The night before the operation

I went to visit F at NUH with some of the other Club Rainbow volunteers.

F was scheduled for an operation tomorrow afternoon. It's going to be a major operation, and it would last at least 8 hours. F's mother, who would be staying overnight in the hospital with him, told us that the odds of the operation was only 50/50. The family was hoping for the best, but were also prepared for the worst. If F pulls through tomorrow, he would still have to be warded in Special ICU for a few days, before being transferred to normal ICU and finally to a normal ward.

As I listened to her, I watched F play with the Lego toy which we had bought for him. He seemed to be enjoying himself greatly, and took much pride in his "creative work". I also looked at the other children lying in their beds in the same ward, their concerned family members quietly sitting or standing by their bedsides. All these children will undergo major surgery tomorrow. When I think that some of these precious, young lives could be lost on the operating table within the next 24 hours, I felt very, very sad. I shot a quick prayer to God, but I guess I'll only find out the answers tomorrow.