Monday, April 30, 2012

3 weeks suburb.

Assalamualaikum and hello.

Harini rotation kedua. Dekat hospital baru, dalam town kecik n comel, Dun Laoghaire (sebut 'Dun Leary'). 30minit by bus dari rumah.

Semua baik2. Senior doctor baik, consultant baik. Patient tak ramai. Tapi semua cooperative. Dalam doctor's reading room ada coffee-maker yang awesome, sesuai utk org gila coffee macam saya. Ada 3 flavour coffee, smooth, medium and intense. Intense paling x laku, so bahagia la utk org suka kopi dark and heavy mcm saya.

Bila tulis melayu rasa sungguh patriotik. Mcm cerpen. hee.

Ok. Saya xtau nak tulis apa sebenarnya. Hari2 balik hospital, konon2 penat maka tidur sepuas-puasnya mcm baby dinosaur. Sebab isya' masuk pukul 11.15 so kena tabah x tidur awal utk x miss isya'.

Huhu. ok. apakah pengajaran dari post ini. Pengajarannya adelah macamana nak berjaya dalam kehidupan ha kalau tidur still macam baby dinosaur? Sebab boleh mimpi time tidok. Dalam mimpi boleh mimpi konon2 dah berjaya pun dalam kehidupan. haha

Bestnye tido. Rasa macam xmau bangun forever. ok

p/s: beza gila dgn post kiamat sebelum ni. iman naik turun betul

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Blame.

Assalamualaikum, and hello.

Today something hit me pwetty hard. A good friend mentioned about Hari Kiamat, where loved ones blame each other, where some desperately seek for forgiveness, where some rise happily from the good deeds in their lives.

Kiamat. Many avoid this topic, it scares people, all the thoughts about kulit terbakar wajah tertunduk hina makanan dari pohon berduri dan nanah, of course they all sounded dreadful, but they are real. Somehow we need these reminders, to make us strive for heaven even more. Sadly, many just brush Kiamat off their list of concerns, maybe because it's not something we can touch or feel, or maybe some just say, Kiamat jauh lagi.

Nevertheless, one thing that really hits me, is the fact that we'll blame each other on Judgement Day. We'll blame our friends for not telling us to solat on time, we'll blame our teachers for letting us play truant and cheat in exams, even worse, we'll blame our parents, for many many sins we're too afraid to be held responsible.

Parents, individuals dearest to our hearts, the perfect pair that Allah blesses us with for most of our life span, but we blame them on Judgement Day. We blame them for the things we do, for the solat we missed, for the puasa we abandoned, for the zina and maksiat we did. Yes, everybody think, "Nahh, that's insane. That's impossible. Why would anyone blame their loved ones on Judgement Day?"

But sadly, it will happen. Definitely will. Stated in the Quran. People point fingers to each other, to save their own skins from hellfire, even their own parents. Nauzubillah.

"Allah berfirman, "Masuklah kamu ke dalam api neraka bersama golongan jin dan manusia yg telah lebih dahulu dari kamu. Setiap kali suatu umat masuk, dia melaknat saudaranya, sehingga apabila mereka telah masuk semuanya, berkatalah orang yang masuk kemudian kepada orang yang masuk terlebih dahulu, "Ya Tuhan kami, mereka telah menyesatkan kami. Datangkanlah seksaan berlipat ganda kepada mereka." Allah berfirman, "Masing-masing akan diseksa berlipat kali ganda, tetapi kamu tidak mengetahui." [Al-A'raf, 7:38]

Solutions: Strive towards good deeds, strive towards heaven. So that on Judgement Day, we won't be blaming our parents, so that we would be the ones who'll bring blessings to these lovely people we call mommy, daddy, ibu, ayah, bapak, mak.

I love mama and abah, everyday we pray that Allah loves them as much as they love us when we're kids (grown-ups pun). But how far did we strive to be anak soleh dan solehah, that one day they would be smiling in the hereafter to be blessed with a child yang diredhai Allah. sobs

Sorry mama abah, I'm imperfect in many ways. Too many flaws in this child of yours, banyak dosa. But I love you-s, and I'll promise to be better for you. huhu

Abah with his demanding little princess, 1991. (princess? cehh)


Mammyyy, summer break pic in 2010.


Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Bimbo.

Me: What does 'PODS' stand for?
Dr. P: PODS? Pods.
Me: Yeah but what does it stand for? The P,O,D and stuff?
Dr. P: Just... pods. *looked at me puzzled

Oh God why...


That tube right there, that's a pod. Used to send blood samples etc to labs over a network of tubes.

Good job bimbo, lesson learned.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Slow down, you crazy child.

Assalamualaikum and hello.

A song that brings me back to one of the movies I loved in highschool years.
A song that urged me to actually go to the place mentioned in the lyrics.

Vienna, 2009. Tembam, hideous boots, ugly tshirt. Yet so blissfully happy.

It was on my playlist all along, and as I'm typing this away, it's blurted out on my speakers. Funny how songs can act like a time machine, bringing you back to the time they blended in your memories. Thank you Billy Joel, because of you, I ticked Vienna on my winter trip plan 2009.

"You've got your passion, you've got your pride,
but don't you know that only fools are satisfied?
Dream on, but don't imagine they'll all come true,
When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?"


p/s:  I'm starting to hate weddings, because I couldn't attend any one of 'em. And while I'm stuck somewhere Irish, people suddenly decided to get married while I'm gone. And even worse, married couple decided that this is a good season to pop out babies. My extended family welcomes two newborns recently, so I guess I'll have a bunch of cute lil kiddos calling me Maklong Ika when I get back. I miss home so very badly.
Anyways, I'm happy for all you soon-to-be newlyweds. May God's blessings be upon you :)

Friday, April 20, 2012

Sembuh.

Assalamualaikum and heyo.

Weekend's here! It'll pass by too quickly, as always.

Today I joined the ward round, with a slight twist, because it was led by my team's consultant, Prof Veale. He was on leave for a couple days ago because he injured his leg. So during the ward round, Prof V was wearing a huge cast, slightly limping. Amazing how he managed to walk around the hospital to see his patients in that state. He also asked so many simple medical questions that send us back to square one. I really need to revise my first and second-year books. Sobs

The Rheumatology team. It was an all-guys team, so I was the rose among the thorns. cecehh.
They all walk very fast, I could barely catch up =.=

So as the whole team visited all patients under Prof V's supervision, we reached our very last patient in the ICU, pakcik BB. He was unconscious, with wires attached to so many complicated machines. He looked familiar, then I remembered, I went to visit him last week to take a history. He was chatty, always smiling, when I talked to him last Thursday in the ward.

Now there he was, lying unconsciously and seemed very unwell. So frail and small in his oversized ICU bed.

Pakcik BB, moga cepat sembuh. Sedih tgk beliau dekat ICU, sebelum ni ok sihat walafiat. Tsk

Nikmat sihat memang pinjaman Tuhan kan.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Tummy bliss.

Assalamualaikum and hello.

Just recently I have found happiness in this perfect pair :

Cold fresh milk + Mini weetabix strawberry.
Tesco mari, 2 for 4euro.

I have them in the morning. I have them while studying. I have them before sleep. I think I can basically live on cereals for the rest of my life. Whoever created this mini tummy wonders, I salute you. Thank you for this bliss :')

So random, I know. Ok back to serious business, this week started off well alhamdulillah, though I was on my own mostly, because my only teammate is always elsewhere.

This morning in the rheumatology unit, I met Prof F, to join his clinic. Came one patient, V, with a 25-year history of rheumatoid arthritis. Her hands and feet are severely debilitated from her arthritis. 
Prof asked me, "How old are you?" 
"I'm 22 this year."
"V had rheumatoid arthritis for nearly 25 years now, that's basically your whole life."

Ouch.
I've been generally healthy for 22 years now, not challenged medically, while this lady has been battling arthritis everyday for 25 years. 

...And I rarely thank Allah for the gift of 22 years of good health. :-/

p/s: My sneaky parents read this blog a lot (I know, parents nowadays are all very tech savvy). Hahah. So to Abah who is currently feverish, have a good rest. A LOT of good rest, please. Love you both. muah2

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Apa yg penat sangat?

Assalamualaikum and haluu.

You must be yawning through all the posts complaining how tired I always am. I myself wondered what is it that seems to be exhausting me so much? Besides, it's just the FIRST week at the hospital. The first week, for God's sake, and I've started whining all week long.

Actually, the truth is, it's not tiring at all. At least, physically it's not. And intellectually, it's not too (if you were to compare myself with my other colleagues with more rigorous questioning session from their consultants). I think what's tiring is out of my normal spectrum, because I'm exhausted emotionally. I guess others are too.

The endless wait outside the clinic not knowing who to search for. The awkward standing at the ward too confused on which patient we should examine. The conversations between our team's senior doctors who most of the times would disregard our presence. The look on the team's doctors upon passing us by at the corridor and thinking we're part of the wall, not bothering to even carve a smile (even though we've met everyday). The intimidating moments having to page the intern we're attached to and were simply brushed off on the extension as "annoying medical students". The long stares from all patients in the wards, wondering why are these people in white coats lingering on our corridors (fyi, white coats are only worn by students here, doctors don't wear 'em). The tiring trip to the hospital, having to cycle up an annoyingly steep hill.

Those were some of the reasons why I'm not thrilled by the thought of swapping environment, from lectures in campus, to the hospital. It really is exhausting to face all sorts of ignorance and indifference in a whole new prospect you're trying to fit into, every single freaking day. Every morning I seriously had to drag myself out of bed for the sake of another day of emotional playground.

The only thing actually driving me is the thought of seeking for knowledge. And pahala ziarah orang sakit hari2 inshaAllah. This is the real thing. We actually have to SEEK for it, no spoonfeeding whatsoever. And also I need to lower my expectations of the 'ideal' clinical years. Maybe the doctors are busy attending a handful of patients, that's why they have no time to explain every single thing to you. Maybe they've just finished a round of stressful on-calls that they too were exhausted. Maybe they didn't notice you at the hallway because they're rushing to meet their patients' needs.

Don't simply judge. I really hope the day would come in which I would voluntarily wake myself up from bed to happily cycle to the hospital. Don't get me wrong, I like clinical hands-on, I like medicine, I like being around people and learning new things. Those things I mentioned were only hurdles I need to break through, though sometimes they exhaust me. So, let's just get this 3-week rotation done, and get it over with.

Tomorrow's the second week. Cheers to the long waiting hours. Cheers to the uncomfortable look people throw at you. Cheers to awkwardly tailing behind senior doctors not knowing what's appropriate to do. Most importantly, cheers to discovering new things :)

Moga Tuhan permudahkn semua urusan. Amin

Friday, April 13, 2012

Adeh.

This is how I feel every time I get back from the hospital:



This is what I wanna do for the rest of the weekend:


Night night World, I shall see you again on Monday. You've drained out all the energy in me and I need to recharge by sleeping like a baby. I might also break my own record, sleeping for 48hours straight. Now don't bother my existence until Monday, coz I'm off to dreamland. bye

Saturday, April 07, 2012

I'm a lousy sister.

Assalamualaikum and hello.

I've just arrived from a roadtrip to Kak Noli's place and all around Galway. That would need another separate update.

Because for now, I'm about to tell the world how lousy a sister I am. Tsk.
To Ira, my pretty little sis, I'm sorry for not remembering your birthday on time, and for putting up that 'blank' face when Abah said "Don't you wanna talk to the birthday girl?" on skype this morning. I feel really bad the whole day because I've never missed family birthdays :( Look how medic took away my memory, it's not my fault that I went all amnesiac lately (though mostly it is my fault anyway).

