This and that...

Some updates on this and that -

I brought my Abah for his second visit to GH on Monday last week for his CT Scan at the Oncology and Radiology Department. Even though he had done a similar scan at UH about 3 weeks ago, this particular appointment at GH was to measure his face for them to make a mould for his face-mask to protect the non-cancerous parts from being exposed to the radiotherapy rays once he starts his treatment.

They will be calling Abah again on Monday next week to set a date for another appointment - this time to lay out his treatment schedule which will be done over 5 weeks, starting from the second week of April (tentatively). Abah will have to go for the radiotherapy treatment 5 days a week, for 5 weeks, and only taking a break on Saturdays and Sundays (and Public Holidays).

His three daughters - my Sis Yong, Sis Lala and I will take turns to bring him to the hospital, and be with him when he's going through the therapy, as all of his sons will not be able to bring him. Our third brother is a teacher and it's quite difficult for him to take off days (unless Abah's treatment is outside of his teaching hours, I guess). Our second brother is in Taiping, and as for our eldest brother - hmmmm...let's not go into that.

My brother-in-law - Abang Rosli (hubby to my Sis Lala), has suggested that Abah stay with them in Keramat over the five weeks, as it would be nearer to GH, and Abah will not need to travel across KL everyday. They also have a driver who can send and fetch Lala and my Abah everyday. But, the question now is - will Abah agree to that?

Abah is known to prefer to sleep on his own bed, do his 'business' in his own toilet, and watch his own TV set (taking possession of the remote indefinitely), and there had been so many of our family gatherings in the past which he had given a miss because he just did not feel like being around too many people, just in case he would fall asleep in front of the crowd, or just in case he would need to go to the toilet, and the toilet might not be clean, etc. And we're talking about gatherings at his children's houses, okay? Not any stranger's place, okay? You just name any of the excuses that you can think of - he had used them. People say, it's quite normal when people get to that age... They just prefer to spend and while away the time in the comfort of their own home...

So, we're trying to slow talk to him about the whole thing, and we hope he would see some sense and agree with the arrangement. It'll be too exhausting for him and my Mom if they are to travel from KD to GH and back to KD everyday. My Mom would definitely want to be with him everytime he goes for his treatment. That's for sure. But, Abah being Abah, he can be very stubborn and set in his ways sometimes...Sigh.

And if I'm going to be with him at GH 2-3 times a week, they'd better do something about the parking there! It's pure madness, I tell you. If not, by the end of the 5 weeks, there's a high probability that I would be admitted there for hypertension myself, or worse - at the Psychiatric Ward...

Will post updates on Abah's progress every now and then, insya Allah.

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At the work-front - Ayah has cut his umbilical cord off from UMMC totally since his birthday the other day. He is now officially a former government servant. He's still allowed to attend to his clinics at UMSC though, albeit only until the end of this month. From then on - it's literally kais pagi, makan pagi for him...Scary thought.

His clinic at TMC is 'separa' ready. We've got the sofa, the rug, the book racks and also the fridge for him. But the walls are still bare. We're eyeing some nice framed veneer art pieces which we saw at The Arch (?) One Utama a couple of weeks ago. Entah bila lah Ayah will be free to have a look at them again... The rest of the furniture and fittings are provided by the hospital - his desk, chairs, PC, and the examination table/bed. I'm thinking of getting some nice lightings for his clinic to give it a more homely/cozy feel. Any ideas?

Oh ya... By the way, Ayah has also been regularly writing articles for Me*ro Ah*d (every 2 weeks) and also Ma*ay Ma*l (every Monday). The latter is more of a Q&A thingy on heart matters (as in "cardio" and NOT the romance type, okay? Hehehe!) So, he's been pretty busy. If you all have any queries whatsoever, do drop your questions at haizal@tropicanamedicalcentre.com. He'll be compiling all the questions and offer answers/explanations/clarifications, etc to all queries in Ma*ay Ma*l every Monday, insya Allah :)


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And last weekend, we went to check on our BJ house. That was after about nearly 5 months of not jenguking the house! Reason being, we actually misplaced ALL three sets of keys to the house, and we were just too busy to actually search for them in the last 5 months!

