Arm twisting

Unfortunately, my feeble attempt at quarantine a couple of weekends ago did not work. I managed to pass on my virus to Puan Anita and the boys. The boys has since recovered. The same can initially be said about Puan Anita, but behind my back she sneaked to the local GP and got herself some antibiotics. She felt great in the first few days, then the cough returned, minus any fever. She also started have joint pains.

She took all the precaution about taking enough fluids. She took paracetamol when the pain got to her, and takes lozenges regularly. She lost her voice by last weekend and yet to regain it and the sore throat got worst yesterday. I told her to keep at it, but she started to get worried. Alright then, time for some intervention. She came over to the ward this afternoon, got her blood tested and cheat Xray taken. Alhamdulillah she was OK, but when it was time to return back home, she got a shock when she called our driver. The gentleman only started working a month ago and unfortunately son of one of my mum-in-law friend. She was the one brokering the deal to take him on.

He parked the car near an entrance and left, maybe to have a smoke. Obviously the car was clamped! Puan Anita called me, and I told her that she has to see the nearest security officer. Unfortunately I was doing my Day Care and can’t leave. We managed to get to the security office. The rule was very clear, we had to pay a fine to remove the clamp and since it was pretty clear it was out fault, were quite happy to fork out the fee. Puan Anita was anxious to get home for the boys. But no! Our driver argued with the security chief. How embarrassing. Anita couldn’t believe it. 10 minutes it went on, and finally she stepped, paid the fee and asked the chief to remove the clamp. She had to apologise on behalf of the driver for the drama.

I only learned about this after I reached home. I was quite upset, not because of the clamping, but his attitude of arguing with the security officer. It wasn’t very pleasant since I work at the place. At the rate the driver was going, he was clearly heading for the sack. Apparently, even my mum-in-law was not happy with him the other day - well that would not take much, as nothing really pleases her. Since she was the one employing the man, she has to sort this mess out!

Chinoz for Tea

After my trip the KL Design Week, I took the boys out to Tasik Perdana for a spot of fresh air. Unfortunately, it started to rain soon after, and we had to scramble off. Since it was still early, we decided to get ourselves some tea. The easiest to get to was KLCC with its convenient parking and easy exit via the elevated highway. So off to KLCC we went. We decided to have the bite at Chinoz.

Candle-litPizza .... hmmmmm!Trying out the nachosSince it was raining heavily outside, the waitress was kind enough to seat us at the dinner table, away from the smoking area. Both Idlan and Irfan love the food there, especially the tea and pizza. However, over the years, the place has been suffering from its own hype. It used and still is a place of celebrity hang-out, but with the opening of ‘Apartments’ and other new joints around the area and to a certain extend the Mandarin Oriental, the place seemed to have lost some of its exclusivity. The quality of the food has certainly came down a notch compared to a couple of years back. The menu has evolved, and it was still the place to get sushi in KLCC - Sakae Sushi is nothing compared to here - but if the management was not careful, they will start to lose customer. Where do I prefer to have dinner in KLCC? Top of the list was Spice of India, then the Chinese nearby - can’t quite remember the name. Soon, Harrod’s will beat the both of them, if not for the cost to dine there. If not for the pizza and sushi, I might go there less frequently.

Top if off with some iced chocolate .... with a lump of ice-cream on topSo we had our tea there yesterday. We had our pizza, and I tried the nachos. Not bad, although I wished that the nacho crackers were a bit fresher.

KL Design Week

I decided to check out the KL Design Week after hearing about it by my KLickrs friends. The embarked on a project, assigning a total of 20 photographers on 10 locations, to capture ….. Photographs. It was then collated into a mini exhibit. The Design Week started proper yesterday and according to the program pamphlet, it will go on until the end of the month of May. There were six main locations, and the KLickrs got ourselves a booth at the CapSquare. Just a nice little corner exhibit. Unfortunately due to my work - sigh! - I can’t offer anything more apart from support.

Some of the exhibitsSince I was free this morning, I decided to check them out. Located on the second floor, it was right around the corner, near the Subway outlet there. Since I reached there just after noon, Shafina was busy putting up the photos as it was taken down when they left for home last night for security reasons. They also decided, rather than using LCD projectors, we used portable LCD displays instead, plastered onto the display wall. I had to leave before everything was ready unfortunately. I took the time to visit the other exhibit as well.

List of KLickrs who participatedBeing put upHard at workApart from CapSquare, the other venues involved were Pavilion, National Art Gallery, Galeri Petronas at KLCC, map/Dutamas and KL Convention Centre. Apart from exhibits, there were also series of talks and lectures, with conferences and symposia held at the KLCC venues. Please refer to the KLDW website for more details. I spend an hour or so looking at the stalls at CapSquare, mainly put up by design students from various colleges and universities. Some of them have pretty neat concept. Take one USM student, in collaboration with Zoo Negara exhibited a prototype board game. It was pretty basic but the idea shone through. Unfortunately most of the exhibits need more design development as just by looking, it was not very clear what they were trying to put across. The fact that I was there too early, and the exhibitors have not yet arrived clearly does not help. I did email a few of them though asking questions and giving my thoughts.

Another exhibit that caught my eye was done by another student. I was afraid, I can’t remember where he is currently studying but I managed to grab his card. His name is Ling Koh Yong. He developed five cartoon characters which he called ‘Teens Like Me’, with all the interactions and teenage angst. It was exhibited by a series of caricature as proof of concept. Again, the fact that Mr Ling was not there did not help me in visualising the interactions between the characters as if they were fully developed, I can imagine them being made into a cartoon series on TV, or at least on the web. I got the phone number but it was best searched via Facebook. There were other more commercial exhibits, but I was more interested in what the students had to offer. I am a University Lecturer after all ….

Up in the cloudI think, with better publicity, the Design Week may make more of an impact. As it was, it was pretty low key as far as I can tell. When I told my friends, I was checking out the KL Design Week, I got mainly blank stares. There were a few student exhibits, but none were from UniKL, Lim Kok Wing of Multimedia University as far as I can see. I was expecting more participation from these so called ‘design powerhouses’, ones which I expected to produce the designers of the future. More work here is needed I think.

Closed for the Weekend

I think Puan Anita got my virus from the other week. She has been having fever since Wednesday, which only subsided after she sneaked out for some antibiotics yesterday. She would not dare tell me since me being a doctor and she knows my feeling about antibiotics. This being a virus, antibiotics was a definite no-no! She felt better after the dose yesterday, but still having aches in her body, and so was Irfan.

A quick car rideFeeling better, she needed to pick some order up that she made some time ago from The Curve, so we went out there with Idlan for lunch. Idlan wanted to go to Marche, and without Irfan, he was really happy with all the attention. Today being Labour Day, the crowd was heavier than usual, but since we got there before noon, parking was easy. Idlan wanted to go straight for lunch. I had my usual well-done rib-eye steak, but unfortunately it was done too well. It was dry and almost black ….. Better remember not to ask it to left on the grill for too long!

My very well done steakAfter lunch was done, quick shop, then back home as Irfan did not want to eat. We ordered Domino’s for delivery when we got home for him, and some toys. I think we need to stay n this weekend, which was a shame since I was free for the couple of days and the weather was gorgeous. I will be at work next Sunday, and was working last Saturday. I might sneak out to check on the KL Design Week tomorrow, as a few of my KLickrs friends were involved in the exhibition over at CapSquare. Then it will be a nail-biter of an evening with Liverpool playing Chelski, followed by United at Sunderland. It the results did not go our way tomorrow, Chelski would be crowned Champions. Let’s hope not eh!

MaxFamily

The concept of patient-driven support group is still alien unfortunately in Malaysia. As I elaborated in previous posts, it was much to do with the taboo of cancer in our society. Patient still feel the shame and stigma of being labelled cancer sufferer and often suffer in silence. They retreat into their shell. Change in attitude cannot come soon enough and the moment I heard about the formation of a support group for Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia back in 2006, I jumped in to offer support pretty quickly. MaxFamily was born then, through the initiative of patients living with CML, who came together since the drug used to treat this form of cancer was provided by the Pharmaceutical giant, Novartis via an international NGO, the Max Foundation.

Tony with his guitarSince the Max Foundation supervise the provision and distribution of the said drug, Glivec, it was only natural for them to offer support for their clients. From this, the impetus for the formation of MaxFamily was seeded. The society has grown from strength to strength, much through the hard work and effort of the MaxStation Coordinator Miss Ong Mei Ching, ably supported by the committee members of the MaxFamily, and their President, Dr Razak, an Orthopaedic Surgoen and CML patient who is also on the medication.

The MaxFamily organises regular meetings, as a forum for patients and caregivers to learn more about their disease and also offer peer support especially to new patients. Their assistance has proven valuable and I am sure many of the members benefited greatly from such meet. Over the years, I was lucky enough to participate in their events, either as a speaker or facilitator. I even insisted on a few occasions to be present even if was not invited. I think they got the hint and decided to invite me this time …..

Their last meet was held at Shangri-La last Saturday, in conjunction with the ASEAN Federation of Haematology meeting held on the days previously. I participated in the public forum but the highlight of the show was most definitely the talk given by Dr Alan Teh. We were concerned at the beginning that the talk may be too technical, but it proved to be pitched just right, initiating a great Q&A session before the break. As Glivec has been proven to be a potent agent to control the disease, Dr Teh highlighted the importance of disease monitoring. He laid down the justification of regular check-ups and tests, how to deal with the known side-effects of the drugs and the alternatives should the drug fail. He also eluded to the fact that the drug was stopped, CML may return and patients may become ill again.

The forum came after the break, the panel being myself, Mr PT Teoh, a patient and Puan Jamaliah, wife of a CML sufferer. The session was mediated by Dr Razak. It addressed expectations issues and the often overlook psychological aspect of the diagnosis. I have to admit that the current state of affairs in terms of consultations may not be ideal but in light of the pressures of time and burden of work, the doctors looking after the patients with CML in general were doing the best that they can. We are certainly moving towards the age of patient autonomy, but the power can only be put in good use with good patient education and understanding by the Physicians. 

Dr Alan Teh, Pat Garcia-Gonzalez, CEO of Max Foundation, Ms Ong Mei Ching of MaxStation Malaysia and myselfPicture taken on previous meeting held at Hospital Ampang last OctoberAfter the serious discussion, came the fun. One of the MaxFamily member, Tony, is a local artist and has written a moving song about the Foundation, which he sang on the day. All together, it was a good session although I was hoping the turnout to be a bit better than it was. For more informations on the MaxFamily or CML treatment in general, please click here to land on the MaxFamily website.