mama

last entry here was more than a year ago. looks like this is becoming an annual thing only now for me. sadly.
i blame FB and IG. maybe updating my status there, although not really very often, was often enough that i didnt feel like i needed to blog anymore.
until now.

16th Sept is Malaysia Day.
it is also my mama's birthday. it would've been her 64th this year.
but instead it will mark the 39th day of her passing.
how i miss her.
how we all miss her.

she has been battling a recurrence of her breast cancer, which, just about 6 weeks before her passing, we found out had already metastasized to her lungs and bones. when she got bilateral pleural effusion (fluid in her lungs) and was admitted to the hospital during ramadhan, i feared that that was it. that she might not make it to raya.
but she did. she was discharged from hospital after 10 days of being admitted there, just a few days before raya. i was fortunate to get a whole week off for raya this year, and even though it is supposed to be muar this year for me and hubby (his hometown), his mom and him decided that we spend raya at my parents' in KL first instead. both of us were glad we did. it was a very meaningful  raya for us. it was the 1st time all 3 of us siblings were around to raya in KL with our parents.
it was also the last raya we'll ever celebrate with our beloved mama.
she passed away on 13th Syawal, the 9th of August.

i thought i was ready.
i stayed with her in the hospital the night before she passed, kissing her face, her hands, stroke her hair, recited verses from the holy Quran for her as she became more unconscious.
in between that i even googled about the muslim preparations for  burial, the washing, the shrouding.
but no matter how ready i thought i was.. i was so shaken and couldnt stop my tears when we were told she was really gone.
having been familiar with the hospital and the things needed done after a patient dies in the ward, and also being the eldest, i imagined that i would be the one taking charge of things. calling people to inform, getting all the documents settled, etc etc etc.
but no.
my dad and my siblings took care of all that.
hubby had to pull me aside.. away from everyone, into a deserted area in the ward, where all i could do was sob uncontrollably in his arms.

mama was not only my mother. she was my best friend for 39 years.
we were apart for quite awhile when i was growing up. i went to boarding school at 13, and before i completed secondary school, she went overseas to work, with my dad and my younger brother. for 13 years after that we never get to spend raya together, and only saw each other at about once a year. but however faraway we were from each other, i always felt that we still remained close.
i could tell her anything. and i did. and i really miss that. just talking to her about things.
i could hangout with her. i like hanging out with friends of course, but i loved going out with her too. after she retired and was back in malaysia for good, even going to the pasar malam near our house in KL was something i would really look forward to. it's on once a week at midweek, so being away from KL, i dont get to go very often, and when i did, it was always with her (and also that's where i did most of my tudung shopping- and she was the best shopping partner ever).
we both love cooking shows, and she knew almost all the chefs on the food network channel. she had a couple of favourites, and she talked about them like they were her friends. ("oh Ina said we should cook it this way not this way.."she would claim. and we'll be like "Aina who-?", and she'll be like "alah..I-na.. Ina Garten kat food network tu..').
watching food network will never be the same again.

God, i miss her. i miss her laughter (wide smile showing her teeth, not much sound, but very often she laughed with tears in her eyes).

God, i really feel like i havent spent enough time in this world with her yet. but i know. that however much i love her, God loves her more.
and that makes me feel a bit better. that God, the ever merciful, the ever generous, had lent her to us in this world. so we could love her, and always feel loved by her. this great woman. our supermama.
and now i continue to pray for her. that she is happy and safe where she is now. and hope i will get to see her again in the gardens of Jannah.
ameen.

                                                    i love u mama.
                                                    al-Fatihah.

winds of change

no. this is not a political post.

it has been a year since my last entry here, you think i would waste in on politics?
but since we mentioned it, i would just like to mention here that it was my 3rd time voting (made me feel like a veteran) and somehow, this time around, the election day and the days going to it felt really ""festive".
maybe because there were way more voters this time.. with many having to "balik kampung" to vote, plans were made to book leaves or change calls (for those of us having to do oncalls), travel plans (to avoid traffic jams etc).
maybe the indelible ink has got something to do with it too, with evryone making a fuss about how truly/falsely indelible it actually is.. and all the blue (or red) finger tips u see posted by voters on FB and Instagram etc.
(i have to insert this story here too, just heard it from a friend --> apparently quite a number of voters marked the X on the voting papers using the ink on the fingers thinking that was what the ink was for!!!! aha-ha-ha..!!)
i know of some non-voters who actually felt "left behind" this time around because of their blue-less bare fingers on that day.
plus i think the fact that we have FB and Twitter etc now(we had them on the last elections too but they werent utilized as widely and openly as they are today) which makes even the most ignorant and disinterested people (like moi)more aware of what is going on. the atmosphere that day was simply.. i dont know.."electric:? i guess..(no pun intended ;)) with evryone waiting anxiously for the results.. and it did take a ridiculously long time for the results to come out too!

but hey. like i mentioned earlier, this is not a political post.

i mentioned somewhere in my last few postings that 2011 was a blur for me what with the final exams and my mom getting breast cancer and then being transferred back to mlka.

then 2012 came and went.
i  completed my masters (finally!) and have now been transferred further south in JB to serve.
work-wise is the same.. cant expect to not be busy when you are in the medical field, but the are some differences of course. different colleagues, different bosses, different staff, different hospital. different city.

my mom completed her chemo and radiotherapy mid last year and was well for awhile but unfortunately now has a recurrence and needs to do chemo again before we proceed for a mastectomy. we are obviously all bummed about that but she is otherwise still up and about around the house so we are still very thankful.

i got married (yea, okay, you can perhaps say "finally!" here too.. to others it may seem that way but to me i think the word "actually" is probably more befitting...as in "i actually got married!".. yes i couldnt believe it myself!)
no. it wasnt an arranged marriage.
no. i wasnt drugged/comatose/hypnotized/held at gunpoint.
no. it wasnt the sultan of a certain state as i planned.
yes. i fell in love with another commoner.
yes. i was in love.
and yes. i am still in love.

now, with the change of title to my name (i'm still amused by the realization that i am an actual Puan now when the salespeople address me randomly as that..heee), it is interesting to note the change to people's  reaction to anything that i do or say as well.
when i was single, the feedbacks i get to almost anything is "dah kawen belum" or "bila u nak kawen ni?"
eg. (Me vs P (people))
  1.  Me: Hi.. lamanya tak jumpa!!
          P: Yelah..u nampak sama macam dulu...dah kawen belum? Belum? Bila u nak kawen ni?
  2.  Me: Hi..lama tak jumpa!!
          P: Yelah..u nampak lain sekarang.. still belum kawen? Bila u nak kawen ni?
  3.  P: Happy birthday!
       Me: Thank you!!
       P: Bila u nak kawen ni?
  4. Me: Selamat hari raya!
       P: Selamat hari raya. Bila u nak kawen ni?
  5.  Me: Nice wedding.
       P: Yelah.. bila u punya wedding pulak?"
  6.  P: Hey, the 47 yo singer is finally getting married! Bila u pulak nak kawen ni?
  7.  P: Hey, so&so is getting married-the 3rd time alrdy! Bila u pulak nak kawen ni?
  8.  P: Congrats dah jadi pakar... bila nak kawen pulak ni?"
  9.  P: Wahhh.. dah beli kereta baru... bila nak kawen pulak ni?"
10.  P: Your mom has cancer? So sorry to hear that..bila u nak kawen ni?

you get the picture.
well, now that i am married.. things change.......... or have they?
eg.

 1. Me: Lamanya tak jumpa!
     P:   Yelah.. dah ada anak? bila nak pregnant?
 2. P: Happy birthday! Bila nak pregnant?
     Me: Ha-lo..i got married 3 days ago (it's true.. i got married 3 days before my bday)
3.  P: U transferred to JB alrdy? Dah pregnant belum?
4.  P: U look like u've gained weight. Dah pregnant ke?
5.  P: Sedapnya tengok food u makan (posted in FB). Dah pregnant ke?
5.  P: U still drink that much coffee? When u get pregnant u cannot drink anymore haaa..
6.  P: U demam? Pregnant kot...
7.  P: Hey, nice new baju. Are u pregnant?
8.  P: U coming back to KL to vote? Good for u. Dah pregnant belum?
9.  P: U drive JB-KL-JB by yourself? Careful.. mana tau pregnant ke..
10. Your mom's cancer is back? so sorry to hear that.....so, are you pregnant yet?

..........................................................................................................................................................

shoutout to all family & friends: belated thanks for coming to the wedding, thanks for all the well wishes, here's a prayer for all of us to always love and be loved, to respect each other, to remain united, to be safe and for happiness always. ameen.

There's an obese kid in the room...cant u see??

Oncall again. Another resuscitation. Despite all we did, another child dead.

 This is the one thing about my job that I hate the most. But most times, I am able to deal with it, and tell myself that we had tried our best. I know as well that my colleagues and I have to often remind ourselves and each other, that no matter how bad we want to, we cant save everyone. I usually am most aggrieved when the child that died had been a relatively "well" child, no known illness, pretty much a normal kid. But in this case, although the family claims their child had been "normal & healthy" prior to getting this bout of infection few days ago, I really have to disagree.

One look at the patient you can tell that he has a serious medical condition. It was so obvious. But probably the family never saw it as a medical problem. I'm sure most of the people who knew him and had seen him (or other children like him) didn’t think so either.

The patient was 5 years old. He weighed more than 40kg.

He was morbidly obese! So much so that we couldn’t see his neck, and when he collapsed, the doctors in the ward knew right away that they would have difficulty intubating him but fortunately they manage to get the anaesth in to help.

But all was not well. His heart stopped 3 more times after that, and we couldn’t revive him anymore after the 3rd round. He died less than 12 hours after he was admitted.

It was so sad to see the doctors huffing & puffing doing CPR on a 5-year old kid! They should have been able to do the chest compressions using only one hand! But because of his big size, they still had to climb on the bed and do the compressions with both hands. And because his weight was waaay off the chart for his weight, his meds were given based on the ideal weight for his height, which was not as accurate as compared to giving meds to a kid with proper normal weight.

He had an infection yes, but his heart was actually already hypertrophied, and that's most probably why he succumbed quite fast. His heart was already in trouble no thanks to his obesity, and all the infection did was tip it off the edge.

Like I said, I know that many people do not see obesity in children as a serious medical problem, just like it is in adult  (and even that is only recently recognized and accepted by the public), because when I do see an obese child and pass the comment to the parents, the reaction I usually get from the parents (who would have brought the child in for another complaint usually eg. Fever/cough/runny nose/etc) would range from -- "Eh tak baiklah doktor ni cakap anak saya gemuk" or "ha-ah la doktor, tapi dia ok, main semuanya ok, takde apa2".

So in this case, although I am still aggrieved that we couldn’t save him, I cant help but feel that the adults are still to be blamed for letting him get as fat as he is. People need to recognize that obesity is a SERIOUS problem in children as well as adults, and that chubby fat kids do not equal cuteness, and do not especially portray healthiness (observe that many people will say "wahhh…sihatnye anak awak ni" instead of "wahh..obes-nye anak awak ni"). I understand that we dont want to hurt their feelings, we wanna be sensitive, which is fine, dont say it to the parents' face in public, or dont say it in front of the kid, but dont mask or hide the problem by implying that it's ok to be fat, the kid is still really cute. (in my defence, when I do make the comment above, that a kid looks obese, it is honestly out of concern for the kid, not passing judgement to the parents..but ok, I get it, people are sensitive... I should be more sensitive too..).

And when I say people, I do mean EVERYONE of us, including doctors and medical staff, because I know for a fact that there are doctors who prescribe vitamin supplements, and other supplements like omega-3-fish oil and colostrum to kids with cough and cold, in addition to the usual meds. It's one thing if it's for a skinny kid or even a normal kid with perhaps poor appetite, but if it’s a real chubby obese kid sitting in front of you in the clinic, you should findout why he/she is so, and then try and get them to lose the weight instead of supplying them with more multivitamins, colostrum and fish oil! (if it's simple obesity of course.. Other diagnoses need to be ruled out as a cause for the obesity ie metabolic syndrome etc whereby you would then need to refer them to the experts, but reducing weight still plays a huge part in the treatment).

Anyway, I'm definitely not an expert, but I do believe that we need to be able to identify that there is a problem first before we can actually try and solve it.

Kids, eat healthy, play more!
Parents, get ur kids to eat healthy and play more!!

KONY 2012 - save the children

Whatthe hey-? A medley.

1st week back in Melaka. Conversation with one of the bosses:

JT: so, in case you don’t know this yet emie, our department here is very fertile..
Me: huh?
JT: yea, everyone seems to end up pregnant here.. so I better warn you.. ha-ha (nervous laugh)
Me: umh.. ha-ha (real nervous now..whatthe hey-)

2nd week in Melaka. A female security guard waved at me, she actually remembered my face.
Guard: Hey doktor, lama tak nampak.
Me: ye kak, saya pindah KL 2 tahun.
Guard: oo..sekarang dah balik sini balik?
Me: ye kak *smile*
Guard: oo..baguslaah… Gemuk dah doktor sekarang ye!
Me: ..haha..yelah kak .. *smile*

The next day. Same guard, smiled at me. I smiled back.
Guard: Doktor, dah memang kerja balik sini lah ye?
Me: ha, ye kak..
Guard: Doktor gemuk betul la sekarang ye..
Me: ..haaa.. y e .. k a k… *smile paksa*

Later that same day. Same guard, with another guard. I could feel it coming. Smiled at me and waved. I waved back. Prayed that the elevator doors would open immediately as I pressed the button. They were  just a few feet away from me.
Guard (telling the other guard): tu doktor tu kerja sini dulu, sekarang dah balik sini balik. Dah gemuk dah dia sekarang..dulu kurus.
Me: (whatthe hey-?) *acute depression*

2nd month in Melaka. Doing post-call rounds in adult ICU, 7am, in scrubs, haven’t showered yet. Approached by the ICU staff:
RN: doktor, you HO(houseman a.k.a graduated doctor in-training AND mostly very young) GA(general anaesthesia) ke HO surgery?
Me: *Stunned*
RN: Eh, doktor, doktor ni HO GA ke HO surgery?
Me: err..saya MO (a.k.a medical officer..and mostly older more mature doctor)  ..
RN: oh ye ke.. sorry, sorry, ingatkan houseman tadi.
Me: (what the hey-? You made my day!!!) *perasan smirk ON!*

Just yesterday.  Doing oncall morning rounds by myself. Approached by a houseman from my own department, who has worked with me for at least the past one week:
HO: you jaga jaundice cubicle jugak ke?
Me: huh?
HO: you jaga jaundice cubicle jugak ke?
Me: still huh?
HO: …realization hits as she slowly starts to recognize and remember who I was again ….oh, sorry doctor, I thought you were the houseman here…so sorry..
 and dengan penuh sheepish-nya she left me…
..and again I was stunned.
Ok, but that HO memang known for her dumb-blonde attitude lah... but, seriously?
Whatthe hey-?

ouch! crushes hurt too.

i had this huge crush on this guy for the past 2 years. but a crush is a crush.. nuthin serious, not to the point that i wanted to do anything about anyway. friends who knew about him did "layan" me for fun, teased me, asked me to kirim salam (sheeshh.. the more i write this the more high-school it sounds..so embarassing!!)
so anyway, like i said, it was fun while it lasted, it felt "light" and harmless..another eye-candy for me, or so i thought until i found out that he is now engaged and soon to be married (dont ask me how i know or found out, because it is sooooooo high school tween stalker stuff, it'll make me look even more pathetic). i was shocked, because i thought he was still single, like, dont-even-have-a-gf-single, and now he's soon to be married!! and boy was i crushed. i surprised myself even, cuz i didnt think i actually cared so much :(
sorry heart, i let u down.

me.uptodate.

o wow.
it is now 2012, and we're already a week into February.
my last entry was many many many moons ago.

where do i even start?

last year was a very trying and tiring year indeed. i remember how last year, 2011, started for me.
i was oncall on that last day of the year 2010, when the country won a football game against indonesia, and the people were given a public holiday for that.. but being the doctor oncall on that day, i still had to work anyway, but it's now made worse by the fact that i was oncall on a public holiday instead of just a weekday, which we doctors hate.. i also later realized that i was working through the new year's eve of which the numbers were turning into 1.1.11.
imagine, the number a lot of pregnant mothers had been eyeing to be their babies' birthdate.
it was one-hell-of-a-busy call.
i was flat, dead tired the next day, which was new year's day 2011, the day i had dreaded coming, as i was gonna turn 36 on that day, and for some reason i was really depressed about that. that was how last year started for me.

and then it was all blurry.

 all i could remember were the damn exams!! it was like  this huge gravitational thing, that no matter whatever else i was doing, whoever else i was supposed to be with or shud be concentrating on, it kept pulling my attention back to it. no matter what i did, and as much as i hated it, and hate to admit it, it became the center of my so-called universe, the one thing i hated most but could not ignore. yuck. i dont remember much about what went on last year except for the bloody exams, i even remember just staying at my aunt's place studying, even during Eid!
so thank God Almighty that it passed.  i passed. only with God's great mercy and grace of course.

during those hated days studying for the exams, just as it was looming round the corner, my family was hit by the news that my mom has breast cancer. she found a lump during a self-exam, and we had it checked, and it was cancer. no family history, nothing. my mom was always conscious about her heath ,and had been quite healthy. she underwent the surgery to remove the tumor just after my written exam,  and is currently still undergoing chemo. she has lost a lotta weight ,and hair..but we have God to thank again that she is otherwise quite well. except for the few days after she gets her chemo when she'll be a bit weak from all the nausea and vomiting, on regular days she is otherwise up and about as usual around the house.

then, relieved that the exam was finally over, so i can perhaps now concentrate on my family especially my mom.. i was told to leave KL and go back to work in Melaka. such mixed feelings i had when i got the news..
i hated working in (UM)KL, but staying at my parents' house was a real bessing.
to be back working in Melaka would not be bad at all, i think, as anywhere is better than where i was (UM), but it also means having to part ways with my mom again, at a time when i feel like i should be around her more. but i followed orders and back to melaka i went.

then all of a sudden, as friends and relatives started to find out about my mom's illness, we were struck with another sudden sad news, my uncle..my mom's only sibling, her older brother.. died in an MVA, after his motorbike was hit by another bike. i could only imagine what my mom must have been feeling that day. we needed to stay strong for her, for my uncle's family, my cousin, and our opah.

all the sad stories aside, we did have things to be happy and thankful about. my parents got another grandson, in the name of Azhan Nazrie, my sister's 3rd kid, born on 27th May 2011. along with the 2 older kids, Amirah and Aliff, they remain our greatest loves, bringing us joy every time they are back from bintulu for a visit.

i got an aparment of my own, altho i havent had the chance to properly stay there yet. i also finally departed from my 1st baby-kelis3037-who had witnessed many tears, blood n sweat shed by me at her steering wheel. and i'm not ashamed to admit i bawled like a baby the day i gave her away..but it was in exchange for my current beau-PaulthePolo, so i recovered rather quickly. (yes, i name my cars.heee)

i feel like there were more to 2011 than what i've typed so far, but my mind is drawing a blank right now. probably it was those damn exams again, obscuring parts of my memory in my brain, or maybe i'm out of practice, havent made an entry in here for almost a year now.

i'm happy to report that i welcomed the new year more readily this year, even though it still brought with it another bigger number for my age as expected. i spent each meal on that day with different people, completing it off with a durian feast courtesy of my beloved brother. so i had a good birthday. probably because i also made sure that this time, i was not oncall that new year's eve.  i think people just love getting a kid on new year's day, coz let's face it, it IS cool to have new year's day as your birthday.

my current life soundtrack

I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it"

Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I'm not breaking

I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm gonna remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep going

And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on

Keep on moving, keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It's all about, it's all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa

....................................................................................................................


Not a fan of miley cyrus, but this song fits with what's going on with my life right now.
sigh.
so i'm just gonna have to go at it again in 6 months time.
sigh again.
hopefully this "failing pattern" of mine stops then. once and for all.
God help me.

kim clijsters is cool!!

melancholic merapu

seeing things i shouldnt be seeing.

hearing things i shoudnt be hearing.

saying things i shouldnt be saying.

infuriating.

annoying.

frustrating.

disappointing.

depressing.

feeling like i shouldnt have these feelings.

hating for hating.

hating for loving.

loving to loving.

infuriating.

frustrating.

disappointing.

depressing.

dreaming, dreaming, and dreaming.

wanting.

why even bother wishing.

is it worth, the praying?

knowing that i shouldnt have these feelings.

drowning.

in desperation.

in own stupidity.

jodoh, jodoh, where art thou, jodoh?

someone said this to me a few weeks back:

you know, God make jodoh for each person in this world. there is no such thing as "tak ada jodoh". there is only lambat or cepat. so you know, dont give up on your jodoh, emie. he is out there for you. you just have to keep your eyes open, and you must always..believe.

sheesh. i felt like i was reading a "poyo" script in a malay tv drama.

i already know all that. why did this person feel like i need to be told of this again? am i giving the impression that i've given up? or that i dont think that i have a jodoh?

although i've to admit that i am lazy about keeping my eyes open.. coz whenever i have the chance, id like to catchup on my precious sleep.

but i digress.

yes, ok, so i know my jodoh is out there somewhere. he's just not here yet because:

1) he lives in another continent, and still has no idea where malaysia is

2) he's lost in his 4x4 in a remote jungle somewhere on his way to finding me

3) he's still too busy with his humanitarian work

4) he's still too busy governing his country

5) he's still too busy with his duties as sultan of his state (or country!)

6) he's a race car driver, who got into an MVA on his way to see me

7) he's dead (see you in the afterlife, baby!)

8) he got cold feet

9) he decided to turn gay instead

10) he hasnt turn 21 yet

11) he's not of legal-driving age yet

12) he's not baligh yet

13) he's just plain lazy (now THERE's a match made in heaven!)

huh. so i guess these can also double up as comebacks whenever people also ask "how come you're not married?" (see previous blog a few entries back)

call paeds, the placenta is coming!

scene in the operating theater while a friend of mine was standing by with a nurse for a delivery.

RN: by the way doctor, just to let you know, we have another case after this.

MD: ok, what's the case?

RN: MRP

MD: ... ?? err... Manual Removal of Placenta??

RN: yes doctor.

MD: ...??? and you want me to standby?

RN: yes doctor.

MD: ..(turning blue from trying not to laugh)... err kak, saya doktor sambut baby, tak sambut placenta!!

RN: oh, ye ke doktor?

Games backs safe sex despite plumbing problems

NEW DELHI (AFP) - – Commonwealth Games chief Mike Fennell said he was happy to see competitors engaging in safe sex at the athletes village even if it caused problems with the plumbing.

Reports claimed that thousands of used condoms had been clogging up the toilets at the village, which is home to 7,000 competitors.

"This shows that athletes are being responsible and are promoting safe sex," said Commonwealth Games Federation president Fennell on Thursday.

The Daily Telegraph reported a condom vending machine had been installed at the village, containing around 4,000 contraceptive packs.

help! my baby is laughing..

heard this from a friend of mine, who saw a patient, a 1+ yr old malay baby, brought to the hospital for a burn injury to the face.

history taken: parents were worried that their child may have been "possessed" by some spirits. reason?

the kid likes to laugh and babbles by himself, even when there was no one around (lemme remind you again, the kid is just past 1 year old, not even speaking very much yet at all, so if you ask me... he's perfectly normal!!).

so what do the parents do?

they brought the kid to a bomoh (of course!). and the bomoh did the usual..mutters a few words of mantera.. burn some kemenyan.. carry the burning kemenyan in its little claypot container thingy over the kid's head and "smokes" him (or the spirits out-God knows), and .. whoops! the container tilted..and whoops! all the burning kemenyan fell onto the poor kid's face!!

kid cries, of course (he obviously wont be laughing for quite awhile..at least not until he's in good spirits again). according to my friend, good thing the eyes were not affected, or he could've been blind!

sheesh..

scary-part deux

thank the Lord. alin's sister is back with the family! i'm so happy and relieved for alin and her family.

now that i know she's safe, i thought i'll just share here what alin told me she had to go through in search of her sister.

after they've made the police report, her family tried to contact her sister on her cell, as she later did send an sms to her mom, telling her she's with a friend or sth like that. when they tried again, her cell was off. so they asked if maxis could help locate where she was based on the sms. maxis wouldnt release the info without a letter or order from the police. so they went back to the police to ask for the letter. guess what the police told alin?

"oh saya cuti hari ni, so esok sajalah ambik surat tu!"

wtf?

alin of course, i can imagine, got angry la.. the more you delay the process, the further away her sister would be, and more difficult for them to trace!

so she went back and wrote a formal email of complaint to the PDRM website.

her dad in the meantime, got a direct number to the super-chief of police, and complained directly.

and barulah the sergeant got on his ass to issue the order and trace the number from maxis. and they found out that her sister could be in penang already! if they had waited the next day..tah2 dah across the border!

i mean, cuti tu cutilah, but takkan tak ada orang ganti?

and it's not a sempoi case like my friend got her cat stuck in a tree, it's her young sister freakin' missin'!

sheessh..

scary!

http://www.bharian.com.my/bharian/articles/Remajahilangkandirimahucarikebebasan_ketenangan/Article

my fren alin's sister went missing 3 days ago. as i'm posting this i'm not sure if she's back yet, coz last i talked to alin just this evening, apparently her sister had contacted the family and was supposed to be sent home by her so-called friend tonight. i drove past her house just now, but there were already lots of cars parked in front, including the police, i assume she is back, alin havent replied my text yet. God, i hope she's back, safe and sound.

cakap biar terang, doc!

a friend at work shared with me this one:

- her brother, who i take it from her description, is a bit on the overweight side, asked her opinion regarding a symptom he is having. she advised him to do a few blood investigations, which include few that requires him to fast first...lipid, sugars, etc. so she told him "ingat, puasa tau pegi amik darah2 tu".

so the brother literally "puasa" la.. .. he even woke up at 4 am to drink a full mug of milo as "sahur", and went to take the bloods at 7 am.

obviously, she only has herself to blame, for not clarifying to the brother earlier on how it actually works ;)

this one happened quite awhile ago already, at the previous place where i worked. i probably blogged about it already too, cant remember, but i still think it's funny..hehe.

- a chinese colleague was asking in malay, a young girl's parent whether her kid ever had an ultrasound done to look at her kidneys, "puan, anak puan punye buah pinggang ada pernah tengok tv ka?"

haha!

"to cure sometimes, relieve often, comfort always"

yesterday i saw this early morning show on tv called "tanyalah ustaz".

the topic was "jin & alam ghaib".

interesting, and something i have not much knowledge about, so i sat down to watch while taking my breakfast before leaving for my oncall.

at one point the ustaz was telling the viewers to always consider alternative medicine, in this case, perubatan islam- whenever we fall sick , and especially when doctors/modern medicine are unable to find the cause or definite diagnosis for the medical problem.

but then he also went ahead and made a statement which totally shocked me, that i almost choked on my karipap sardin!

he actually went on to advise viewers "bila2 doktor tak dapat cari punca atau diagnosis untuk sesuatu penyakit itu, mereka mesti nak mintak satu- ambil sum-sum tulang. tuan2 dan puan2.. kalau boleh, cubalah elakkan dpd perkara ini.. ambil sum-sum tulang ini adalah amat bahaya.. boleh menyebabkan lumpuh. jika doktor mintak ambil, cubalah dulu cara lain. ingat ye!"

!!!!

manalah i tak almost had to heimlich manouver myself!

no wonder lah selalu susah nak dapat consent for bone marrow and lumbar puncture!

the public has already been misinformed enough about how doing a lumbar puncture and taking cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or air tulang belakang can paralyse people, now he is saying ambil bone marrow or sumsum tulang will also cause the same. both are totally different things, located at different anatomic sites, and the procedures done to obtain them are also different.

sigh..i'm not here to talk about how we do lumbar punctures or bone marrow aspirates, we do it multiple times on a daily basis at the hospital, especially in the oncology wards, and since malaysia still require us to take consent for these procedures, "berbuih mulut" to have to inform patients and parents about them already.

the ustaz no doubt is probably well educated in his own field, but i dont think he should make such bold statements about medical procedures before getting the facts right.

whenever patients at the hospital express their wish to try other means, be it "islamic", bomoh, chinese, homeopathy, etc.. we never say "no", as long as they can still continue their treatments or follow-up with us, and the alternative medicine doesnt interfere with ours. and i know for a fact that whenever most of us do something, or about to carry out a procedure, we always pray that everything goes well... no matter what religion/belief we have, or who it is we were praying to, we know that we are merely humans, bound to make mistakes, and the last thing we wanna do is harm a patient, and so we pray to higher powers to help us.

o well, i'm probably digressing now a bit at least, i'm sure.. but i've mentioned this over and over again, reminding myself, my colleagues, the staff, and especially the really junior doctors out there (although i still consider myself junior as well) that we should always treat a patient just as how we would treat someone dear to us, or just as how we ourselves would like to be treated, should we become patients ourselves.

to quote a few points from the oath:

"I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.

I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.

I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.

I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.

I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.

I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.

I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.

If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help."

bunga2 cameron