Lazy, Strategically

Please click the photo above to play the daily videoThe day began early, as they so often do now, with the sky still undecided between night and morning and the neighbourhood holding its breath. I stood at the door weighing my options and came to a decision that I would like to call strategic but which was, in all honesty, simply lazy. I booked a Grab to UMMC.

Anyone who has tried to find parking there at that hour will understand. It is less a search than a pilgrimage, circling the same rows in the hope that someone, somewhere, has had a change of heart and decided to leave. Sitting in the back seat, letting someone else worry about lanes and lights, felt like a small luxury. I watched the city wake up through the window and felt very little guilt about it.

The respite was brief. Before long I was heading back across town to SJMC, where the morning clinics and round were waiting with the patience of things that know you cannot avoid them. Two venues before mid-morning is a particular kind of geography. You spend the first hour in one place and the next three slightly catching your breath in another, as if part of you is still sitting in a car somewhere along the Federal Highway.

Lunch was with pharma, which is to say a meal accompanied by conversation of the professional sort, polite and purposeful. The food was good, the company pleasant, and I left knowing a little more than I did going in, which is about as much as one can ask of any lunch.

Then the afternoon clinic, and after that the rest of the day simply whizzed by. There are days that drag their feet and days that sprint, and today was firmly in the second camp. I looked up at one point expecting it to be mid-afternoon and found the light already softening, the hours having quietly slipped out while I was looking the other way.

The evening, though, had a different flavour. Tomorrow I pick up the car, and so tonight was given over to preparation: documents gathered, details checked, the small administrative rituals that come before something new. There is a curious anticipation to it. Not excitement exactly, more a sort of tidy readiness, like packing a bag the night before a trip.

It did not escape me that the day began with a decision not to drive and ends with the prospect of a new car. If there is irony in that, I am choosing to enjoy it. Perhaps the Grab this morning was a farewell of sorts, a last indulgence before parking becomes, once again, entirely my problem.

For now, the papers are in a neat pile by the door, the house is quiet, and the day that sprinted past is finally sitting down. Tomorrow will have its own pace. Tonight, I think, I am allowed to have mine.

New Year Day Activities

I decided to stay low this year as Anita was occupied with her Dad who is still in the hospital. He was just waiting for his tests to come back and hopefully he would be discharged tomorrow.

Not much fire on the works ....By the bed ...Started the day as usual later than usual. I was watching the fireworks last night after watching the two Trainspotting movies. Unfortunately we couldn't see much from the balcony. The looked lower on the horizon compared to before. I could only hear the sound and see a few of the taller ones.

I went for an early lunch in town after the ward round before joining Anita at UMMC to pick her up after she brought lunch for her Dad.

Morning round The afternoon was rather dull ...The rest of the afternoon was pretty slow though with the full weather. I ended up doing some paperworks and sorting out the website for the upcoming MSH meeting before again joining Anita for dinner. A night in tonight watching football. Can't guarantee if I would be awake when United kicks off after midnight later. Have a clinic tomorrow.

Much has Changed

I left Universiti Malaya in 2011. And now that my father-in-law was.warded there, I got to spend some thine there. Much certainly has changed.

The biggest one being the new tower called Menara Selatan. They were still building it when I left. It had certainly changed the landscape of the whole place. With it the outpatients department had changed as well.

There were a few other development going on as well. The building next to the Primary Care Department - affectually known as RUKA - was being demolished. More buildings were being added which could only be a good thing. I remembered that when I first joined UM, the Paediatrics block was out on hold and it was finally opened just before I left.

Traffic flow was still bad but somehow I managed to get a spot on top of the Trauma Centre. Gone were the eatery at the Trauma Centre where I used to go to when I was on call. That place was being renovated as well. A lot was happening.

There was always a part of me which missed the place. I always had affinity to it although lately I haven't been there that much despite only staying 5 minutes away. Maybe in the next few days, I would give my old ward and the Medical Department a visit. Many of my old colleagues were still there. I might join them for lunch ...

Unexpected Turn

After planning to slow down for the end of the year, things took an unexpected turn.

After watching Star Wars with Anita and the boys, we were just about to settle down, my father-in-law started becoming breathless and we called the ambulance in. 15 minutes later, we were on the way to UMMC - a 5 minutes ride - where urgent treatment we're given to him.

He had a bleeding ulcer in parts of the stomach and was losing a lot of blood. Transfusion was given straight away and the next day, an endoscopy was done confirming that the bleeding had responded to medications started the evening before.

The waiting area outside of CCU. At least it was not crowded ...Looked like he would be in hospital for a few more days to be monitored and maybe some more blood transfusion. He was still recovering from sedation when I visited him last night and Anita was at the hospital visiting him at the minute.

It was a close call and we were lucky that he was staying with us where help arrived quite quickly. Everybody were understandably worried and at times when he was first treated, things could've gone out of hand. Alhamdulillah he managed to pull through. Hopefully no more complications after this. He had been in and out of hospital in the past couple of months.

Back to UMMC

In the middle of my busy schedule, I received an invitation to give a talk at UMMC, something which I would not say no to. Sure enough, the day came and the topic given was somewhat tricky and not something I had touched before, although well within my realm.

I cancelled my Saturday morning clinic for this - my talk was about 11.30 - and was there in ample time to have a look around and listen to the other speakers which happened to be my former colleagues.

The irrepressible Mrs DhillonAfter delivering my talk, I had to make a quick exit as I had a referral to attend to at Park City, followed by meeting up with Anita after her reunion. We then had dinner after that for my Mother-in-law's birthday. Not much time to linger around after the talk.

None the less I felt honoured and it was certainly great to meet familiar faces and say hi to some old friends.