Thursday, January 31, 2008

A lovesong for a Friend


Remember this? Hehe.

It's where you found me. . . .in tears

:)

...since then we've been doing life full on. Wonder what's gonna happen this year.

*wink*


But i'm glad that i've got you by my side, eventhough we're going to be miles apart.


edit: yes, Chung En, it's you la. Can't recognise the place? ish ish

Friday, January 18, 2008

Loneliness


The cousin has officially returned to Down Under. I'm without a 'room mate' for the next 2 weeks. I miss those late night chatty sessions. Haha.

I definitely learnt a lot from him. About how he chooses not to worry about what he can't change.

. . . . and how he's too lazy to bath as well.
(but of course, when its all sticky and yucky, you really need a shower then. LOL)

I guess it runs in the family.

:)

*the power of a labcoat*

Wearing a labcoat in a hospital gives you access to wards outside visiting hours and also staff price at the canteen. How cool is that!!! Even better, today, i was walking alone carrying my friend's file and being a kaypoh reading thru it. A nurse passed me by and said,

'Selamat petang, doktor.'


Thursday, January 10, 2008

The futility of life

The entry below was typed out on the 9th of January.

My third day of placement at the local public hospital and I was posted at the acute emergency ward.
I woke up rather groggily due to the lack of sleep since like forever..haha, dragged myself to the my mum’s car and fell asleep again in the back of the car while she drove me to the hospital (yes, I know, pampered kid).


When I went to the ward to report myself in, there was already a patient who just came in with complaints of dizziness, her BP was 298/120 or something like that but yea, it was a shocker!!a real shocker. (normal is 120/80, you do the maths)

I was then given a 2 hour plus tutorial by the doctor there about anti hypertensives and the pathophysiology of those sorts of diseases. I was like, ‘wow, what a start to the day, so exciting, I just learnt so much!!’


I heard a ring suddenly and the doctor stopped talking to me and all the nurses suddenly got off their feet and started dashing here and there. Next thing I know, I see a person being pushed into the ward right in front of me, lying unconscious. Doctor drew the curtains, I stood aside knowing my place. You could hear all the gadgets beings used, like ER. I heard suddenly, 'Sudah mati.' I was like.... what the??

The staff were all still by the bed with the curtains drawn. A lady came up to me and asked me how was the patient. I had no idea why i did what i did but i just said, 'Sorry, she has passed away.' She broke down in front of me. I have no idea why i did not get the doctor or something and just blurted those words out. I mean, i could've been wrong or something (thankfully i wasn't). 10 minutes later, a man came into the ward and again the same thing happened.


Sigh.


30 minutes later, a mother rushed in carrying a little boy in my hands. I thought, 'Oh no, please not a small boy. Please..' He looked like he was probably 2-4 years old. Maybe older. Man, i still remember his face. The staff there was so efficient, in 30 secs, they were like trying to resuscitate the boy. I just stood there, shocked..praying for a miracle. Alas, he's in a better place now.

I still remember the faces of those who passed on and also the faces of their loved ones around. I also can't forget the wailing and the crying too.

The above recaps one of the many unexpected experiences that God has allowed me to go through over the past few days. I sit down here recounting them, realizing again that God IS at work in me and through me.

I thought i would complain about the 'system' and how i am a victim of it but i'm learning to not.

Simply because my passion is for the people and not the system.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

The Great Divide


Thanks Su Yin for the lab coat.

Placement started yesterday. For the next one month, i'll be slugging it out at the nearby public hospital.

Someone once told me that the public health care system here is in a mess but you really got to experience it for yourself to say anything.

I have never seen so many sick people in my life. I mean, i've been to hospitals and visited people at wards. Man, i've even experience the death of a loved one. But all that did not prepare me for what i've seen over the past 2 days.

I saw a guy without a nose yesterday. I went to the wards for a visit (it was outside visiting hours so we had special access), and there were beds in the lanes with patients on them. Doctors, nurses, and pharmacists alike were running all over the place and everything just seemed very chaotic. There were just too many patients with not enough people to look after them. It was like a scene from 'Pearl Harbour' minus all the gory part but yea, you got the picture. Today, I was privilleged enough to help out at the 'warfarin clinic.' Warfarin is a drug which needs a lot of attention (severe consequences if used wrongly) and counselling and hence, pharmacists can spend a long time with patients making sure they know how to take the drug. Every Tuesday, the medical clinics at the hospital are converted to warfarin clinics. Patients on warfarin come and get their condition and medication checked. There were just so many of them with not enough staff to look after them. So much so that some of us students were roped in to help. I was so busy the whole afternoon.

I saw so many people, most of them poor and uneducated and yet they were on drugs which needed careful attention and evaluation. The staff there did their best to ensure that each one was properly taken care of but they could only do so much as there was just simply too many patients. I saw a graph which showed the percentage of admissions each year the hospital, over the past 4 years, the numbers ranged from about 90% to 130%. More than 100%, can you believe it? The hospital is running above its capacity.

Sigh.

There are so many people who needs help but only so few who can give them. Really, the people that needs help the most are in public hospitals. They are sick, poor and uneducated but that dose not mean that they do not deserve the proper medical attention that some of us are so fortunate to have, yet we sometimes fail to provide it for them. I am reminded of my Best Friend who left His Home to come to help the Sick and not the Healthy. I am so thankful for Him.

My mum told me that when you enter the medical line, you will go through experiences like this. You feel so sad for the people and you feel so inadequate with yourself because you just simply can't help them all. (Parents = wisdom, hehe) She shared with me a story about a little boy.

One day, a man was walking at the beach and he saw a little boy picking up clams who were swept ashore. The little boy, knowing that they would die if they did not have water soon picked these clams up and threw them back into the sea. The man asked the boy, 'There's just so many of them, no point doing it, it's just too troublesome.' The little boy agreed but still continued doing it. The man asked him why was he still doing it. The boy just simply replied, 'I can only do so much, but at least, it made a difference for that one.'

Yes i'm only a student but my heart aches when i see all these people and i guess i can only do so much but i pray and hope that it will 'make a difference for that one.'

Sunday, January 6, 2008

The only reason why i like having one less ligament

Since coming back, i've been experiencing occasionally knee pains. As such, footwear has been a topic of interest for the past few weeks. A certain amount of money was then splurged on really good footwear. Hehehe. I shall not disclose the amount spent but yea, i've never wore such expensive stuffs on my lower body.

Some funky knee guards which apparently improves blood circulation to the knees
(noticed the interesting lil bumps, it's not your average knee guard, mind you)

Jogging shoes which was selected after some joker analyzed various aspects of my feet
My first brown semiformal shoes for my upcoming placement at Klg GH.

Funky looking CROCs!!!! i purposely chose the colour to 'light the streets up'. LOL. If i'm going to wear something so ugly, i might as well 'scream for attention'.

Went to a place which analyzed foot pressure, below is my skinny cousin's one, noticed how 'blue' the spots are. Showed that he's a light-footed.

Mine has more 'brown' spots indicating that i put more pressure on my feet when i walk. (cousin suggested that i lose weight instead, that way i won't have to get them costly footwear)


Went MPO later at night, we got box seats man!!!super exclusive. LOL. Best part is, it was free!!yes, the cousin looks older than me when he's not (i blame it on the new haircut, ish)


I stand in awe of this piece of man-work. Why i'm proud to be a Malaysian. Superb.

:)

Friday, January 4, 2008

What have i been up to

Pics starts from the latest to down to the earliest

New Year's day with the cousins,
At Cameron's

We left the joker there at Camerons
Christmas day with buddies.
How we celebrated Christmas Eve, Mcd's drive thru.
At Penang after Fraser's.
I thought of YOU, Ah Lam. LOL