Everyday Hero #2

I cannot possibly do for one and not the other.

This is beginning to appear contrived, but I really do have something to say about the first man in my life.

I have a cool dad. Not cool in the fashionable, hip, tech-savvy sense, but cool in the way he raises his children. He's conservative, yes, but not in a you're-not-wearing-that-out sort of way. I remember a childhood peppered with humour, lots of story-telling, and even more books. He hurt more when I grazed my knees, cooked us horribly bland food when we had acute gastroenteritis, ferried us to various school meets, sports outings and tuition classes, and remained very supportive of our choices in life. He's dependable, reliable and kind.

Some say we came out of the same mould. So dad, I'm proud be your girl. Hope you're proud of me too .

Happy Father's Day!

(This time I'm posting at the right time.)

*Image courtesy of www.donnabellas.com

R.I.P.

Sucky, sucky, sucky.

3 mortalities. Thought by now I should be accustomed to deaths, but yesterday's just felt particularly sucky.

Man in his 60s, single, survived by a brother. COD : Advanced colon carcinoma. Did he even have his chance at a meaningful life?

Man in his 30s, mentally-challenged, welfare home resident. COD : Diabetic ketoacidosis and septicemic shock. Survived by no one. I stared at his I.C. and felt depressed that his demise probably meant nothing to anybody.

Man in his 50s, heavy smoker, survived by one son. COD : Acute myocardial infarction with cardiogenic shock. Another boy has just become newly orphaned.

As for me, I was worn out, physically and emotionally.

And the curtain closes on a chapter in my professional life.

*COD = cause of death

August 2002 And Everything After

14 June 2007.

I am on call today. It's my last call as a medical officer, since I started in August 2002. For many nights in the last 5 years I have had to spend nights alone in the hospital (mostly awake), walked along empty deserted corridors and entered spooky elevators in ungodly hours of the day, had uninspiring (to put it kindly) on-call meals provided by the kitchen, dragged myself out of bed to attend to patients who had a knack of "collapsing" the moment you fell asleep, and braved temperatures of Artic proportion in the very, very cold emergency unit in Sarawak General Hospital.

It's a lonely business, what we do. When the world is sleeping, you are up, thrust into a position to make life and death decisions. There have been s****y calls, when bad outcomes transpire despite all that you do; there have also been rewarding moments, when your action makes a difference (with a little divine intervention).

I shall miss escorting patients in the short journey from casualty to CCU most, where I would surmount all my strength and push open the CCU doors to allow the trolley through - a moment time and time again I would liken to Aragon pushing open the door in Edoras in his return from near-death (Return Of The King). A little fantasy-diversion wouldn't hurt!

And my on-call attire...my trusty black top from Isetan I had worn on most of my calls, is starting to fray. Even the backpack I carry to store my personal effects has a small tear near the strap. It's time they retired, having served me well over the years.

Strange, somehow I don't feel like I'm moving forward to a better phase. Now s**t begins!

Blackout!

What a night!

The lights went out on me last night. It wasn't personal. I heard the whole of Seremban had a power outage too.

And lives were disrupted, plans foiled. Hair left semi-dry, recipe for frizz. Laundry pile gaining critical altitude, deferred yet another trip to the washing machine. Navigation around the house aided by the faint glow from my mobile phone screen, with a high risk of rolling down the stairs and sustaining a head injury (and we wouldn't have been able to find the car keys to take me to the hospital). Blog not updated...at risk of losing its readership?

So what's a man and a woman to do?

I played Quadra Pop - a pathetic underwater theme Tetris rip-off which is strangely addictive - on my mobile phone, while hubby fell promptly asleep beside me.

Yes, many a generation have been conceived in darkness, but it simply had no amorous effect on 2 very tired people!

Unclear On The Concept

Some patients can be so unbelievably clueless. Some examples :

• Man walks in, sits down, says HI and then asks, "Doc, what's my BP today?" Wait, I haven't checked!
• Woman, told that she's just been diagnosed to have diabetes mellitus from her blood test, exclaims incredulously, "You didn't even check my urine! How do you know for sure?" (Can I propose that the misnomer kencing manis be banned?)
• Man, told that he has renal impairment, asks, "Which one? The left or right kidney?"
• Woman, a hypertensive on treatment, pleased that her blood pressure has returned to normal, asks hopefully, "So am I cured? Can I stop my medications?"

A former consultant of mine was of the conviction that no one should ever be admitted for hypoglycemia. If ever, he was adamant that it was the medical practitioner's fault. I remember an exchange during a grand ward round when we were house officers in the medical ward.

Consultant : Why is this lady here?

HO : Hypoglycemia.

Consultant : You are not answering my question. Why is this lady here?

We were dumbstruck, but really, his point was that no patient would develop hypoglycemia if we took the trouble to educate our patients.

HO : We have counselled her on multiple occasions, but she just doesn't understand.

Consultant : You don't need a high IQ to comprehend these instructions, just common sense. And she can't be so stupid.

(Turned to patient) Makcik, apa itu Proton Saga?

Patient : Tak tahu lah!

This has now been immortalised in our memories as the "Proton Saga Story". The point is, patient education is extremely important, but on many occasions, all your advice and instructions fall on deaf ears or get deflected by a thick cranium.

Well, we do try anyway.