The Joy of Sharing

I had the chance to participate in patient support group activities again last weekend, even though the initial plan was to have it in a park at TTDI, early Sunday morning rain soon put a dampener on things. But in true Malaysian spirit, we went for the obvious choice! We head for Mamak! Luckily there was one about 5 minutes drive from the original venue.

Nothing beats a nice the tarik and roti canai on a cold Sunday morning, and doing it in such company was even greater. Despite my schedule, Sunday morning before my ward round was just perfect timing.

We congregated just before 8, with my session kicking off by 8.30. It was mainly about Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML) and the new patients who turned up took the opportunity to find out a bit more about their disease as well as listening to the stories and experience of their fellow sufferers. Great session and I hope that those who turned up on that Sunday morning benefited. And I would definitely do it again if invited.

A one hour session although the participant was not yet done. I bid my goodbye and left for the hospital. I was able to start my rounds by 10 am. Great time keeping!

Photo courtesy of the Max Family.

Sunday Morning at Kiara Park

The Max Family had been active over the years and every few months, they would have events targeting new CML patients. This time around they decided to do in an informal setting.

I was asked to join them for a Sunday morning "walk" at Kiara Park, near Taman Tun. The target was mainly those recently diagnosed with CML as an introduction to support group as well as disseminating information about their disease and treatment.

A bit of taichi to start the day offLush greenery

We started off early at around 7.30, but it was clearly not early enough. The park was already full at the time I arrived and getting a parking slot was a challenge. I ended up finding a spot 10 minutes away from the park, which was an exercise on its own.

The meet was very well organised. We were divided into three groups with me taking the first Malay group. After a 20 minutes walk around the busy park, we found a shaded space to sit and started the proceeding.

And then the real work begin ...

My group was further divided into two, ending up with around 15. It was an open discussion although they were rather timid at the start. By the end, the floodgates opened and it was a challenge to get away. I had to do my ward round by 10!

The format itself was good, although I wished that the parking would be easier. We did cover a lot during the session and hopefully the patients would get some benefit from the session. The park itself was great, although crowded on a Sunday morning.

Baju Melayu Time

Anita really like the to shop for Hari Raya at Bac Medacena, a traditional Malay boutique at Jalan Aminuddin Baki, Taman Tun Dr Ismail. We had been going here for a number of years, and I still think that the place was overpriced. Not helped by the attitude of the workers there who tended to pick and choose who they gave their service to. Unfortunate really. Usually, I just let Anita do the shopping. After a few incidences where I was ignored, needeing to practically beg for assistance, I really couldn't be bothered to enter the shop. Even today, I just stayed in the car. There was no parking space anyhow, so I might just as well.

But to be fair, they do provide quality garments, and the service in terms of product is reliable, but you have to book early for Raya, unless you prefer to pick the shirts and dresses off the shelves. The location of the shop was also quite tricky to get to and parking could be difficult. As I said, I tended to stay in the car, so no real problem there.

I must warn you that the clothes there was not exactly cheap, but you get what you paid for. The clearance sale after Raya tended to be very good if you were into bargains. They had the whole stuff there, from songkok, Baju Melayu and accessories, even footwear. Anita loved to go there because they also make cute garments for children, and she tended to be able to pick everything on the same visit. You can click on their Facebook page here if you wanted more details.