The scars on Qiaoyi's lower abdomen and right thigh seemed to grow thicker one week before her third treatment. We were puzzled why was it so as we have seen the improvement on her scars after the 2nd treatment. It was actually slightly flattened and become smaller.

We directed our doubts to the doctor in-charged. He told us that it could be due to too long interval between the 2nd and 3rd treatment, ie, about 5 weeks gap and this provided the chance for the scars to grow up again. As said before, keloid is a living scar, it will grow beyond its original size of scars injury if it is not treated properly and control...sigh !!

Qiaoyi was behaving well and brave during the recent treatment. Of course, she was still crying when she was pushed into the surgical room. The fear is still in her, it is not something that can be easily removed. This time the doctor had given her additional painkiller injection on her hand to ease her pain. In fact, this had also made her slept longer than before. However, we were rather relieved that she did not complain much or cried in pain after waking up from her sleep..that really made us feel less emotional too!

We really hope that her scars condition will improve further with this 3rd treatment. Qiaoyi is scheduled to go for her fourth treatment soon before end of April '09. This time is only a shorter break, hoping to control the scars from growing again. It is quite a stressful process to fight over it and she is only allowed to take a maximum of 6 injections for the time being. Excessive injection may cause side effect, this is what we were told...

Qiaoyi is now getting more used to the daily routine of putting on the silicon gel plaster and wearing of pressure garment though it is quite inconvenient in a way. She has to bear with these conditions for at least 12 to 18 months, depending very much on her progress !

We pray , and pray that all these will be over soon for Qiaoyi. We really wish to see her running and moving around freely without having to restrict herself on certain activities which may cause her pain. We will continue to hold on to the hope, stay strong and pray for her speedy recovery.

Recently, I have found the below prayer in Beliefnet and it inspires me a lot. So, I think it is only right that I share with everyone here who read this ;

May we discover through pain and torment,

the strength to live with grace and humor.

May we discover through doubt and anguish,

the strength to live with dignity and holiness.

May we discover through suffering and fear,

the strength to move toward healing.

May it come to pass that we be restored to health and to vigor.

May life grant us wellness of body, spirit and mind.

And if this cannot be so, may we find in this transformation and passage

moments of meaning, opportunities for love

and the deep and gracious calm that comes

when we allow ourselves to move on.

~ Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro ~