1 month post-op update

They said time flies when you are having fun. I don’t think I am having a blissful time in the last 1 month but time certain flew past me like a flash.

It has been 1 month since my knee surgery and things have been progressing well. According to my physiotherapist (a Brazilian who had an internship with Sao Paolo), I am behind time in terms of flexibility.

Pre warm-up front natural bending is at 119 degrees and back bending while lying on my stomach is at 110 degrees. Though I have improved since last week, I was told I am behind time.

With warm-up, I can almost do a full bend while sitting upright but he said I am behind time because measurement should be taken before any warm-up exercise. Guess I still have a lot to work on.

There is going to be a lot of passive bending, i.e. I lie on my stomach and he will push my leg to bend… trust me… it is very very very painful. I usually will scream. He told me there were Brazilian players who used to cry during passive bending… made me feel much better.

The swelling on the operated knee has gone down quite a bit and the incisions are all healing nicely. However, something not so good is developing on my right leg, where my hamstring tendon was harvested.

Perhaps I over-used my right leg to compensate my weaker left leg, the lower right leg has swelled up and the shin felt a bit numb. Perhaps it’s the stretching of the skin due to the swelling, I don’t know.

Anyway, I am flying back to see my surgeon this Saturday. Hopefully it’s normal.

Anyone wants t pick me up from the LCCT this Friday? LOL…!


1 year ago… That 10 + 5 that you pay

2 years ago… KY (A+B+2C) + KY

The root of the tragedy at the Std Cht Marathon

If you ran in the just concluded KL Standard Chartered Marathon or if you are a vivid facebook addict, you would have most probably read about a young man named Lim who passed away a couple of km before completing his 10km run.

What happened was Lim collapsed, he was then assisted by the writer of the facebook-note together with some other medically trained runners. While trying to preserve Lim’s life, they screamed for medical help but the Emergency Medical Services (“EMS”) was no where to be found.

And of course, in typical Malaysian style… and I quote the writer…

“… 3 DBKL officers (with big motorcycles) just stood by the road side and just stare…”

The EMS arrived after 15-20 minutes, when Lim barely had any pulse left. And again, in typical Malaysian style, the EMS ambulance had practically nothing in it. Maybe if you need some nasi-lemak or char-kuey-teow, you may find some. But if you want life-saving equipment in a supposedly life-saving ambulance… takde… mei you… don’t have.

You may wish to read full real life account of the incident here.

Comments flowed in to concur with the writer saying the organiser must take responsibilities, there needs to be more awareness, next year people should make health declaration before running, etc.

To me, all these pleas will only remove the symptoms, but will never cure the disease. The KL Stand Chart Marathon was also marred with some aspects of fiasco, and this year, someone died. But how come, the same Stand Chart Marathon that takes place in Singapore every year do not have such problems? After all, same organiser and same sponsors…

DBKL officers not giving a shit… slow EMS arrival… ambulance that cannot function as an ambulance… these are manifestation of a failed system, the result of mediocrity which has since been conveniently accepted by most Malaysians. And if you have been reading news, this is not the first time someone died because of poor ambulance service.

You may say that I am trying to condemn Malaysia again and praising Singapore because I am now residing here. But when I was running the KL SC Marathon and Singapore SC Marathon, I was still residing in Malaysia… same sponsor, same organiser… a whole world of a difference. Why?

Deep down, if we are honest with ourselves, we know the problem is not just poor organising. It’s much deeper than that. If you fail to see that, then you are really intoxicated with nasi-lemak, char-kuey-teow and bak-kut-teh.

Lim – may you rest in peace.


2 years ago… The ‘jip san leong’ act

3 years ago… What’s your answer?… When the ‘if’ turns real

The surgery experience

After being admitted, I “checked-in” to my room and took a nap. A nurse came and took some blood, my temperature and checked my blood-pressure.

The anaesthetist then came to ask me how I want to be sedated, on which I decided on spinal anaesthesia. I found out on the day I checked out that he charged me MYR120 as consultation for that 2-3 minutes conversation and another MYR2,000 for that anaesthetic injection.

Lunch was then served. I was only given lunch because I didn’t opt for general anaesthetic. I was then asked to change into the operating gown. Felt exposed.

At about 2 p.m., 2 nurses came to take me. After climbing onto the bed, I was asked to confirm that it was my signature on a couple of documents. They then asked me what my name is where I must answer in full. They then fetched me to the operating theatre.

It was very cold. The nurse told me that the winter-like condition is to control bacteria population. Trust me, it was freezing. When I climbed onto the operating table, I felt as though I was lying on ice.

The surgeon, Dr Gan, came in and said hello to me. The next thing I knew, he was on his way already.

The procedure involved harvesting of a hamstring tendon from my right leg and another small fraction of tendon from my injured left thigh to replace the torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (“ACL”) of my left knee.

This involved drilling into my knee to implant the harvested tendon and securing them to the drilled holes via titanium screws. As the MRI showed damages to the meniscus and knee cap, Dr. Gan also performed some repair work.

I was awake the whole time and watched the entire surgery that lasted almost 2 hours.

Have to honest, I felt a bit dazed coming out from the operating theatre. After dinner, the anaesthetic started to wear off and the pain announced its arrival. I can't really take pain killers due to my kidney condition so it was hell for me.

I was literally screaming in pain and asked for 2 sleeping pills to knock me off in order to bring me some peace…


1 year ago… Disparities, Insanities, Inhumanities… A different type of pageant

2 years ago… Walk the talk

A quick post-op pic

Yo!

Thanks for all your well wishes and prayers. And thanks doc for the choice of anaesthetic consultation. The surgery was successful and I am on the road to recovery. I have to testify, doing post-op physio is the most painful experience ever. A mother of 5 told me it was more painful than giving birth.

I am a bit tied up with a lot of things at the moment. I will certainly blog more about it. For the time being, allow me to share with you how it looks like when the surgeon drilled into my knee to implant the new ligament…

Knee surgery tomorrow

This has happened much quickly than expected. The surgeon I saw last Wednesday said he would be able to operate tomorrow. He is the same surgeon who operated on the knee of national badminton player Julia Wong.

Well, I am very comfortable with his explanation and he gave me a lot of confidence. Hence, I am going under the knife tomorrow. I was mentally prepared to get this done in July and now that this has been brought forward, I have to admit I feel a little strange.

I have yet to decide on whether I should go on local anaesthetic or get knocked out on general anaesthetic. Would certainly need wisdom on this.

Though it is not a very life threatening surgery, I do appreciate prayers support and hopefully everything will turn out well.

Thanks for all your well wishes and catch you guys later…

Me knee update

I have done a MRI and it confirmed that my Anterior Cruciate Ligament (“ACL”) is completely torn. Many people have been asking me what exactly it is and I think this is a good analogy…

Imagine a house supported by a single main pillar. Now, the pillar has completely collapsed and the reason why the house is still standing is because of the walls. Worse, some of the internal and side walls are either damaged or have also collapsed. Imagine the house being my knee.

That’s quite a good explanation, isn’t it? Came up with it myself… hehe…

I am off crutches for now but I can’t really walk normally. I certainly can’t jump and running is out of the question. I can’t imagine myself not running or playing any games for the rest of my life, so I will need an ACL reconstruction surgery. It will take 9 months before I can play again.

Timing has been bad. This injury happened while I am busy preparing to make my brain-drain move down south. But I guess I shouldn’t be complaining after this conversation.

As the surgery can only be done after the swelling is completely gone, I will most probably head down south first and then fly back for my surgery. There will certainly be lots of flying in the next couple of months.

I hope to find a surgeon who I am comfortable with, currently looking at one who came highly recommended.

With a good surgeon, discipline to do proper rehab and God’s grace, I hope to run next year’s KL Standard Chartered Marathon…


1 year ago… Smokers like these are morons… She just couldn’t see it… A thought while terminating

2 years ago… Some things don’t evolve… Ask before you hump?

