YOUNGBERG HOSPITAL

I used to visit Youngberg Hospital in Singapore with my father. It was during 1966 and I was about nine then and had a throat infection. It was a small hospital. The building was two storeyed. It was run by the seventh day Adventists. The doctors were American. It was a good hospital and also expensive.

At the reception, I noticed the blades of the ceiling fans would tilt at an angle while rotating to cover a wider area. Since then, I have never seen a ceiling fan like that. There was a fish tank and I would watch a group of neon tetras moving together. On the table were some magazines published by the seventh day Adventists.

The first doctor we met was Dr. Coffin. I thought it was a strange name. He advised surgery to have my tonsils removed. By the time we decided to have the surgery, Dr. Paterson was in charge. He asked me whether I liked hot or cold drinks. I said hot. I think he expected me to say cold so that he could tell me that I will be having only cold drinks after the operation. I was admitted to a ward with about ten beds in the evening. It was on the second floor. I had to wear a pyjama provided by the hospital. That night I had an apple pie and jelly for dinner which was again provided by the hospital. There was a small recreation room nearby with a TV and some games.

Early next morning, I was asked to be ready for surgery. A man asked me if I had eaten anything in the morning. I said no. He then gave me a new set of pyjamas and told me to wear it. While putting it on, I noticed a label with my name stitched on it.

I was wheeled to the operation theatre on a stretcher. There was a lift even though the building was only two storeyed. In the operation theatre I looked at the lights above and the anesthetist attached some things to my chest. He looked like an Indian. He asked me if I was afraid. I said no. He then held a mask on my face and told me to take a deep breath. I did as told. He said ‘once more’ and I began to see some patterns and fell asleep. After the operation I regained consciousness for second and turned over noticing some people looking at me. I woke up again while I was being taken back to the ward. My father was following behind. He was waiting outside the operation theatre.

Each bed was provided with a push button switch to call the duty nurse who would respond promptly. Indicator lights at the counter told the nurses which bed had called. I called them often to ask for ice which I needed to relieve the pain in my throat. That day I had only cold jelly for food. My father asked me what I wanted. I told him I wanted some comics. I was crazy about the super hero comics like superman, batman, spiderman, fantastic four etc. My father bought me two comics which I did not find interesting since it was not about any super hero. He also bought a packet of chocolates which I could not eat then.

There was an old Chinese man on a nearby bed. He had his food in liquid form given through a funnel placed in a tube attached to his stomach. He could not eat normally. A nurse would draw a curtain around him to give him a bath. A young couple visited him every evening and spent a long time with him. It was his son and his girlfriend.

Looking through the window I saw a long black limousine with the US flag coming to the hospital. It must be from the US embassy. At night a teenage chinese boy with his arm in a sling went around closing the windows in the ward. He must have fractured his arm. He was also a patient in this ward.

Dr.Paterson met me the next morning and looked at my throat. He decided to discharge me. I needed ice for a few days. My friend and classmate Mohandas would bring me the ice.