Back in Sungai Petani

Yesterday afternoon, while in a meeting, I received the news that my Uncle passed away. He was getting worse overnight and by the morning, it was inevitable that he couldn't hang on for much longer. The Doctors spoke to the family again this morning and from the tone of their voice, the end was near.

By 5, my parents, Anita, the two boys and myself were back on the road. A quick stop near Ipoh for berbuka and we reached Kepala Batas by 10 pm. My Uncle's body was laid to rest earlier in the evening. So we went straight to his house to meet my cousin and Aunt.

Next was checking in into the hotel - it was in Sungai Petani to be near my other Aunt. We plan to go to the grave tomorrow morning on our way back to KL.

I'll be on call on Wednesday. So, I'd better get some rest. I had just had my sahur while I drafted this entry, waiting for Subuh. Would be catching on some sleep after that. ‎

Cagey

National pride was at stake and it showed on the faces of the players during the World Cup Final last night. Some of them handled the early nerves better than others. Some actually grew more nervous towards the end.

Germany did not have the best of starts when they had to replace half of their midfield duo due injury to Khedira. His replacement then suffered a concussion after 20 minutes and had to be replaced. Argentina was on top during the earlier exchanges, and it was open.

Both team then regrouped, and the match closed down again. Germany stuck to their high line - in fact at times, the whole team sans Neure was in the opposition half. More clear cut chances came for Argentina, the best being the one-on-one chance for Higuain - he of the famous Real finisher - after a bad back header by Kroos. He scuffed it wide, not even testing the goalkeeper. He hardly recovered after that.

By the end of 90 minutes, the German back line clearly looked to be run rugged. Messi should have pounced then, and close up the game. Fortunately for Germany, they had Tiger Schwansteiger. He made the difference. He rallied the team despite carrying a stitch on his face. The stuff of legends.

The breakthough came heartbreakingly late against the Argentine. They did not deserve to win. Germany was the better team, but to go a goal down in the second half of extra time with the penalties looming was going to be hard to take. Goetze chested the ball down expertly after ghosting behind Demichelis, and volleyed the ball first time. And World Cup History was written.

Klose played his last game in the World Cup - and for Germany. Mueller failed to score, allowing James to pick up the Golden Boot. Maybe it was a kind gesture that Messi was presented with the Golden Ball as the Tournament's Best Player. Personally it should've been Robben.

So, another 4 years. And the 2014 edition was a great one! Adios!

Not Looking Too Clever

It looked like the situation had worsened as far as my Uncle was concerned. He developed more issues with his cardiovascular and clotting system. He's now fully dependent on live support including continuous dialysis.

I had the chance to talk to the treating team, and sit down with my cousins and Aunt to explain the whole condition. Indeed things were looking bad.

They isolated more bug in his blood which meant that another review of antibiotics were needed. I pray for his recovery although being in the Medical line, I fully understood the limitations of how much his body can endure and how much medical care can offer. In fact, the treating team had covered all angle, but seemed not to be on the winning side. I shall continue to pray. ‎

What Concoction?

My aunt was recently diagnosed with a touch of hypertension during her screening for Haj. As a result, her immunisation was delayed and she was told to try some medications. Or else face a delay in her Haj trip or taking medications for life.

So, the next step would be to try all those traditional remedies. This time it was cucumber juice! Minus any sugar!

Bottoms up ...

Pasar Malam

After spending the best part of an hour at the ICU talking to the nurses about my Uncle, I went straight to Kepala Batas. It was time for pasar malam. I just couldn't resist it. Being Saturday evening, the place was packed. It didn't help when I got there just after half past 6. The crowd were really in a rush to get their chopping done.

Didn't get to do a proper browsing. It was pretty much smash and grab, before rushing to Sungai Petani, arriving there just in time for berbuka.

It was undercooked. We had to cook again at home.Spent the rest of the evening catching up with the family gossip and talking about my Uncle. He remained critical, and the journey for him would be a long one. It also looked like he might have to be on dialysis at the rate he was going. Big challenges ahead.

After the talks died down, I really need to get some sleep - and catch the football a bit later on. It would be a subdued game with the two semifinal losers meeting for a third placing match. But still worth the watch ....