At our home, Hubby is the bread winner and I stay at home looking after our first child. In October 2012, I was 6 months pregnant with our second child. We were quite excited as the due date was getting closer.
Early October, Hubby caught a stomach bug. It gave him a high temperature at one point, but eventually got settled with a couple of Panadols (acetaminophen). But then, it turned into what my hubby described as waves of stomach cramps that would come and go. It was at this point, we decided to see the GP, who told us that the bug was doing rounds in Perth so just hang on. He prescribed some medicines and within a day or so hubby was back on track Alhamdulilah (All Praise to God)
Following weeks, hubby started noticing strains of fresh blood on the stool surface. Assuming a case of harmless hemorrhoids here, we pushed this aside and carried on without visiting the GP. Within few weeks, we noticed additional symptoms including occasional ‘poking’ in the stomach during day time and a definite difference in bowel habits.
We heard of a new GP who joined at the Clinic which I frequent for myself and our son. So we met the GP, who was a very compassionate man. My hubby was very delighted to discover a good male doctor for himself. The GP examined for anal fissures and discovered none. So next, the doctor suggested we do a FOBT (Faecal occult blood test) and another test for checking harmful parasites.
FOBT is a test for detecting hidden blood in faeces. This is quite a simple procedure but highly recommended. We gave an FOBT sample at the pathologist’s in the following week, making sure that the sample we took did really include the blood stained poo. When the results came in, strangely enough there was no detection of blood cells . Also no harmful parasites were detected. By now it was mid-December.
The blood-stained poo was now a regular and occasional ‘poking’ sensation still lingered. So we persisted for answers. The holiday season was around, so the GP said he will send a referral for hubby’s colonoscopy before he leaves for vacation. Me and hubby had no idea what a colonoscopy really meant. The GP also suggested two repeats of FOBT and to submit them with a week’s interval between them. Further hubby was given a medicine to rule out any hookworm infestation.
Early January 2013, our second bundle of joy was born. All thanks to Allah
Once the initial hustle-bustle settled, we submitted the two FOBT samples at the pathologist's.
The Colonoscopy date was announced through a letter and scheduled for the end of January at Armadale Hospital.