It just so happened that we wanted to have a karaoke session at home during Ayah's birthday party with our friends the other day, and we realized then that the cable to the Magic Mic was missing. Yours truly started going through all the knicks and knacks and dunno what in the study room/store room, to look for the cable, and lo and behold! I found the sets of keys instead!!! Lain yang dicari, lain yang dijumpa..:) And FYI, at the time I'm typing this, the Magic Mic cable is still M.I.A :(

Anyway, Dar tackled the ground floor while I did the first floor. You can imagine how dusty the whole house was! It was 4 rounds of mopping for us! Thank God the compound was well maintained. Thanks to our Mr Badal Khan who has been mowing the lawn once a month for the past 3 months (without being paid, okay?! But, be rest assured - we had paid him when we saw him last weekend :)

Have to make a point to go to our BJ house every weekend. The kids just love having a go at a game of badminton with me and Ayah when we were there even though we tak bagi chance for them to win at all. Hehehe!

And bila dah start going back to the house again, my imagination mula lah running wild again now on how to renovate the place...

Terbang lagi lah duit...

So, Ayah! Apa lagi? KAIS BAIK PUNYER, OKAY??!!

:)

All is well :)

Dear all,

After much thought, I decided to withdraw both of my postings on Aida Sophea as everything was obviously a misunderstanding, and the poor girl obviously did not mean what she wrote in the comment box that day. Her dear Mommy had left a comment to explain and clarify everything, and I would like to share what she wrote to set the records straight.

Some of you might have read her Mommy's comment just before I withdrew the postings, but I’m posting it here again so that those who did not get the chance to read Aida Sophea’s Mommy’s explanation would know what actually happened, okay? :)

I would like to thank her for from the bottom of my heart for giving us their side of the story – it sure was and is a relief to finally be able to put everything together, my dear :)

This was what Aida Sofea's Mommy (or as her Mommy calls her - "Sophie") wrote -


Dear Ms Shana,

As I'm writing this, I just can't describe my feelings....am I supposed to be ashamed..(don't think I should tho), or guilty? But somehow I'm a bit amused by the comments from others. I apologised on behalf of my 8-year-old, believe me, she's shaking beside me right now, shaken by the repercussion of her action. My two daughters - they blog, and i don't get to even monitor the blogs as my time is limited-(of coz as most of the time that i chanced on surfing would be spent on reading yur blog), plus the fact that I'm not IT savvy, thus their blogs also have wrong time settings -which i've told them to correct it later (on their own) when i'm done typing this. My 8 yr-young daughter did that out of innocence-she did't even know that it would be read by you or anybody and to be frank, she never knew the content of yur blog either. And her own blog-just nak ikut2 her sister only. And my children-all 3 of them lights off at 10.30 every nite- school days or holidays the same.

Anyway, tho I dont blog, n have to ‘pinjam’ google account solely to straighten things out, I read yur blog almost everyday, whenever I have the chance- I luv it, esp yr luv story in KPP where I was once a student there. And those mentioned in yr blog, tho we're fr diff schools, I know most of them. My 8 yr young- who alwaiz saw me reading thru yr blog--mmg rase pelik, she would alwaiz ask me- why r u reading wanshana? who is she? So i guess she visited yr blog when i was at work...and...did what she did...she apologised as well..in her blog.

And to others out there, don’t worry, this is not an addition to those pshycos out there, my little girl is perfectly normal....

March 20, 2009 4:21 PM


And I've also read the sweet apology Lil' Sophie had written on her blog. And I think you all should read it here, too.

She REALLY is a good girl, and so adorable :) And like her Mommy said - perfectly normal :)

All is well, now.

Thank you, Sophie, and Sophie's Mommy :)

(((((HUGS)))))

All about Ayah...

Well, almost :)

I've been tagged by MrsNordin on facts about my husband. I was supposed to do it last week, but sibuk memanjang. Sorry, BJ :)

Today is the perfect time to do it because I'm missing Ayah terribly. He's in Beijing and is only coming home tomorrow afternoon. No better way to nurse this 'pang' than writing about him, kan? ;)

So, here goes -


1) He’s sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?

EPL - when Liverpool and/or Newcastle is playing. He only watches Man U matches hoping to see them lose :)

Rugby Union (6 Nations mainly)

Badminton (only if Malaysian players are in action)

Tennis


2) You’re out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?

Thousand Island, and Chili Sauce (Lingham preferably!) Boleh?!


3) What’s one food he doesn’t like?

Petai :)


4) You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?

Food ~ depending on the restaurant, it could be one of these : T-Bone Steak, Nasi Goreng USA, Nasi Ayam, Nasi Goreng Kambing, Roti Telur :)

Drinks ~ Apple Juice, Air Kelapa, Ice Lemon Tea, RO Water. He NEVER orders hot drinks.


5) Where did he go to high school?

MCKK - Kesian kat dia, kan?


6) What size shoes does he wear?

7 or 8 - depending on the cutting.


7) If he was to collect anything, what would it be?

Football jerseys (except Man U's!)


8) What is his favorite type of sandwich?

Anything with chicken in it.


9) What would this person eat every day if he could?

Nasi Goreng USA :)


10) What is his favorite cereal?

Frosties :)


11) What would he never wear?

Man U's Jersey :)


12) What is his favorite sports team?

Football - whoever playing against Man U and beating them! Hehehe! He supports Liverpool and Newcastle United :) (So, he's not really a happy man this season) :(

Rugby - England!!! Yeay!!!


13) Who did he vote for?

BN


14) Who is his best friend?

Me :)


15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do?

Procrastinate :)


16. What is his heritage?

Oghang Nogoghi. Ghombau to be exact, on his Mom's side :)

Oghang Peghak. Teluk Intan, on his Arwah Father's side :)


17. What is his favourite colour?

Anything that I choose for him :)


18. What is his habit?

Shaking his feet before he sleeps. Once they stop shaking, I know that he's asleep :)


19. What is he proud of?

His children and his parents :)


20. Lastly, do you think he will read this?

Definitely :) He's my #1 fan...Hehehe!


So, Ayah...Markah penuh?! ;)


And I hereby tag -

Ibu (Woiii!!! Buku 555 you dah melimpah-limpah woiii!!!)

MrsA

Amy

Kak Puteri

Kak Teh

Azian

Anom

Kat

(Dan semua yang mengenali diri saya...Chewaaahhh!! Hahaha!)

Thank you, you all :)

Happy Birthday, Ayah :)

Today's Ayah's birthday!!! Yeay!!!

Happy Birthday, my dearest :)

I wasn't sure whether to just have a quiet outing with the kids to celebrate this special day, or to belanja makan the whole clan like we always do on someone's birthday, or celebrate with friends, either at home, or at Re* Bo*. I was toying with different plans for the last one week, and still could not decide on Friday night.

On Saturday morning - woke up and suddenly decided to have a makan-makan at our place for that night. And another dilemma - whether to have ONE makan-makan session for family and friends this weekend, OR have TWO different sessions for them. After campur tolak kali bahagi the pros and cons, I decided to do the latter - dinner on Saturday night with friends, and lunch with family on Sunday :)

(Our house is just not big enough for us to have family and friends together over at one given time. Lagi pun nanti depan Mak Mertua tak leh nak huha-huha ngan member sangat! ;))

I didn't tell Ayah about it, and right after Ayah went to work, I started SMSing/calling our friends about the dinner plans, before going to Pasar Taman Tun to get all the wet stuff to cook. Came back and briefed Dar on the dinner menu, and after giving instructions to her on what to prepare, we began our campaign to bring the kitchen down. Hehehe...Memang macam tongkang pecah...

At 1:15p.m, I left the house to send Hasya and Hilman to their Chess class, and after that made my way to Tesco to get the dry stuff pulak. Nasib baik Ayah volunteered to fetch the kids from Chess and send them to Swimming class after that. I finished my Tesco rounds at about 2:45p.m, went home and started cooking. Nasib baik Dar had finished preparing all the ingredients while I was out, so, sampai rumah ajer, senseng lengan and started to bersilat in the kitchen.

It was easy to keep it as a secret(ish) as Ayah was out from morning, and only came back with the kids just before 7:00p.m. But, of course, by the time he came home, the extra table was already set, and the buffet "station" was halfway prepared, and he sort of knew that there would be guests coming (and I bet he knew it was to celebrate his birthday :))

Anyway, the menu for the night was :

Nasi Lemak with -

- Sambal Tumis Udang
- Sambal Tumis Ikan Bilis
- Szechuan Chicken
- Fried Ikan Bilis + Kacang Goreng
- Kangkung Tumis
- Telur Rebus
- Timun)

Spaghetti Olio

Kuey Teow Goreng

Ayamas Fried Chicken Drummets

Ayamas Fried Hot and Spicy Drummets

Sirap Bandung Soda

Chocolate Moist Birthday Cake (Se*re* Re*ip*)

Teh Tarik/Coffee


(Ada sorang kawan we all tu, sanggup tak makan lunch coz' he was saving his tummy for the dinner! Hehehe!)

The first to arrive were Ab*d and her kids, followed by On*ir & Co., J* and her clan, Re*a & her heroes, and Yu* & family. Ib* could not join us as she had gone balik kampung in JB. Aw*n, too, was back in Melaka.

As usual - sangat hingaq bingaq tak ingat dunia we all semua. Makan, borak, gelak, borak, makan, mengekek/mengilai, borak and makan non-stop.

As the clock struck midnite, we took the birthday cake out, and sang the birthday song for the Birthday Boy (who was at the time dah terlena kat sofa...Hehehe!)

Everybody stayed on until just before 2:00a.m. and left with tapau-ed food beraneka jenis :) and by the time Dar and I siap kemas everything, it was already 3:00a.m before we went up to sleep.

I set the alarm clock for 6:15a.m, 6:25a.m AND 6:35a.m. as I wanted to go to Pasar Taman Tun early to avoid the Sunday crowd there. And I didn't hear it went off at all! All the three times - tidur real punya!

I only woke up at 7:35a.m (Suboh terlepas!!!) and left the house for Pasar Taman Tun at 8:05a.m. Spent about 45 minutes there, and reached the house just after 9:00a.m.

Again, briefed Dar on the menu, and she prepared almost all of the ingredients, with me helping with the not-so-yucky/tedious stuff only. Started cooking at 10:00a.m, and Ayah left the house at 10:30a.m to send Hasya and Hilman to their Dance class.

By the time they came back home at about 1:15p.m, all the dishes were ready.

This time, the lunch menu was -

Nasi Ayam

Kuey Teow Goreng (again!) - special request from my nephews and niece :)

Kuey Teow Soup

Sirap Bandung Soda

Tiramisu Birthday Cake (Ca*e Se*se) which was just soooooo yummy!

Teh Tarik/Coffee

My Sis Lala and her clan arrived at 1:30p.m, followed by my MIL and my SIL (Ya*re*n), my SIL Lynn & Co., my BIL Along & family, and finally my Mommy and my Sis Yong. My Abah was not feeling well, and decided to stay at home. My Mommy didn't want to leave him alone at home, but he insisted that she come. Tu yang by 4:30p.m, my Mommy dah nak balik rumah dah...My Brother Ed*ie was involved in a camping thingy at his school and could not make it. My Brother Jame was in Taiping, while my Brother Imi could not be contacted - last minute planning lah kata kan...

Again - everybody tapau-ed food back with them :)

(I ALWAYS cook a lot when I invite people over for makan-makan. My motto is - "Lebih tak per...Jangan terkurang" :). And every time I buat makan-makan, I would buy all the plastic containers sesiap for them to tapau the food :))

After everybody had left, it was back to mengemas again for me and Dar. And by the time we were done, it was already Maghrib.

As for the Birthday Boy, he was called to the hospital at 5:30p.m and only came back at 9:30pm just now!

(See?! Sunday AND his birthday pun kena gi kerja...)

Anyway Ayah...Hope you enjoyed your special day with our family and friends.

I know that you've got pretty nice birthay presents this year - the best must have been when Liverpool bantai Man U 4-1 last night, huh? And of course, when Dato' Lee Choong Wei beat Lin Dan at the Men's Single Finals at the Swiss Open this evening, huh?

And as I'm typing this, Ayah is watching a Rugby match between England and France on ASTRO downstairs. If England wins tonight, memang sah - the best birthday ever for him. :)

Happy Birthday again, Ayah :) Semoga dipanjangkan umur, dimurahkan rezqi, dan segala usaha diberkati Allah SWT.

Love you loads, dear... MMuuuaaaahhhh!

* Sorry - no pics yet. The camera battery was empty, and we couldn't find the charger the whole of yesterday! Hanna managed to snap some pics using her camera, but she has yet to download them to this laptop. We found the charger late last night, but alas, today Hanna was not in the mood to take pics, and I was busy in the kitchen most of the time :(

Of bugs, fungus and roaches...

Ayah and Hasya were feeling better on Monday night and throughout half of Tuesday. However, by the time they came back from work and school respectively yesterday, both were having slight fever again, and aching joints. The bug seems to be making its comeback every other day it seems. And this time around, Hanna pun dah start demam.

She looked pretty pale and was not her usual perky self when she got back from her tuition last night. Gave her a couple of PCM (which she had difficulty swallowing, as usual :) Hilman and Hasya are much better at taking pills whole compared to their Kak Long actually :) Anyway, after having her supper, she went straight to bed. I told her that she should not go to school if her fever were to get worse, but she insisted that she had to go to school as they were having the inter-class choral speaking competition today and she was the conductor for 2H.

You can read her version here :)

Hmmm...all three of our kids are like that! They never want to miss school even if they're sick! It's good I guess...But, that would mean that they can be guilty of spreading all the bugs to their friends at school! Sigh...

They follow their Ayah. Cannot stop working. Throughout his waking hours, he would be working, working, working.

That brings us to the next thing. Ayah had to work on a presentation which he's scheduled to give tomorrow, and he was also supposed to work on his 2-weekly article for Me*ro Ah*d last night, but, he just had to take a short nap before he started tapping on the keyboard. He had been working on an article for Ma*ay Ma*l the last few days which was sent to the Editor just yesterday, and he really needed a break. And his fever was not helping at all.

Just as he was about to lie down on the bed, Hilman came in, grinning. We knew that he was hoping to be allowed to sleep with us because apparently there was a BIG cockroach on the wall outside his room when we got back from my MIL's last night, and before we knew it, it was gone. And Hilman was pretty sure that it had gone into his room. And because of that, he was so not going to sleep in there :)

Seeing Hilman entering our room, Ayah asked him :-

Ayah : Chiman, urut kaki Ayah, boleh? Please?

Hilman : Okay! (without hesitating at all and he went straight to Ayah's feet), but I want to check if your feet got fungus or not first...

Ayah : Fungus??! (And Ayah and I tergolek-golek tergelak!) HAHAHAHA!

Just then, Hasya came in, asking me to feel her forehead. I had also just given her some PCM before that for her fever, and she just wanted me to check if it had started to work on her or not. And Hilman said -

Hilman : Kak Ngah, are you demam?

Hasya : Yeah...

Hilman : You can sleep with Ayah and Mommy tonight. I sleep with them when I demam, too, you know?

Hasya : Naaahh...I want to sleep in my room, but, I just can't sleep.

Hilman : I always relax here first, you know. Everytime before I go to my room. I relax here until I feel sleepy. But, sometimes I would fall asleep terus. You can relax here first, too, Kak Ngah.

(That's Hilman - offering OUR bedroom to his Kak Ngah. Hehehe!)

Hasya : Naaahh...I think I'll go up now. If I still can't sleep, I'll come down. Okay, Mommy?

Me : Okay, darling. (Kiss kiss, Hug hug). Get well soon! You come down if you cannot tidur, okay?

Hilman : So Kak Ngah. You're not sleeping here tonight? (Just making sure :))

Hasya : Naaahh...

Hilman : Okay then. I can sleep with Mommy and Ayah then.

And he jumped straight onto the bed!

And yup! He ended up sleeping with us sampai pagi.

But, not before he was satisfied that Ayah's feet didn't have fungus on them, and not before he urut his Ayah's feet until Ayah pun tertidur... :)

Rejector? Rejectee?

Hmmmm...I can't remember the last time Ayah didn't go to the hospital during weekends or public holidays. The only times he didn't go to review his patients, I think, were either when we were on vacation outside of KL or the country. Even then, he would be calling the wards to check on his patients. Either that, OR his MOs or lecturers or his nurses would be calling him for advice.

So, when he told me that he was not going to review his patients today, I was thinking, "Joy, joy...Happy, happy! Maybe we can spend more time as a family today? Maybe go for an outing somewhere?" But alas, the only reason why he's not going to the hospital today is because he's not feeling well. He has a temperature and an upset tummy. He even threw up early this morning. Poor thing. So, today, it's my job to review him instead. Hehehe! He must be feeling VERY sick, because as far as I could remember, even when he was sick before, he would still go to work!

Not only that, Hasya is also not feeling well. It's probably the same bug. But, so far, only her body is dedar, and she just feels generally unwell. No vomitting, no upset tummy, etc. I pray that both Ayah and daughter will be okay by the end of the day, insya Allah.

Hmmmm, talking about the sick duo of Ayah and Hasya, this was relayed to me by Ayah yesterday.

Ayah was driving both Hasya and Hilman back from their traditional dance class yesterday when Hasya suddenly said -

Hasya : I want to study at Oxford University after my SPM (Mind you, she's only going to be 10y.o. next month, okay?)

Ayah : Hmmmm, that's really good Hasya. What do you want to read there?

Hasya : Medicine. I want to be a Cardiologist, just like you.

Ayah : But, why Oxford? (Ayah was just trying to test her)

Hasya : Because it's one of the best universities. And I want to study in the UK. Not in the US. Errr, Ayah, why didn't you go to Oxford, Ayah? Was it because you were not good enough for Oxford? (HAHAHAHA! Trust our choleric Hasya to say that!)

Ayah : Hahaha! No, Hasya...I chose not to go to Oxford. But, I did apply to do medicine there, though.

Hasya : And?

Ayah : And I didn't get in.

Hasya : Why is that? You were not good enough la kan?!

Ayah : Hmmmm, maybe. Or maybe because I listed them as my FIFTH choice in my UCCA Form?

Those who are familiar with the tips on how to fill in the UCCA Form to get into British Universities years ago, would know the Golden Rules of -

(1) NOT listing BOTH Oxford AND Cambridge in your choices of Universities, as the one listed below the other would definitely give you a straight rejection, hence you would be wasting one precious offer for a placing at a university.

(2) And if you were to list down Oxford OR Cambridge, you MUST list them as your FIRST choice, nothing less, if not, you would again be wasting one precious offer for a placing at a university.

(3) Only then could you go on and list the other 4 Universities of your choice.

And Ayah broke Golden Rules #2 and #3.

He listed Oxford University as his fifth choice, below Newcastle, below Nottingham, below Liverpool and below Wales in his UCCA Form.

But, what happened was, Ayah was called for an interview by all 5 universities - which was quite rare for those applying to do Medicine back then.

And he got offers from 4 of the 5 - which was even rarer for Medical School applicants. Most applicants would probably get, at the most, 2 offers.

Who knows? MAYBE, just MAYBE - the only reason why he didn't get any offers from Oxford University was because they could not accept the fact that Ayah listed them as his fifth choice?

He was called and went for the interview at Oxford, but they never asked him why they were listed as his fifth choice. But, I'm sure they must be going crazy inside to ask him!

But, the interviewees from Wales U did ask him why, and Ayah told them -

"If they know they are the best university, it doesn't matter where I place them in my UCCA form, they would still be the best university..."

He's got a point there.

And I hope Hasya (and her Kak Long and Hilman, too) will not see their Ayah as an "Oxford reject" (Oooops! No offence meant, okay, Ayah!), but rather, Oxford University was in a way, "their Ayah's reject". Hehehe! (Chewaaah!! Buleh?!)

And I know, Ayah would never change a thing even if he could turn back time and have another chance to fill in his UCCA form again.

Because he always knew what he wanted, and his first choice - Newcastle Medical School, had given him just that, and has made him what he is today :)

Get Well Soon, my "Oxford Rejector" hubby, and my potential "Oxford Scholar" daughter (whom I hope would neither be an Oxford rejector nor rejectee...) Hehehe!

Thank you...

Thank you for all the do'a and well wishes for my Abah and our family. Insya Allah dimakbulkan Allah SWT, and insya Allah we'll be alright through this dugaan.

Abah fell down at home on Friday afternoon. My mommy was inside the house at the time, and Abah was watering the plants and washing away some dirts off the front terrace. Apparently he was squatting down to rub off some stubborn stain and he got up too fast, felt dizzy and fell on his back. Luckily my mom saw him through the glass door and quickly went to help him up, but, of course being quite frail herself, she just couldn't lift Abah up. She called up my sister Yong at the office, and tried calling me, and of all the days, I left my HP at home that morning! Having failed to reach me, she then called up my Brother Eddie. