The day the ceiling collapsed

I was in fact resuscitating a patient when i suddenly heard a loud thump ! I really thought it was the O&G construction site happening. However when my nurse screamed it was obvious where it was from. I was surprised to see the ceiling in front of the MO's room just fell off. Dammnnn...


Considering that they recently ( well like 2 -3 years back though ) renovated the ICU , I wonder any actions will be taken .Well , of course i don't want to interfere as my comments may be controversial !!!!!!!!!! hahahaha

Basic Outdoor Training

Its nice to have quick getaway from one's daily routine. Especially when you get to do what you like to do ; purely your own self interest. I was away during the weekend in Chillings again , this time for OGKL's Basic Outdoor Training Camp . I must say , Chillings in Kuala Kubu Bharu is my favourite place for "santai" !
It was great to be outdoors again for the first time this year. It was a 3 days 2 nights camp ; there were about 40 of us ; the common faces were there and there were few new ones. We had onething in common though ; deep interest in outdoors and "gila-gila" !! Our campsite was further away the previous campsite last year. The place was nice and I am thinking of bringing my family and friends to camp there sometime soon.
Our activities ranged from trekking to the waterfalls ; and we conquered all three ! I've only been to one before and i could not believe my eyes seeing the waterfall just above the one we've always been to before. Subhanallah.. It is beautiful ! Thats why Chillings will always be my favourite falls in Malaysia !

the top most waterfall

the usual one which i though was beautiful until i reached the top this time !

Besides having a good hypothermic bath , we did lots of other group activities ranging from Survival skills to flying fox. I was not able to snap pics though , coz it involved getting me wet in the process ! I am still waiting for the organizing committe to download their pics and then i will post me in action ! The highlight i guess was the BOT Presentation night where i rendered a Hindi song for our sketch which I guess the the funniest one that night ! Thanx to my dysfunctional talented group members !! Hahahahahaha
There was a VIP who camped beside us ; and of course he was with us during the Chilling trek. I must admire Dato Khalid Yunos ; seeing him enjoying the outdoor at his age ( being 65 ! ) . I do hope that one day , i would have the chance to be as proud as Edmund Hillary when he reached the peak of all peaks.. !!

pic time with Dato Khalid

Dysfunctional Group 2 : Jalak Lantern before embarking flying fox

Group photo

Alfatihah

I received an sms from Ervan while I was doing my late rounds today ;
Adlan Benan Omar meninggal dunia pada jam 3.58 petang. Alfatihah..

Called Ervan and he was on his way with Nazrin to Ben's place in Putra Heights. Called up Dil and he was more than ever willing to drive. Wifey is on call and the two kids are with me now.. hmmm... what should I do ? we are suppose to the ziarah during birth , marriage and death ; so i figured that somehow I must go !
Went to maks and dropped Qaisya there. I decided to bring Dzaeff along as i pity mak having to take care of 2 babies and Dzaef's presence would certainly create chaos and uncertainty. I have to expose Dzaef anyway one way or another right ?
The traffic was initially heavy , imaging coming out from PJ at 6 pm ! We arrived near 7 and there were quite a number of colleagues who were already there. I guess most of them were the Koleq boys because they simply clique'd with each other ! Luckily i saw Rafizi saw at least I knew somebody there ! Most ofthe others were familiar but i don't really know them . Keadilan stalwarts were also there ; Ezam as always . I was with the non-koleqs group ; Nazrin , Ervan, Rizal Sharani , Dil and Ziad.
The mood was certainly sombre , everybody did not talk much. After maghrib prayers , they brought Ben back to Seremban. He is supposed to be laid to rest tomorrow in Paroi and I don't think i can make it.
Alfatihah to Ben 35 last week .. a true Malay genius , true lost for the country...

The Ultraman legacy

Are you familiar with this character ?

• Height: 40 m (130 ft)
• Weight: 35,000 tons
• Age: 20,000 Earth years old
• Flight Speed: Mach 5
• Jump Ceiling: 800 m (2,600 ft)
• Running Speed: 450 km/h (280 mph)
• Swimming Speed: 200 knots (230 mph)
• Physical Strength: can lift a 100,000-ton tanker (Skydon was twice as heavy)

I guess most of us would instantly recognize it as he was a heroic icon when we were children. Ultraman !! It was a TV series that caught my imagination as long as i can remember , maybe even earlier than Superman , Batman and co. He was mute but spoke wisely with his body language. It came in two version ; the dodgy dubbing in English or Malay. Either way , the script was static , emotionless and illogical but it never bothered me when watching it. I will go to sleep dreaming of being ultraman fighting vicious monsters. My heart would be pounding when his blue bleep turns into red ; signalling the limited time he has left with to settle his enemy. I will go to the neigbourhood "padang" and act as ultraman.. crossing my hands and zapping the unlucky one chosen as the monster.
I guess the plot is simple enough for any 2 year old to understand and I was amazed when Dzaef recognizing Ultraman ( besides Thomas and Friends , Barney and Tom Tom Bak ) and started doing fighting stance "ultraman" style. Imagine , something that mesmerized me 25 - 7 years ago is having its affect on my 2 year old boy ! I never asked my father though if he did watch ultraman during his younger days.. ( Mind you.. The Ultraman mania started in 1967 !! ) .
Amazing isn;t it.. the magic of television. Some might argue the fighting scene might evoke violence in their young minds , but if you watch Ultraman closely ; it does not reflect that unlike the newer cartoon series. The fighting scene is honourable , muscle over muscle old school ! I guess he is here to stay and perhaps I would live to see my grandchildren gazing over ultraman all over again !!!

Clash of interest : This post is to justify me buying my son the Ultraman figurine this morning.

Election fever..

I will not be surprised if Pak Lah goes to Parliament on Thursday to recommend YDP Agong its dissolvement ! He gave KL a "sudden" holiday on Wednesday which nobody expected , he would be just as crazy to involve the Chinese New Year holiday period for campaigning !!
Hahhahaha.. just one of my silly spins.

P/S or you can ask the new-age roti seller for his opinion !( don't want to use the term, if you are familiar with the evening honks on the motorbike ! )

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but then again , when he is not in the country , that will not happen is it ?

Mafia weekend

Mana pergi trolley ? Tak buat kerja ke ?

We went to do our weekly groceries shopping in TESCO The Curve. Usually , it'll be GIANT in Kelana Jaya but we wanted to have a run around at the Curve. Lama tak pergi tu ! I never knew TESCO was that popular until i reached the entrance ! They ran out of carts ! We had to wait for out trolleys brought to us and it was quite shameful to see dear Malaysians grabbing the trolleys macam budak kecik !!!

Dzaeffran enjoying his "conteng" !

Yum..Yum...
We had lunch in Tony Romas ! Since my first bite during my call , i was lovestruck! Hahahaha Imagine visiting Tony's every other day. Went after friday prayers and again with the family on Sunday. The ribs were certainly delicious and surprisingly the grilled fish was not bad either ! Unfortunately , I got a headache after the second binge today and perhaps god is telling me to be careful with my food indulgence !

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Kudos to Proton for their latest product. No wonder they became cocky and snubbed Volkswagen. They are so confident with their 2008 business plan that they are risking all , but i guess the gamble is worthwhile.
The car may not be so great but please compare based on its price. For RM 32K - 40K , it is quite impressive to own a saloon car. It is definitely up against KELISA and given the choice , I would choose SAGA. This car will capture the non urban market by storm. The pricing is certainly suitable for those with tight budget ; and i must repeat really impressive strategy !

P/S Public Holiday on Wednesday !! Hahaha.. Pak Lah... Pak Lah...

Belit of the year

Looks like me... sounds like me....

CORRECT ! CORRECT ! CORRECT !

Hahahahahaha...
p/s a true inspiration for my gang and I to join raja lawak auditions next year !

Adrenaline Rush

Something really exciting happened to me yesterday. It was pure adrenaline rush and split second decisions made the difference.
I was called to attend a patient who had a face-neck mass ; having stridor and bleeding from his mouth. He was an attendant working in UMMC and I've came across him before especially during Friday prayers. He was having airway obstruction and I was informed that he might need to be intubated in OT. I ran down to resus and was alarmed by the intense activity happening there. The A&E Specialist was in the midst of performing cricothyroidectomy and was shouting for me , the anaesthetist. Apparently the patient had collapsed and with the internal bleeding disfiguring and distorting his normal anatomy , he failed to intubate and as a result the patient desaturated.
He was half way with his needle on the in between crico-thyroid and it was in when i bagged ! Everybody was panicking as it was a rare occurence of losing the airway ; and Oh my god.. Suddenly I saw blood just gushing out from his left ear . It was like a burst pipe ;blood splurting out like nobody's business .He was bleeding profusely .. but from where ? the tumour ? a ruptured vessel ?

With hypoxia and the hypovolaemia ; the patient went into shock and his heart rate , pulsenot felt. We started CPR and it was pure volume resuscitation that revived him. It was ENT's call next if we were going to OT for exploration. ENT consultant thought it would be better for interventional radiologist to detect the bleeder and embolize.It was too risky to cut it open and search. With constant volume stabilization , it might be the better option.
I was all alone , I did call my superiors to help but it was a bad day ; everybody was busy attending to something.I enquired the ENT consultant if they could perform an emergency tracheostomy there and then because if he is to go for the procedure I need to ensure my airway is secured. The Angio room in UMMC is not exactly condusive for proper anaesthesia and the emergency airway was not exactly stable. He agreed and tracheostomy was performed maybe for the very first time in UMMC Resus room.It was messy but maybe the only option we had.

It was just about generous blood transfusion and volume resuscitation , as I needed to maintain a constant intravascular volume against the amount spurting out like mad from the other end. We pushed the patient to radiology ( which was like so far away !! ) and they were set for us. Again , being alone I had to bring the "debilitated" GA machine from CT scan room and set it up myself ( My MA and GA nurse at that time had a 7 year old OGDS in scope room ).It was just ketamine anaesthesia , my magic drug that maintained my Mean Arterial Pressure with the on board massive haemorrhage . I was looking for a just nice BP , slightly hypotensive to control his intravascular volume. It was not easy , my mind thinking hard on how to stabilize and maintain the patient alive.
Initial angio showed the ruptured distorted pseudo aneurysm of the external carotid artery. It was bleeding profusely as when the dye was injected , it just disperses when it reaches the external carotid artery. I said.. damn.. Can i catch up eith the blood loss ? His face was totally distorted by now.. the collection around his face increasing by the moment.
HC03.. Calcium.. Tranxanemic acid.. DIVC regime , 10 pints of blood went through him , you name it ! .Those were the things i kept injecting in as it was obvious patient was in DIVC. The procedure took about 3 hours and I was glad it was over. The radiologist thought that they manage to coil and control the bleeder but it was iffy at that time. Haemodynamically he was fairly stable in accordance to his current state. It was uncertainty all the way for me as the image of him collapsing kept coming to me. I was thankful that he was managable from the time of initial collapse to end of procedure.
We then sent the patient to ICU for care and passed over to my colleague. He was bleeding still and at about 1 am , my colleague txtd to infrom me the time of death. He was bleeding from everywhere by then. So bad that there was no way to control it . It was his calling. He passed away peacefully .Innalillahiwainnailaihirajiun.
Kudos to the doctors , nurses and health personnels who were involved in that case yesterday.It was certainly exciting and challenging. But it was everybody's effort to give this patient a chance to live which really inspired me to continue what I love doing.

You;d never know

It was very alarming when i came across Raja Petra's recent article , when he specifically mentioned his name as being very ill and dying. I've heard it as rumours but never knew what was really wrong with him. As i googled his name , i managed to track down a blog which was then the recent update of his condition .
And he came to UMMC the other day , and by chance I was paiged yesterday . Initially I was annoyed because I was in the middle of a very interesting event happening to me so far this year. But as the person on the phone told me the history ; 36 years old ( that was what she said !!! ) ... I straight away knew who it was and then did not mind at all to do an early pre- operative assessment.
Who I am talking about you may ask ? To me ; he is one of the most inspiring and brilliant personalities I've ever met in my life. Though Ive not worked directly under him before ; his reputation was electrifying. Being sharp and witty , he was always known to be very articulate and can mesmerize another easily. I thought at that time , I was a "speaker" to be reckoned with but after meeting and seeing him in action , i felt so small !! He was that good that I did not even think twice when the buzz at that time predicting him as a future leader ; perhaps the future Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Adlan Benan Omar ; those studying in UK in the 90s would have known him , if not personally but of his reputation. He later was in DSAI's bandwagon and an asset to Keadilan's youth but soon after disappeared ; one wonders what actually happened then..
The reality hit me yesterday when I saw him in haemodialysis . Gone was the cheerful and sarcastic aura. He looked so weak , emaciated and ill. The diabetes which he suffered from his younger days has crept and cause irreversible end organ damages. I must say that he is indeed very ill and is of high risk if he is to go under general anaesthesia. I spoke to his mother and also Rizal ; a loyal comrade. It is certainly very stressful to those who are close to him and never would i have imagined him being in this current state.
Let us du'a for him , Insya-Allah.

On call galore..

My specialist on call yesterday will usually throw a feast when he is on call. He would be buying for us of variation , from Rumahku 7 dish special to KFC's barrel. We even had a steamboat party which really made me so full that i went to sleep in OT while doing the case soon after that !
Yesterday was special , he bought us Tony Roma's ribs and my oh my was it delicious ! I really enjoyed it and the whole gang literally licked the rib till nothing is left. Even a colleague who usually doesn't eat had his bite !!

Auummm... kenal tak sapa ? hehehe

And to top it up , we had chocolate moose specially brewed in the rest room on top of 2 tubs of Haagen Daas... waahh...

Ego boost

I received a phone call the other day. When i looked at my mobile interface , it was from the newly famous friend of mine ; gossiped heavily as Angkasawan's future wife to be by the media ! Apa mimpi call tiba-tiba ni...

"Hi.. xxxx ni.. "
"Ah yes.. hi ! Waaahh.. glamour sekarang ek makcik kita ni.. , sipa keluar Mangga !! " i said.
" Hahahaha " she laughed , " Malu tu sebenarnya ... tak pasal2 ! Eh.. why are you reading Mangga lah ? " she asked curiously .
I laughed... " tak tahulah macamana boleh terbaca. Not that i am a fan... "
" Anyway , you working today ? "
" Nope.. post call in fact... "
" The other day , ada tak this old lady masuk your ICU ? Her name is XXX.. "
I paused and tried to remember.. " Ah yes ! she was in ICU for a brief moment.. " is she related?
" Ni nak cerita kat you ni.. it's my colleague's mother. She was telling me how worried she was as her mother became very ill acutely."
" Oh ok... she's alright , dah discharge dah pun kan.. "
"Aa.aaa. She was telling me that she was so worried when her mother was admitted in ICU and she melted when she saw a SMART AND HANDSOME doctor treating her mother.SO I asked what was the doctor's name.. and she said .. Dr Mafiz..."
Instantly I laughed so loud and hard !!!! Hahahahahahaha
"Tu yang I call terus ni pasal macam kenal jee !!! ".

(the rest of the conversation was not important anymore !!! )
A very rare compliment indeed.. Hahahahaha

KL masih indah

I was in Bukit Bintang earlier today and of course , I witnessed the majestic Pavillion which was built in emphasizing size is everything. So huge !! No wonder they called it the biggest shopping mall in town. With Star Hill opposite , Lot 10 & Sungei Wang nearby and Berjaya Times Square just around the corner ; spoilt for choices ! I really don't know how the shops can survive. I was thinking ; what was there before this ? Hmmm... haaaa... and then i remembered ! Its the old site for Bukit Bintang Girls School !!! hahahaha i can imagine the confusion on the kid's face when the alumnus mum says ," This used to be where my school was ! "

And yes.. I have to admit. I was lured , tempted and I lost... lost to the magic and spell of J.CO doughnuts !! I was like a zombie you know.. saw the long queue and suddenly I was in that line too !!! Haks... Memang dahsyat...

Since the accident when my phone was accidentally "drowned" in Sungai Chilling mid last year , I never got it back to 100% performance. Most of you guys would have realized the sudden silence of my sms as it was not functioning !!! I love the phone as its multimedia function is certainly happening ! Me..using it as my mp3 player while doing my peripheral rounds. But of course , something else had to happen. I did not know when though , I lost the battery cover and my phone now is damn "cacat" !!! Mama saw the thingy and told me to get a new phone !! haks.. Malu ek , tua-tua pun mak bagi duit suruh beli handphone !! Hahahahaha
Anyway , got the new toy .. Of course , most of my peers would have suggested i used a Dopod , Blueberry or some other fancy PDA... Nooo.. I had to be different and it was so easy for the salesgirl to lure me and get my super brand new... NOKIA !!! At last .. my first ever Nokia !!!

Peminat

I noticed in the past few days ; I 've been getting an influx of visitors to my blog. When i checked with my blog traffic.. then ...aaahhhh.. no wonder ! Ahahaha.. for the wrong reasons i suppose.

If you GOOGLE Chua Soi Leck DVD ; my blog will be on top of the search list !! hahahaha.. I guess , those who are looking for the old man in action would certainly be dissapointed to view my blog videoless !!
I suppose I have to be more careful next time with my blogging as few of
my UM colleagues have discovered that I have a blog !! ( so you guys were also looking for his short movie clip eih ??? )
p/s I wonder if the Laptop belongs to Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia ??

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One of our ICU patients who we treated in December came looking for us this morning to say thank you . Of course , none of us recognized her as she was way healthier from when she was here previously. We only recognized his fiance an sister and that gave us the clue ; she was smiling ear to ear seeing us.
It was a nice gesture and we were deeply touched by her appreciation. It is such satisfaction too to see a patient well and healthy now despite on admission , when we informed the family that she was 50-50.

How i celebrated my new year

I went for an old classmate's wedding on new years day. It was nice to meet up old mates ( who are still not in facebook ! ) and it became n impromtu class reunion. Seeing all of us , all grown up now.. hehehehe.. but we remain the same in a way or another ! I enjoyed the food ; ok jugak One World Hotel One Utama ni !The wedding had an all rounder running the show - mc , singing , saxaphone !! hahahaha.. Kewl bloke though.

Anyway , congrats Aik Huah and his soulmate ; All the best !!


Class photo..

Yam seng time !!!

Till death do us part

oncall memo :

There are lot of lessons learnt about life on seeing patients in ICU. Wives ( for a single person at times ! ) obediently attending their sick husband , Children looking after their parents , siblings taking care of their elders and so forth. The love which is transmitted directly ; is very obvious and at times makes me smile seeing such warmth.
Its lovely to see eforts ; done by their loved ones . One of my "chronic" patients who recovered from his sepsis but unfit to be transfered out ; his sons brought him a mini radio cum tv for him. They had the chinese channel on for him - i suppose his favourite at home . His father is not able to communicate much with his children now especially with a traceostomy on ; and you can sense the sincere effort shown by his children.
Whilst another ; a loyal wife without fail attending his sick husband whose currently central nervous system of suspect - now Day 13 but still without fail praying and talking to him daily. Without fail , keeping that sweet smile of us when greeting the carers in ICU ; but deep inside she must be crying so much seeing her loved one ill and her so helpless to make it better.

Seeing this you wonder , if ever you get to be in their shoes ; would you be able to show such care and love ...
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This morning i tuned up the radio for him! He did show his preference when i tuned in to Light and Easy !! haks.. and certainly , his respiratory and heart rate dropped to normal.. an indication that he was indeed relaxing !!

What a scandal to start the year off...

He was man enough to admit it ; he was the famous actor on the widely distributed DVD around Johor. Definitely political assasination motivated ; and now we have a Clinton-like case in Malaysia !! Only that , we have a video proof of things that happened ! Kinky old man !! hahahaha

And it is my minister ; Chua Soi Leck... Who'll be the next health minister then..

(The Star) 1/1/08 : KUALA LUMPUR: Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek admitted he is the politician in the sex DVD circulating in Johor.
In a press conference here Tuesday, Dr Chua said the girl is his “personal friend”. He apologised to the Malaysian public, supporters and his colleagues. He said he did not make the tape himself. Dr Chua said he will not resign over the sex DVD. He will leave that up to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to decide. The sex DVD had been circulating in Muar, Tangkak and Batu Pahat over the past few days.

2008 backwards and forwards

Browsed through my previous new year entries and I realized that , I did not put down any new year resolution in 2007 !! Hahahahaha...
Well , i guess the only aim in 2007 was to pass my Part 1 M. Anaes exams and Alhamdulillah , achieved that. I suppose that was the only thing in my mind for 2007 ; everything done and channeled to achieve that. Every other thing neglected along the way !

2008 resolution
1. Always my number 1 priority every year ; Weight loss !! Hahaha.. how does it figure when after years and years of resolution , my weight remians the same ! Lets alter it a bit .. hmm.. an appropriate BMI with an excellent fitness :)
2.Project Baby Genius III .. heheheh..
3.Moving into our new home with cool inhouse decor.. ( which will make me go bankcrupt ! )
4.To climb G7 mountains in Malaysia
5.Achieving a milestone in other interests ( must start now.. )
6.Settle my research and aim to publish in 2009
7. JAdi lagi kaya... dan kaya !! Hahahaha ( Money is everything you know... )
8. To seek happiness for my innerself.. :)

And lets just enjoy 2008 ride for now..