Last year I wrote this  for you, and most of what I wanna say now that you're 15 is pretty much the same, with an additional doa for your PMR this year. Don't worry, you'll do fine, in fact, you're always our bright one :)

Yes she's almost as tall as me at 15. (I know rightt??!!) I was so ketot when I was 15 back then.

Happy birthday Iya, I love you. And it's not only on your birthday :p

Forgive me for the forgetfulness (T.T)

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Impromptu.

Assalamualaikum and hello.
I'm gonna make this short, seeing that I've been blogging too much, doesn't sound parallel to my current responsibility.

Ok today's the second day of rotation. There probably won't be a third-day or a fourth-day updates yadayada, I need to stop sending people off to boredom with daily updates on my rotation. Other senior students and friends might stumble upon this blog and say blerghhhh, why make such a fuss. It's just what everyone else does too.

Fine. I'd just like to mention today's unexpected moment. As y'all know I'm in the rheumatology unit, so I was preparing myself reading up joints and stuff related. But, there's a slight twist today, we were to follow the SHO of the team, and she brought us up to meet two patients. I was asked to perform a respiratory exam on the first patient, there and then, impromptu. And guess what, on inspection, I didn't know what that thing attached to the patient's nose was, dayumm. Funny when the SHO asked what amount of oxygen is the patient on, and I looked at the wrong meter. I swear she must be FACEPALMING A LOT in her head.

I feel so siput today. How can you save lives when you did silly embarassing mistakes.

But then again, that's how we learn. I'm thankful for today's impromptu test. Means we need to be ready with all sets of knowledge in mind. The SHO told us to read up tonight. She'll have us questioned tomorrow.

So here we go again. I almost dozed off reading when I found this cute little sentence.
Copyright: clinical examination, talley-o'connor.

'Medical students will soon learn to keep the right middle fingernail short'.

How adorable. They even have guidelines on which fingernail to clip. 

zzzzZzZz

Monday, April 02, 2012

First of many.

Assalamualaikum and hello.

I'm officially a 'baby res'. The freshest in the hierarchy of the medical profession. Haha. Started my Medicine rotation today, the first of many more rotations. Twas fun, despite having to stand for 3 straight hours, simply observing consultant handling patients. I was partnered up with James, the two of us were sent off to the Rheumatology unit. Bones, painful joints, swollen wrist and all that jazz.

Others were attached to more challenging units, with registrars and SHO asking daunting questions to them. Mine was smooth, no questions asked, merely standing and watching Prof V as he examined his patients. He was nice and easy-going, always making sure we're not left out on what he's doing. And when he showed all those blood tests and x-rays, I kept playing quizzes in my head, 'this one must be osteo, that one's probably psoriatic, this is definitely rheumatoid' blablabla, only to find amusement whenever I am right or wrong.

 I haven't a clue as to what we'll be doing tomorrow, so it was fun having James as a partner, coz he was as clueless as I am. It was a whole new environment, me and James kept getting lost for directions, and I keep on reminding myself that I am in a REAL hospital. And what's even more scary, everyone's on their own now. No one to hold your hands and walk you through every littlest thing.

I always thought I wasn't ready for this change, but in the end, ready or not, here comes reality. Thinking about it, I need to reset my whole intention, or I won't be getting anything out of this rotation. Just today I met 13 patients, all with different kinds of symptoms challenging their daily routine. All very keen to seek medical help from a doctor. Some even came in confiding to my professor about their financial burdens. It's amazing how people put enormous trust on us when they're so vulnerable, and because of that, I have a lot  to learn.

And to say the least, finally occupying myself with clinical bits and pieces helps to take my mind off things, most were not very delightful lately. May this be a heart-lifting journey, one that would better myself. Bismillah.

Alhamdulillah to the first of many :)