Another new year...

Hak..its that time of the year again. Lets see what has progressed from last year

1) Weight and BMI
haks... not getting smaller am I ??

2) owning property
Alhamdulillah , a house in Bukit Jelutong should be in line.Well,not mine though but as long as it is in the family !

3) writing a book .
What was i talking about ?

4) Project Baby genius II&III.
Alhamdulillah , adik Dzaeffran should be around cum March.

5) Dzaeffran's 1st LIVERPOOL birthday party.
Well , not exactly the scouser way but it was memorable !!

2007 resolution will be on 2007. I need to have a long think.

Last call of the year

bloody..and getting bloodier.. 

SO knackered !!! I had a very busy call last night , well second half of the day that is. It was cool as a cucumber during the day , but I had a busy labour ward last night. Inserted 10 epidurals one after another until about 3 am. Had few more referrals but when i got to them , they were almost fully dilated thus no need for me to proceed.

The labour ward room staff called me the "special one" as most of my epidurals went into spontaneous labour.Most of those referred to me was not progressing well , thus the need to reduce pain as they are inducing them aggressively with synthetic contraction stimulus. Most who were KIV and not thought to progress delivered vaginally after my epidural !! Hahaha.. easier job for me as no caesarean to do !

However , this was not so at 4am. I was about to close my eyes when they posted a case for fetal distress and mother distress !!! Just had to top up her epidural and the operation was on its way. Unfortunately , she bled really bad - continuously. I was thankful that i insisted on another IV access before we start as the one available was totally crap. She bled up to 2 L and luckily I managed to catch on the lost volume. Had SHahnaz with me and he waited till the bleeding was secured ; anticipating any possibility having to intubate her ; which looked not an easy one to do !!

I was very groggy in the morning and having to follow the ICU rounds made it worse. I will be doing my on call again on Tuesday and I am a bit worried as I will beo n my own. Imagine , UMMC ICU - on a public holiday will depend their lives on me !!

Things that make u smile at 3am in the morning

future rock star.. holding his own mic ( O2 ) 

too tired to write..

Jalan - jalan post call

another robot for the album ; Parkson OneUtama.. 


kenny rogers for lunch 

Holiday calls

Its 4.30 am now , I've just finished my second caesarean section. Both were uncomplicated. I/m not feeling sleepy though ; had two epidural referrals at 1 am before the 2 cases ; contemplating to proceed doing them now. Informed the nurses during the caesarean to give them the usual IM Pethidine if they are really in distress. Labour pain is the greatest pain of all !!

The first case done at 2am was a worrying case initially , as the triplets decided to come out to the world today. She was planned for elective caesarean on Tuesday but her contractions were very strong and they had to do it ASAP. She is also thrombocytopaenic of unknown cause ; the bad news being symptomatic. i.e. she has spontaneous bleeding especially on her gums and nasal bleed. Her latest platelet was 74 k , normal being 150 k - 300 k . ANother bad news was she just had her meal at 10pm and she is not for regional anaesthesia ( spinal ).The risk of aspiration is very high upon intubation.Gulp... time-time cuti selalu macam ni lah !!

Luckily she was not obese. Her airway was fairly straightforward but i did had initial difficulty in viewing the vocal cords. It was anteriorly placed and slightly oedematous. I definitely don't want to cause any trauma or bleeding from those areas as they will not stop once began ! SMO Kamal was around and everything was under control. SHe bled a bit and it did not help when they had to syringe out almost 500ml for the stem cell cord blood collection. With good fluid resuscitation , her haemodynamics ( blood pressure . pulse rate ) were stable. Managed to extubate her well.

I guess i will wait for the Subuh azan before going to sleep. Feeling a bit worried too in facing my aptitude assessment in 2 weeks time. I have not been a keen studying student in the past six months. Most of my seniors just laughed at us on our serious attitude towards this exam ! It will not count but still.. exams will always be exams..

A sad day

I received a phone call form my brother during my Deparment's CME cum lunch today. My cousin Zahrul , 21 years of age passed away . He was involved in a bad accident on his way to work. He was on the passenger's seat when a lorry just crashed into them in Serdang.

He is the eldest son of Pak Kup , my uncle - my mum's younger brother. He is the only son among the three siblings with Auntie Busu. Pak Kup was devastated when i called him as he himself ( a busy contractor ) was away in Muar helping with the flood.

I rushed to Serdang Hospital mortuary where his body was. The post mortem finding was consistent with what i suspected ; a really bad head injury which took his life instataneously. It was a sad scene during his body cleansing. Both my uncle and auntie was in there . Both of them could not hold their tears touching Zahrul. . Hearing the imam saying how Zahrul was suppose to be the one cleaning his parents' bodies made both of them cried.The whole family were in tears during kafan and i felt so much for them.

We buried the remains at about 6.15pm in a mortuary near their place in Serdang.

Seeing how precious life can be today , made me kiss and hug Dzaeffran on my way home....

Alfatihah... Allahyarham Zahrul bin Yaacob.

Things you'd try to do

life 

The initial reason why i wanted to do paediatrics earlier was i just love receiving babies when they are out - be it in the labour room or in the OT after caesareans. Neonatalogy ( medicine of baby up to 1 month old ) is about hardwork and slugging it out through the night - a very tiring and stressful job.( pain is pleasure ??!!) But when it comes to receiving the newborns, you just go aahh... to be one of the first hands handling the gift of god. Of course ; there are times when the adrenaline rush was at its maximum when resuscitating sick newborns. But fate destined me to be in anaesthesia ; and Alhamdulillah I'm still enjoying myself !! ( hahaha.. one wonders what makes it so fun to be on call all night ?? )

Being in anaesthesia is not so far from that.You'd be one of the doctors who is around in the theatre during caesarean sections. When there is a complication while resuscitating the newborn , we'll be called for help . Konon-kononnya we know everything lor ... hahahaha.. We do try our best.

However , recently doing this posting I've been doing something different which i never thought of it before. Seeing a colleague of mine reciting iqamah / azan loudly after a muslim baby was delivered made me realize the need for that especially to muslim mothers and babies. TO heck with who is in the OT , WHY SHOULD WE BE ASHAMED TO PRACTICE THAT ? I used to recite it during my paediatrics housejob days but had since forgotten the job in anaesthesia.In the OT after caesarean section , the baby will not be in contact with his/her father until quite sometime. It is sunnah to recite azan/iqamah immediately after birth to instill iman to the newborn baby.If i am the father , i would be so grateful for a fellow muslim to help me with this chore.

Honestly , it helps the mothers as well who is half paralysed on the OT table to be calm and thankful to god for the gift.A lot of them appreciated my gesture and at times it made my eyes tearful , feeling of "insaf" and "syukur" to Allah.

I've made it my practice now in UMMC.Few view me as being pious but haks.. to those who know me well would just laugh it out loud at that thought. I guess , its just my small contribution to my fellow ummah . a very small..small way...

What is love..

enjoyable watch


In celebrating wifey's ever consistent performance ; this time in the FRCR Part 1 exams ( Congratulations !! ) , we watched CINTA last night.Wifey was not keen to watch Cicakman because of her long bitterness with the creature . It had been quite sometime since we went to the movies together since Dzaeffran arrived.

It was a good Malaysian movie. I really did enjoy the flow of the storyline. The various description of love was well carved and i believe most of the audience managed to feel it. I myself could not hold my tears on certain scenes.hahahaha.. softie la pulak..

Kudos Cinta !! Simply the best Malaysian movie in 2006.

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On another note , baby Dzaeff has managed to utter a meaningful word in his communication development. Not Walid or Umi... but "mamam" for makan... Hahahahaha !! It just had to be food isn't it.. haks.. Following his walid's footstep on having eating as a hobby..

Government perks

nightmare..  

And i was thinking about moving to Bukit Jelutong... This New Year "present" will definitely make me top up my Touch n Go more often..

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My Department is organizing a dinner late January next year ! It had been quite some time since the department had a party like that. Interesting eih !! And guess who's been coaxed into the organizing committee ?? Hahahaha.. Somehow , I just had to accept the job and being me.. I did not hesitate to take it up !!Been busy as well chasing after the Banquet managers of various hotels trying to get a place. A month notice is certainly short but one has to make it happen . Well , it would have been more fun doing this if not for the January exams !!

Royale Bintang... The Curve...here we come..

the venue 

Selamat Pengantin Baru Mel & Johan !!!

Selamat pengantin baru 

TO my cousin Melissa Lokman and his ever dearest partner , Johan Kwan...
bestt woo jadi husband and wife !!! Good luck and all the best !!


entrance to the marquee 

Posh wedding

nikah 

It was a very hectic weekend ; doing EOD on calls now is certainly taxing me. Going to Singapore was one thing , attending a cousin's wedding was another. On Saturday - we attended my cousin's wedding in Section 14 PJ.She's currently working and London and i guess will be going back there as well soon.The family gathering went late into the night ; imagine going back home past midnight and the next day having to wake up "early for our Singapore trip.


tryin.. 

The reception on Tuesday night was certainly an event to remember. Attending a wedding in Carcosa Seri Negara was certainly a first for me. I was helping out the Lokmans as usherers which i reckon transformed into "shaking hands - greeting" role !!

The remains of British rule was very evident there. The posh setting and such properness suddenly being exhibited unconsciously. You feel as if you are a Lord yourself there ; being pampered by the "servants' there.

"Drink sir ? ". thank you I said.

and you turn to another side ; another waiter was readily waiting for you ; holding a tray of drinks.. and again...

" Drink sir ? ok...ok....! i get the point .


Carcosa 

The reception itself was held in the specially made marquee which sits maybe a maximum of 200 guests at one time. Honestly, I never knew the word marquee existed before this ! Luckily wifey prompted me and laughed her heart out on this before we came for the wedding . It helped me a lot when being prompted by others !!!

The setting was marvellous , the reception went on very smooth and congratulations to Uncle Haji and Auntie Non for inviting me to their proudest moment in life...

the marquee 

Shopping haven

for mafiz & son.. 

No wonder people go shopping in Singapore ! Christmas is just around the corner and the shops are going on a rampage sale !! THe toys are really on a price slash ! This was evident when i was walking around Raffles place and Suntec City. My god .. I would have bought a lot of toys if not for my budget constraint !! You'd go crazy man !! Buying unlimited toys for you and your children..

And of course , I could not resist taking picture with a model robot !!
This is for you Mafiz !!!

Singapore 2007

crossing the border 

Somehow its like a family tradition for me & wifey. Everytime she's pregnant , we;ll end up in singapore . Either it is for leisure or business ie exams ! Dzaeffran was in his 7th month when we explored Singapore last year. Again this year , for his adik.. wifey had her FRCR part 1 exams in NUS.

our bus 

We departed for KL at about 8am from One Utama. Yup , you heard me right directly from One Utama to Singapore. The bus was really spacious , a double decker with a lounge on the lower deck. They served us food and drinks ; felt like being in an airplane. I would certainly recommend this bus if you want comfortable travel. Of course , it is a bit dear lah...

We arrived in Habourfront , Singapore at 1pm. As how it is in KL , it rained heavily and of course we were stuck for a while. I booked ourselves a cheap hotel situated in GEYLANG. Yup.. you heard me right ! That was the only place where rooms were available. The ones near town like in Bugis or little India were fully booked. It did not help when i booked it like 2 days ago !! Hahahaha... I mean , there are a lot of rooms for the 4 and 5 star hotels but because of budget ; I resorted to this place.

latest edition 

dodgy road 

And of course.. the area was dodgy even at daylight. Wifey was surprised after we arrived in our room , when i mentioned the girls waiting around the corridor along the shops we were walking through , were not our normal salesgirl. It made sense when she remembered an old chinese man was bargaining with a lady outside a massage spa , and she was wondering what product was this girl selling.. Hello !!!!... hahahaha..

" Thirty dollars.. massa and sawe only.... "

She thought the women said .. takda masa... when it was "MASSAGE" in a very pelat way..

studyin b4 the exam 

Anyway , we did not go anywhere after an early dinner , me a bit tired and wifey needing to make her last minute study. We went to NUS early in the morning and by late afternoon , we were back in the bus on our way home. Obviously , we missed baby Dzaeff so much that our conversation in the luxurious bus revolved about what he would be doing at that time !!!!

Doha 2006

FESPIC games ended in glorious fashion but I don't really know if Malaysians did really follow the games which was organized on our backyard. Honestly , I cannot name any of our heroes who made Malaysia proud !! Viva Malaysia !!

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If you happen to watch the Asian Games 2006 opening ceremony ( Its in Doha , Qatar if you don;t already know ) , I guess you would agree with me saying that it was impressive. For an arab country i must say it was spectacular. The amount of money they spent only on the opening ceremony itself i reckon would be able to feed thousands who's in dire straits for food in Somalia. Just look at the fireworks display towards the end of the show , definitely 10x better than KLCCs.

doha 
I salute the arabs for their gimmick in lighthing the main torch of the games.The arabs have always been proud of their own culture ; this was exhibited well during the feature presentation about their warriors on horses. It was vintage seeing the prince of Qatar with his stallion , climbing the 45o specially made stairs to the main cauldron.Pure effort and muscle !! I wished we had done something of a similar theme during the 1998 Commonwealth games. We Malaysians are no pushovers you know !

The organization skill of arabs has always been a debate. The fact that how the Arab countries are not united despite the "money-power" they have is a clear example. To few who had personal encounters with the arabs ( anywhere in the world ); will agree with me that they can be really disorganized! I do hope that the games will proceed in a good manner though we've heard how our athletes were treated after the opening ceremony !!

Malaysia Boleh !!!!

Gigi dah nak tumbuh

araa - ra - ree... 

Main lidah la pulak...

November rain

oncall delicasies 

It's a very wet month so far.Rain kept coming everyday - spells lasting from an hour to 3 hours. Sometimes its the descriptive cats and dogs , sometimes just a sudden gush which resolved in a glance.It made me gave up to clean my car as it will become dirty again after work.

My calls this month had kept me away from my routine Tuesday nite badminton. Therefore , my health seems deteriorating and I can sense my panting after walking up the stairs to the departments office.My aim to have my weight nearing the normal BMi looks impossible as my meals frequency had increase. Its a tradition in the Anaes department to have inter case coffee breaks , as well as the early morning breakfast , lunch etc... Hahaha.. you see what i mean. And how can i resist ?

Wifey and I are currently busy looking for the best deal in terms of financing our home. We just booked a link house in the Bukit Jelutong area and it is a headache thinking about the money we are going to "invest". I had a torrid time trying to understand the jargons with house buying and it is a dilemna to think of which financing scheme to take. Each has its pros and cons. At the end of the day, can you afford it will be the ultimate question.

On top of that , I get to go back to the OT after my coffee break to see wonders in medicine... ( apart from the new HOs and nurses ... )

inverted uterus 

Party bash for the young one

favourite toy 

Dzaeffran's birthday was celebrated in modesty last Friday. Initially , wifey and I were not that keen to do one as wifey is busy with her project and studies. We had a change of heart at the very last moment when we reckon that it should be an event that dzaeffran should have . However I don't think he understood the significance last night.

The party was of small scale , the main menu being KFC and Kajang sate ; something easy to buy at the very last minute. It was a night where we did not put dzaeffran to sleep early and made sure he had a long afternoon nap. It was only for Dzaeffran's close family and Alhamdulillah the turnout was good. As usual Mama and Papa had some other VIP obligation that was more important than Dzaeffran's first birthday celebration.


yeah !!! 

I would like to thank Dzaeffran's PakLong who took a lot of effort to organize this small party. He ordered the ice cream cake and cup cakes which was wonderful ! He then single handedly supplied the balloons !! Dzaeffran had a lot of fun chasing after the bouncy balloons !! It was very memorable singing the birthday song for him as we sang it 3 times !! haks.. Dzaef was stunned and kept looking to everybody around him wondering why is everybody making this funny sound simultaneously !

I enjoyed the food and it was a bit funny that wifey took the honour to open dzaeffran's presents . Thank you everyone for making it a memorable event.

presents.. 


auntie elly special 


family picture