Wednesday, January 14, 2009

As he takes the new road ahead...

Ayah is into his 10th day of his annual leave today, and he has another 60 days before he cuts his umbilical cord totally from UMMC/UMSC. Quite scary, really - to totally be on his own once he finishes his annual leave in March nanti.

Even though he's officially on leave, he still goes to UMMC/UMSC to perform angiograms and/or angioplasty on his patients there. And he'll continue doing that until his official last day as an employee of UMMC - i.e. on his 41st birthday, 15th March 2009. From then onwards, there'll be no back-up in the form of his guaranteed monthly pay anymore. As Ayah himself puts it - it's like "kais pagi, makan pagi" from now on. However, his cheques from UMSC which normally come 3 months late, would mean that, insya Allah, they will see us through while Ayah builds up his patients base at his new place at least for the first three months at TMC.

So, to prepare for life after the tag "government servant" is taken away from him, for the past 10 days, Ayah has been extremely busy setting up his new clinic and trying to establish his patients base in a few places, and putting his foot here and there. Whenever we call each other, I would first have to ask him where he is. He would either be in Co*um*ia As*a (Puchong), Ch*ll*ah Diagnostic Clinic (PJ), UMMC, UMSC OR TMC. And on some days, he would be at all of the places mentioned at different times of the day! And he'll always be at TMC at some point or another. If he's not at any of the clinics, he would then be doing a bit of marketing around Ko*a Da*an*ara. Apart from that, he's also working on articles to be published in several newspapers for the past week as part of his efforts to reach out to the public on the importance of cardio care.

I'm already getting some rough ideas as to how it's going to be in the first year of Ayah being his own boss. Already he's fast losing weight, losing his sleep, losing his hair (?!) and in fact as I'm typing this, he's also losing his voice! It has been quite a while since he last had his dinner at home with us. He has been working really hard the last couple of weeks ni, and his health is being sidelined somewhat. And last night, I think his slipped disc was also causing him some discomfort and pain. And as he was sleeping last night, kesian lah pulak I tengok dia... I don't think he was even aware at some point when I gave him a back massage. Memang zonked out habis...

Physically, his clinic is slowly taking shape. The sofa has arrived. So has the coffee-table. We've also got a nice rug which goes nicely with the furniture. We are now in the process of getting some book racks and TV cabinets which can match the rest of the furniture. We might just get them custom-made IF the carpenters can actually find the same material as the coffe-table for the racks. We are also trying to find a nice painting (oil preferably) to brighten up the main wall. Anyone has any ideas as to where we can get a nice oil painting from, please? I'm also trying to dig up some nice deco pieces from the many boxes which we brought back from the UK in 2004, to add some seri to his clinic :)

We're very excited about the whole thing, but, at the same time we are prepared for whatever it is that might be coming Ayah's way. Whatever it may be, we make do'a that Allah will limpahkan His rezqi onto Ayah as he continues to do what he does best - giving his all to his patients, albeit at a new place. Insya Allah. Amin.

26 comments:

zaitgha said...

Wanshana,

your hubby is a Piscean like me he he....

apa2 yg kita buat kalau ikhlas dan redha, insya'allah akan di permudahkan Allah....

all the best....

Kama At-Tarawis said...

don't worry wan, he'll be alright, trust me. soon enough, when he finally gets the hang of being his own boss, he'd be asking himself over and over again.. "kenapa la I didn't do this sooner!" heheheh.

MrsNordin said...

He'll be alright, even better I think! All the best !

Madam Tai Tai Again said...

Hi Shana,

Congratulations and good luck to Ayah for his new venture. I'm sure he will do very well. His experience, skills and of course testimonials from his former patients (usually word of mouth helps a lot) will ensure this success.

That's so sweet of you to massage his back whilst he was fast asleep. What a loving wife you are!

Waterlily said...

Didnt know he has slipped disc. Few of my ex colleagues kena dulu, and they were in pain. Some tak boleh berjalan langsung for a while. Hope he's ok soon and InsyaAllah, things will be better from March onwards.

I saw some nice oil paintings in Sogo 4th floor, I think, just outside the DaVinci store there. That was last year, tak tau ada lagi ke tak. Price was reasonable. They have various sizes too.

KG said...

Shana,

Hence, the dinner pictures you posted on fb? Congrats to Haizal...yes..he looked tired...but just to share with you Haq went truly on his own last year sometime in Feb kot...cheh i yang konon pandai motivate tapi diri sendiri tak termotivate gave him loads of words of encouragement and on the side doa...what if no work, haiyyo ,how....but alhamdulillah I think he is ding much better on his own and of course as a team wt Superwomanwannabe....

KG said...

shana,


sadly another brilliant doctor gone from the gov hospital.....

kay_leeda said...

Wanshana,

InshaAllah, rezeki ada di mana-mana. I had similar fears when I left the gov service. And now, many, many years after I made that move, I'm a lot happier, no regrets and no turning back.

All the best okay :)

Roti Kacang Merah said...

can't help but to drop a comment... ike@ has some nice and very affordable faux oil-paintings actually.

wow never knew that setting up a clinic is a real hard work!!!

bella said...

Kak Shana,
Alhamdulillah,its good that Mr Doc dah mula with his new venture.Oil painting, maybe you can try kat Ikano, near Du*kin D*nut tue, ada one small shop selling paintings and buat frames.I have experience framing with them. they do good work for relatively affordable price.

wanshana said...

Zai,

Hmmm, a Piscean, too? You must be one very sensitive/romantic and artistic (ini memang sudah terbukti) lady, then :)

You're right - nawaitu, keredhaan and tawakal are very important in whatever we do.

Thanks, Zai :)

wanshana said...

Kak Puteri,

Welcome home! I've read your wonderful account of your first day performing The Hajj, but tak sempat nak leave any comments yet. Waiting eagerly for the next instalment - like the rest of your readers :)

Thank you for your comforting words. A lot of people have actually commented that he should have done this much earlier. But, I guess before this belum sampai seruan lagi kot... :)

wanshana said...

MrsNordin,

Thank you, dear. It's the early days ni yang quite worrying...But, yeah, insya Allah he'll be more than alright :)

wanshana said...

MTT,

Thank you, dear. Yes - word of mouth does help a lot, and of course, the trusts his patients have in him, too. A lot of his patients from UMSC are actually following him to TMC, insya Allah.

Hmmm, maybe me massaging him while he was oblivious to what was happening was a futile effort coz' the purpose of massaging somebody is for him/her dapat merasa kenikmatannya, right?! Hehehe...

I'll make a point to give him a massage when he can appreciate and enjoy it more :)

wanshana said...

Waterlily,

Thanks. Amin.

Yup - he had it quite bad last year and had to go for tractions and physio for quite some time. He was also advised to go for surgery, but, decided to do his physio religiously first. It was so bad that he had to solat duduk for many, many months - and he still does that now sometimes when the pain creeps up. Surgery would be his last resort.

It had gotten better, in the last few months. But, I think his lack of rest and sleep, and increased time spent in the car going here and there have caused the pain and discomfort to come back.

Thanks for the info on the oil paintings. Will keep that in mind when we go hunting for the perfect piece for his clinic :)

wanshana said...

Kitchen Guardian,

Syukur alhamdulillah and well done to Haq, Superwomanwannabe (and of course - you, too :)!

I guess it's the same for any new ventures when one decides to go on one's own. Yang penting - perseverance, determination, support and do'a from your loved ones, and most importantly - faith in all good things, insya Allah.

It was not an easy decision for him to leave UMMC which had taught him so much. It was difficult to leave his colleagues, his staff and nurses, his students, and of course - his patients. But he has given so much of himself to them in the last 10 years, and it's time for him to have time for himself, and the family. He has not cut off his ties with UMMC totally, and he knows that he'll be going back there every now and then, for work or leisure, insya Allah :)

wanshana said...

Kay,

Thank you :)

Happy to know that you're doing well after shaking off the "government servant" label from your life :)

Yes, I also believe that rezqi insya Allah ada di mana-mana. Everybody has bahagian masing-masing, kan?

wanshana said...

Roti Kacang Merah,

Thank you for hopping by :), and thank you for the info on the faux oil-paintings @ IKEA. We've never really tried to find paintings in IKEA for whatever reasons before this, and normally bila lalu the section on frames and pics/paintings ni, we would just pass through ajer. Will definitely go and check IKEA this weekend, insya Allah. Thanks again :)

Yup, it's real hard work alright setting up a new clinic. I yang tengok ajer most of the time ni pun boleh semput...Ini kan pulak empunya badan...

wanshana said...

Bella,

Thanks.

Okay - IKANO and IKEA will definitely be on the list of places to go for painting-hunting this weekend, for sure. We're also thinking of checking this shop kat Taman Tun, too. Semua dalam kawasan yang sewaktu, so, quite convenient :)

Thanks again, dear :)

Anonymous said...

Mommy dear... Tq for such a sweet posting, and tq all very much for the well wishes.

What I am doing now is only made possible by having very loving & wonderful wife & kidz who give me their unconditional love & support...and they are the very reason why I'm doing what I'm doing now...

jabishah said...

Hi Kak Shana,

InsyaAllah things will turn as you pray for. True that the family has to sacrifice more of the time together but in the long run he will adapt & able to spend more of the quality time.

But Im so excited lah about the clinic. Mesti best kan... I know this is rather inconvenient but oil paintings in Bali are way cheap. Mana lah tau ada sapa2 ke sane... ;-)

wanshana said...

Ayah,

You're the only one who knows what is best for you, for your career, and whatever decisions you make, the kids and I are behind you all the way, okay? Come rain or shine. You can count on that.

We're very, very proud of you, dear.

wanshana said...

Hi Ja,

Thanks, and insya Allah :)

Yup, the early stages ni memang a lot of sacrifices need to be made, but hopefully Ayah will be able to reap the fruits and take it easy soon.

Hmmmmm... Getting oil paintings ni, rasanya Ayah and I need to see them with our own eyes, baru boleh appreciate more, I guess (chewaaahhh, macam lah we all ni pandai nak appreciate art?! Hehehe!) Rather than kirim kat orang yang nak gi Bali, baik Ayah and I yang pegi, non? ;)

We've been to Bali twice, but NEVER bothered to find oil paintings, etc (coz' memang buta seni pun we all ni...Hehehe!)

Formerly known as Superwomanwannabe! said...

Shana...insyallah things will settle down soon..I pray that your time together will not be diminished (in my case it is a case of where are you today??) and I know he will do fantastically well..... heard yesterday that Aust govt has increased govt doc pay by 65%..cam tulah...over here tak tauler when that will happen but I can see our husbands running back if that does happen!

Anyway he is lucky to have such a loving wife like you.

Formerly known as Superwomanwannabe! said...

hey haizal...what do you want to bet taht you will still be at UMMC in a year's time hehehehe

wanshana said...

Shila,

It's the same here lah - everytime we call each other, the first question I would ask is "Where are you now?". I think we all have to install some kind of tracking device on them from now on, huh? Hehehe!

Insya Allah. Amin. I pray that he'll do well, and Jab, too for sure.

I think Haizal dah "merajuk" dah. Can't see him running back to UMMC nanti, even if ada pay increase 100%! It's the workload yang he cannot tahan, not much of anything else, really. But, of course he will still go back there every now and then to help out or just to touch base. It's TMC all the way from hereon for him, insya Allah.