Death in Line scare

I was doin my usual clerking of patients in my busy ward ;early mornin of December 4th - when suddenly my sis called me at 4 am.

"Lal.. dapat msg dari kak nazaria tak? "

i asked what msg? " Atuk..masuk hospital kat muar. sakit tenat.. doktor cakap bila-bila masa je boleh meninggal... " my heart just went sinkin.. and i was not able to concentrate.

At about 8 am , i rushed back to Muar with my wife to see how my grandfather is doing. I presumed that the doctor in Muar had issued a DIL ( Death in LIne) which means that there is a possibility of death during his current stay in the hospital.

My grand-dad , an 81 year old known chronic smoker has a history of multiple admissions to the several hospitals over the years with recurrent pneumonia ( lung infection ).the last admission was in UM 6 weeks back where at that time he presented with left ventricular failure ( aka heart failure )symptoms.

Most of my mum's siblings were there ( xcept her !!! ) and when i saw atuk he was breathless- using his accessory muscles to breath. Upon seeing the records - it was noted that he had a bad acidosis when he came in .Unlce Malik , Auntie HA , Pak Pai , Auntie Non , Auntie Nor were all there and everybody was anxious. PakU and MakCU together with Maklong were the more concerned ; being defensive of their actions taken yesterday in bringin my grandpa to doc's attention.

Hospital MUar now is known as Hospital Pakar Sultanah Fatimah. Its new complex is impressive and the hospital compound is kewl. Dont mind being here one day.. *smile*

To my surprise - i met KAti , an old friend from USM Med School and currently he is the one treating my grandpa . haks !! my dear wife was not too happy with the management , and offered her differential opinion which was certainly more logical !! but we have to respect the specialist's point of view in managing the problem. haks.. i told haniza before that she was more gifted in medicine rather than radiology.. dunno whether she realized this fact or not !!!

Anyway , in one way atuk improved a lot as the day went by. He was able to speak and smile when we last saw him !! the funny thing was , his usual self was evident , when after being given money .. he said , DAPAT DUIT BANYAK2 NI SIHAT LAH NANTI !! and it drew laughter to all !!

It was a tiring day. i suppose the presence of me and my wife lifted some doubt and anxiety regarding his condition. Haniza had a sore throat - having to explain time and time again regarding atuk abah;s current state of health. Dah jadik family doctor la cam ni.. heks.. but i dont mid pickin up the responsibility as i feel that it will help to ease things and to explain the true facts about his condition.My extended family are emotional people you know.. heks..

We had to adjourn in the evenin ; as i have to work on SUnday. hmm.. dont really wanna go but have to. Atuk's condition - i cant really say.. he looked like he is improving but i've seen patients who just suddenly deteriorates . I cant say really about his prognosis.Pending maybe the best description for now .. but i'm quite ready if he has to go but i pray to god , to make it easy for him , insya- allah when the time comes..