3 years ago… You are the reason… The 3 laws (recommended)

Appreciate prayers for my knee

My boots were slightly broken since the game last week; perhaps it was a sign. I wasn’t even challenging for the ball, was just running and tried to change direction.

I heard a “crack” and the next thing I knew, I felt like my left knee has been cracked open with a dagger.

Initial assessment indicated that the meniscus was torn but not too sure about the anterior cruciate ligament. I will have to wait for the swelling to subside before going for a MRI. Then the extent of the damage will be clearer.

Appreciate prayers that the ACL is still intact and not ruptured. If it is ruptured, it will be surgery and a kiss goodbye to active sports. Many thanks.

Blood being drawn out from my knee…



3 years ago… Of selling and barking

Doc visit this time

Medical check-up is never a pleasant experience, regardless of the purpose. It’s much worse in mine as my check up is to see whether things have gotten worse. It’s either status quo, i.e. still abnormal but within control, or the situation has worsened. Either way, it’s not exactly good news.

Thank God though, things have actually improved in my case. There are still red blood cells in my urine but protein leakage has reduced to bare minimum.

One thing I always observed during my visits… I am always the youngest patient in the clinic. Others, as far as I can see, are most in their 40s or 50s. It makes me wonder whether I should be glad that I discovered this condition early… or… should I be worried whether my kidneys will last that long.

My observation took a twist last Friday. 2 patients who showed up are younger than me. 1 is a girl, probably in her teens. She came with her mother, I thought her mom was the patient until the nurse asked for the patient’s weight and she went to the scale instead. She didn’t look exactly pleased, neither was her mother.

The other is a guy, probably mid 20s. He was rather overweight, something which the doc asked me to control. Apparently, being overweight puts a lot of stress on the kidneys. He looked pretty cool though, no sign of anxiety in his face.

This time round, the doc also did a GSP 1 blood test on me. Kidney functions are holding up well, so is my liver. However, the test showed that I have what is known as a lifestyle condition… I have high cholesterol!

I’ve been asked to eat oat twice a day, else I may have a heart attack by the time I am 50!

Apparently; there are a lot of people out there with high-cholesterol, they just don’t know it. With the abundance of good food here… that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Do you know your health profile?


1 year ago… The most difficult question in the interview and how to answer it

Anxious

Time really flies... and I have reached that time of the year again, where I will see my Nephrologist for my semi-annual check-up. Rather anxious about this time though. Not that I am expecting anything serious (hopefully not), but this check up will most probably influence a big decision that I will make next week.

Hope everything turns out well...

I did it!

1st kilometre…
I could feel the adrenalin rush. Everyone was running; no one talked. All I could here were the sound of shoes hitting the ground; echoing between 2 huge buildings around us.

2nd to 8th kilometre…
Cruising mode, a time when all the runs around the golf club and time spent on the treadmill bear fruits. My lungs and legs went at the rate I want them to go. No sign of other runners walking. This was also when I saw a guy who has got a hilarious message plastered at the back of his outfit. It reads… “No sex for me if I can't finish --- from the wife”. I overtook him and never saw him again.

9th to 10th kilometre…
First sight of people walking, and I was beginning to feel a little of my muscle. I slowed down to load up on packet of chocolate-flavoured power-gel and bottomed-up a few cups of H2O to wash the gel down my throat.

11th to 13th kilometre…
Auto-cruise mode began to show signs of malfunction. Stopped for the first time to do some stretching. Felt a stinging pain in my underarm only to realise that I have suffered from “chaffing” due to constant rubbing against my outfit. Continued running with my arms slightly open (like a chicken) to prevent further damage. It’s not funny.

14th to 15th kilometre…
Quite a number of runners are walking which means, no need to look for empty space to overtake others (even with my arms slightly opened). But then again, who said anything about overtaking now?

16th – 17th kilometre…
Auto-cruise mode completely fried. Stopped a few times to stretch, walk, and load up my second packet of power-gel. Pace was extremely slow. A motivation tip from a seasoned runner friend came to mind… see things that looked nice from behind, pick up pace to overtake in order to check if it the front looks as good, know what I mean.

18th kilometre…
The spirit is willing but the body is weak. Fatigue is the name of the game. Legs do not seem to listen to the brain. Told my ass to get moving but the legs that carry my ass just refused to go. Damn it!

19th kilometre…
Began to feel a slight cramp in my right calf. Stopped to do more stretching. It was here that I saw the most outrages cheering party ever… 1 boy, dressed in florescent yellow and a few girls dressed in florescent pink/green were dancing to loud music blasting from 2 big speakers. Trust me when I say they were dancing… they were realllllly dancing! At the same time, there were chanting… “You can do it”… “You can do it”… “You can do it”… “You can do it”… “You can do it”… Some people stopped to take pictures with them.

20th kilometre…
In trying to preserve my right calf which I felt was about to cramp, I put more weight on my left leg when I ran. Bad idea! Tragedy struck… a sudden massive cramp in my left calf. I have had cramps many times before during my games but this was by far the worst I have ever felt. I couldn’t even stand up.

I would like to thank the 4 guys who stopped to stretch my calf. One guy, with a set of tattoo on his left arm also helped to massage my calf while the other placed a towel behind my head (I was lying on the road) and ask me to keep breathing. Hey guys, I do not know any of you but I am sorry if I have slowed you guys down. Many thanks.

Managed to get up and continue…

21st kilometre…
In my effort to preserve my calf and prevent my chaffing to my underarms, I was literally running like retard. Well, it was more like brisk walking. But I still tried to run, or looked as though I was running. You know why? Too many cameras around at this point… hah!

Final 100 metre…
They said the half marathon is a 21km run. It’s not. It’s 21.1km. That additional 100 metres may seems like nothing, but when you have ran 21km; that extra 100 metres seems to be the distance between heaven and earth.

Nevertheless, when I finally can say… “I did it!”… all the pain was worth it.



1 year ago… Loved vs. Pampered vs. Spoilt… A truly interesting encounter

2 years ago… How is this possible?… Supernatural solutions… Talking to the dead

What China doesn’t have and why you are not…

Most people answered “public toilet” to the riddle (more like a question) that I asked the other day. Well, there are quite a number of public toilets everywhere; just that you wouldn’t want to use them unless it’s an ultimate emergency. Know what I mean?

In order to answer the question, let me share some part of my short working stint in China with you…

I was briefly attached to a telecommunication company which was based in this huge complex. It’s like a township by itself. It’s not feasible to go out of the complex for lunch so most days, I will have lunch at the canteen.

Food was subsidised so it’s cheap. Hence, everyone will grab a few dishes and a bowl of rice. Now, this is no ordinary bowl of rice. Trust me when I say it’s a BIG bowl of rice. I am a big eater but on some days, I am not able to finish a bowl myself. But ya’ know what? Those China girls will eat the bowl clean. Some even had 2 bowls!!!!!

Similarly, when I was in Beijing last week, everyone eats tonnes of rice, porridge (it’s called congee in Beijing) and “lai-mien” (noodles).

What I am trying to say is that, mainland Chinese eats a lot of what Malaysians deem as weight contributor… carbohydrates.

How many times have you heard of people saying… “less rice please” and when you give them the look, their response will be … “eat so much rice will make you fat”. The funny thing is, most of such people aren’t exactly… thin.

Back to my question…

I noticed this and so did my ex-colleague who was there with me in China. Another friend who visited China concurred this. It is very rare… and close to impossible… to see such in China… fat people (no offence to anyone).

Yes, there are no fat people in China. Or at least, I couldn’t see any of them. And I don’t mean obese type of fat. I am referring to reasonable fat type people. In fact, most mainland Chinese are rather slim.

But then again… they eat so much… so much… rice… carbo!!!

My fellow Malaysians, the reason why we are fat is not because we eat a full plate of rice instead of half.

The reason why most Malaysians are fat is because the distance between your home and your office is 5 steps from your door to your car and maybe another 20 steps from your car to the lift… the distance between Sungei Wang and Times Square is 2 minutes on the monorail… you prefer call pizza instead of walking out to the shop down the road for lunch because it’s too sunny, or no parking… you have no time to exercise because you are such a hardworking employee… etc. etc.

And of course, many ask for less rice and then stuff your face with Baskin Robins or Haagan Dazs…

Don’t blame the rice…

P/S: So now you know what China doesn’t have…

Dissecting the brain… braindrain

“How old if Dr. F?”
“Oh, Dr. F is past his 50s already…”

That’s what I asked the nurse while I was at the nephrologist clinic during my last kidney check-up. Just to recapitulate, a “nephrologist” is a medical specialist for kidney function. It is a very rare discipline. When I first discovered my kidney condition, I had a hard time looking for one, let alone booking an appointment.

And it’s worrying…

If you’ve noticed; most medical specialists… or should I say, most “known-to-be-good” medical specialists are in the 50s, or late 40s. Hence, some friends and I share a common concern, i.e. when the current batch of good medical specialists finally retires, will there be a competent batch to take over?

Of all my friends who are doctors and are finishing or have completed their respective specialised discipline, none of them are in Malaysia. There are 2 surgeons, one in US while the other in Australia. There is an orthopaedic consultant and an A&E specialist, both in Singapore.

They were all top students during their educational years, who obtained entry into top notch medical school on credit (not on quota). And they have decided not to return to this country.

As of now, I know of 2 doctor-bloggers who are currently pursuing their respective specialised discipline overseas and they don’t sound like they will return “home”. Worse, some of my other doctor friends who are currently here are looking at migrating.

15 or 20 years from now, who will be the next batch of medical specialists looking after our health, or our children’s health? Will they be the top notch doctors who have gone through the right kind training? Or will they be the kind of doctors who cannot even read simple x-ray films? If I am to stay, will I need to travel to Singapore every 6-month for my kidney check up in the future?

Brain-drain, is a big word… a very BIG word. It is so big, that I think most Malaysians have not fully grasp the frightening repercussions that come with it. If you think brain-drain is only going to cause the economy to crumble, please think again. You have no idea what is upon you.

I can go on and on, linking the economic elements to this worrying medical issue, clasped within an often over-looked concern. But I am sure you know what I am trying to get at.

But if you are unable to digest, or if you still believe that all these will not affect you; you better pray you can afford good private medical care when you have all sorts of medical problems from eating all the good nasi-lemak, bak-kut-teh and char-kuey-teow. That is, if there is still “good-private-medical-care” around.


1 year ago… The chronicles of holes and poles

2 years ago… Modern colonisation

Health, H1N1 and 15Malaysia

Health front…

Many thanks for all your well wishes. Kidney check up went well. The readings have actually improved, though still considered abnormal. Well, just have to keep it that way for now. Continue to maintain a healthy diet and plenty of exercise are the instructions from the nephrologist.

H1N1 front…

Finally (because I believe it’s just a matter of time), the company I work in recorded the first H1N1 case yesterday. As expected, the first instruction sent out was for everyone sharing floor with the subject to remain in office and continue working. I just feel this pandemic is revealing a lot of things about life to us, if we could open our eyes and see.

By the way, Malaysia has moved up the ranking from 9th place (as at 2 days ago) to 8th place in the pandemic chart. Malaysia boleh!

Humour front…

Have you guys heard of this project called 15Malaysia? Quoting from the site:

“15Malaysia is a short film project. It consists of 15 short films made by 15 Malaysian filmmakers. These films not only deal with social-political issues in Malaysia, they also feature some of the best known faces in the country…”

The short films will be released in stages where 3 clips have been released thus far. The first clip features the infamous Namawee with the clip titled “Potong Saga”.

Check it out!

Have a wonderful weekend and once again, thank you all for your well wishes!


1 year ago… 10 vs 1… The way of the child

A step back to reality

It is times like these that I am once again reminded, that life is indeed very fragile. 6 months have passed and after a weekend of urine collection, I am due to see the nephro again tomorrow for my next check up.

I have not been overly healthy in the last 6 months. I guess complacency sets in and for a while, I put on a foolish sense of invincibility.

But anyway, I am hoping and putting faith that tomorrow, the nephro will once again tell me that my kidneys are holding up well...

H1N1

For all the measures being taken (so they claimed) or wonderful promises announced based on the comics newspaper, one only needs to hear it from the ground to see if it is true. Just as how one will have a better picture on the education system listening to parents of students rather than reading news, one will know what is happening regarding this H1N1 issue if you know someone who has been diagnosed as positive.

Having confirmed as H1N1 positive after a throat swap, Joe was turned away as that hospital was not an authorised institution to treat H1N1 patients. Having arrived at a designated hospital, Joe waited for 5 hours before he received attention.

And the attention that he received was being told to go home and rest as the hospital had ran out of bed. Diagnosed as positive!!!!... and being told to go home and rest!!! Is it a surprise that we now have 200+ new cases a day?

Thank God, Joe is not a doctor-say-go-home-rest-so-I-go-home-lor type of person. He made some calls, leveraged on his connections and got himself warded in another hospital.

But how many out there are as wise as Joe? How many will “go home as rest” as instructed AFTER being diagnosed as H1N1 positive?

Next…

Joe’s office was alerted of this and the decision of the management was to quarantine the whole dept…… in the office! Because the company did not have a “Business Continuity Plan”, work needs to be done so the entire dept, together with people who deals directly with Joe, continue to report to work.

Yes, people may die. Yes, people in the dept who may not have been infected may now be infected. But that is not important. Work is more important. I told a colleague of Joe that if he is infected during the quarantine period, sue the fucking company.

And you know what? The head of that department took leave…

I am sure some of you have read about how a journalist of TheSun wrote rubbish in his H1N1 declaration form upon returning from overseas and it was never detected. Do these forms serve any purpose?

I have 2 friends who told me that they saw the guy behind the so-called thermal camera at the airport soundly asleep while travellers walked past the checkpoint.

A brief conversation with a doctor doing her housemen-ship locally told me that it’s absolutely chaos in the local hospitals.

I don’t know about you, but I have absolutely no faith in this country’s ability in handling this pandemic. Months ago, I blogged about how this pandemic will put this country’s bolehness to the test. And now, what I hear from a colleague is that Malaysia has one of the highest death rates per 100,000 population compared to other countries.

After years of throwing a blind eye on deterioration in public administration in the name of self-protection, fear and “good food”, I think we will now be made to pay, perhaps even with our own lives.

I hope I am wrong.

1 year ago… The ultimate gym conversation

2 years ago… And you thought you’ve heard the worst… Not to learn a learnt trait?… Types of accidents… A world of idiots… Keywords splendour

1 of the 50 facts

Honestly speaking, I have never finished reading a book. The closest was Tuesdays with Morrie. But this changed about a month ago when I picked up a book from my sis-in-law’s room. The title of the book was “50 facts that should change the world” by Jessica Williams.

Therein lies much information that will make you think about life and how screwed up we are. This book inspired me to write Disparities Insanities Inhumanities, most of the stats I quoted in that post are from this book.

Having said that, humans are forgetful selfish creatures. We tend to forget meaningful and heart warming things in life and only care about issues that directly affect us. So put aside the facts about how many people are deprived of food, robbed of their lives, deprived of their rights, etc. Probably that’s why the book is called “50 facts that should change the world” and not “50 facts that will change the world”.

So let’s put on our true selfish nature and talk about 1 fact that directly affects us.

1 of the facts in that book states that people in industrialised countries eat between 6kg and 7kg of food additives every year. We Malaysians may not be living in what is considered as an “industrialised country”, but I am sure our intake of food additives is close enough.

If you look at the ingredient list a typical “Made in Malaysia” type of food produce, you should see things that you are familiar with and then at the end of it, you have the mother of all ingredients… “…dan bahan pewarna dan pengawet yang dibenarkan” (permitted colouring and preservatives). So on average, you may have eaten up to 7kg of these “pewarna dan pengawet yang dibenarkan”.

That’s the Malaysia Boleh type of product.

I am now looking at a product of Singapore and they have some extra-terrestrial-like name in their ingredients such as Sodium Sillicoaluminate, Sodium Casseinate, Stabiliser E340ii, Stabiliser E451i, Emulsifier E 472e, Emulsifier E471 and 7 more names which I can’t pronounce. This will certainly fail the 2nd commandment of 12C 4 HE, but I am sure many of us don’t care.

We might say the Singaporeans are “kiasu” as they must list out everything instead of saving printing cost and just lump everything as “pewarna dan pengawet yang dibenarkan” but at least they know the name of the stuff they are eating. For those who eat Malaysian products, do you even know what you are eating?

That aside, we all know that all sorts of chemicals and additives exist in our food and they are of course, maintained at a “permissible” level. But like the good ‘ol Malay saying… “Sikit-sikit, lama-lama jadi bukit” (little by little, soon becomes a hill), the accumulative amount of chemicals and additives that we eat is astonishing. The “bukit” that we are talking about here is a total of 6kg to 7kg a year.

In a world where profits is the number 1 priority, you have no idea what is inside the food that you eat to make them look better, taste better and last longer. All I know is that when I am thirsty, I should reach for water instead of a proclaimed thirst quenching fizzy drink.

But we all know what we should do, whether we will do it is another matter altogether.


1 year ago… More struggles

She just couldn’t see it

This incident happened to me in late 2003…

I was playing badminton and I had to take a dive to retrieve a smash. My right ankle gave way and I heard a crack. Being a gung-ho person I am, I got up and continued the game. I was actually surprised that I felt not much pain at my ankle. But as I continued my game, there came a very sharp pain somewhere around the metatarsal area. It was then that I stopped.

I managed to drive home despite the pain and as the day progressed, the pain became quite unbearable. The next day, someone took me to the hospital. It was Sunday and I reckoned most of the private hospitals will either be closed or less doctors so I decided to head to University Hospital in PJ. Part of the reason was also because I wanted to save money, not a very rich person I am.

After doing all the necessary registration and a brief explanation to the nurse, I was told to get an x-ray. I think I waited for an hour before the doctor saw me and it went something like this…

“Kenapa ni? Main bola?”
“Bukan. Main badminton”
She put the x-ray film on the panel and gave it a good stare.
“Ahh, takde apa-apa lah. Semua ok, saya bandage saja lah”
“Ok”

The mere touch of the bandage on my foot intensified the pain and she could see it from my facial expression. And again, she looked at my x-ray film.

“Takde apa-apa pun. Mungkin cedera otot”
“Jadi macam mana?”
“Saya hantar jumpa specialist lah”

She sent me to the orthopaedic department where another doctor greeted me. From the brief information with him, I got to know that he was from Nigeria and is currently doing his Masters in the hospital. So technically speaking, he is not a specialist yet.

He read the diagnosis from the previous doctor and asked me to do certain movement with my foot. He then asked me to show him the x-ray. He looked at the film for 3 seconds and said…

“There is a crack in your bone”
“What? The other doctor said I was ok!”
“No, you have a crack. Look here, a hairline fracture”

It was there. Me who is not a doctor saw it, a good 2 inches fracture of my right metatarsal bone. Sounds like a professional injury eh? The Nigerian doctor saw it in 3 seconds. The other “takde apa-apa pun” doctor stared at the film for more than 1 minute accumulatively and saw nothing.

I am sure some of you would have your own experience or heard of stories of doctors in public hospital. That was my version. And I am glad it was just a misdiagnosed of a tiny fracture.

P/S: Have you voted your best Zewt Laugh yet?

Medicine time line

Came back from Singapore with fever, sore throat, running nose and headache. For a while, I thought I was having swine flu. But the doc said I didn’t really have the symptoms and asked me to rest. He gave me 2 days of MC and quite an amount of medication.

The medication completely knocked me out yesterday and I think I have been sleeping for the last 24 hours, waking up somewhere in between to take my medication before hitting the bed again. The medication given to me has to be taken in different intervals, some twice a day, some 3 times a day and there was one I have to take 4 times a day.

I am curious, is there a universal timing in taking medication? My Mom used to give me these guidelines…
4 times a day = every 4 hour
3 times a day = every 6 hour
2 times a day = after waking up & before sleep

Do you have a specific medicine time line? Should there be one?

I think the medication is kicking in, I am hitting the bed again…


1 year ago… V for virginity, P for purity… Be generous yet wise

2 years ago… A homicide solved with a funny face

The Jacke story

Jacke was someone who just wants to live his own life. Just like many others, he was not interested in politics. Even the simple task of casting vote was meaningless to him. “I don’t care, it just doesn’t concern me” was his usual response.

And no one can really blame him. Jacke worked hard and has truly established himself. He was drawing a very comfortable salary, married to a wonderful wife and blessed with 2 kids. He was oblivious to happenings around him as he thought he will be able to solve all the problems with his financial prowess.

Lack of quality in national schools was not a concern as he can afford to send his kids to private school. Poor medical service at national hospitals was not a concern as he can afford private medical care. Poor quality in tertiary education or even restricted opportunity to enter local tertiary education was not a concern; his children will enter overseas universities. High crime rate was not a concern as he can afford sophisticated security systems and even a few bodyguards.

As the saying goes… if a problem can be solved by money, it’s not a problem. And since Jacke has enough money -- What’s the problem? So no, all the social and political stuff is of no interest to Jacke.

In fact, Jacke even took advantage of the poor governance in the system. Jacke had with him not one, not two, but three maids! As some of you may know, one family is only allowed 1 maid. But that problem was conveniently solved with money. 1 for the wife, and the others for each of Jacke’s children.

Life was bliss, who cares about the ruckus of politics and deteriorating condition all over? Really?

Due to a certain requirement for something Jacke was applying, his family was asked to undergo medical examination. Imagine the horror of Jacke’s face when the test showed one of his children was infected with “a deadly virus”, one which is without cure.

Detailed investigation showed that everyone is the family is clean except for the poor child. How can that be? It was then that Jacke asked 3 of his maids to undergo medical as well. Lo and behold, the very same maid who looks after that poor child has that deadly virus.

How did the maid contract the virus? She has a clean medical certification from the authorities as provided by the maid agency. She was relatively new and was never let out of the house. How did it happen?

As money can solve a lot of problems for Jacke, money can also help Jacke discover how the problem came about. Using a lot of money, Jacke found out that the maid agency he engaged never sent the maids for medical certification.

How did the maid obtain a clean medical certificate?... a combination of corruption plus poor governance. How so?... because those in authority are corrupted. How so?... because those in politics put them there. How come such people are allowed to be in politics?... because we have people like Jacke.

Jacke thought he can always stay away from the ruckus and as long as he has money, he will never suffer the consequences of a poor administration. He learned it the hard way. Now, Jacke’s son will probably only live to see Jacke cast his vote in 2 elections.

P/S: Seriously, send your maid your medical check up. Better be safe than sorry.


1 year ago… A familiar pub notice… A note to Mom on a special day

2 years ago… As mourning period ends… Lessons from death

Boleh-ness to the test

When the local dailies whose usual modus operandi is to tone down big stuff to avoid panic actually said that it could be as big as the one which killed 40 million, you know this is big. And I can't help but wonder how capable our govt in dealing with big things.

I am referring to the apparently imminent swine flu pandemic. The World Health Organisation has already raised alert level to phase-5.

I sincerely hope that after spending thousands on a hammer, the govt did actually spent additional thousands on an appropriate thermal scanner. I sincerely hope that after millions being spent on building hospitals, they are actually ready if there is a real outbreak. More importantly, I sincerely hope that the authorities will not practise the usual “settle sini” culture when screening people at the border where RM100 can change give a person a clean bill of health.

If a pandemic does happen, I think it will truly be a big test for the govt. The “Malaysia Boleh” way of doing things, which can sometimes be a mockery to intelligence, may just be a matter of life and death in this situation.

Then again, I can just be over-dramatic here. But if I am right…


2 years go… The chronicles of morons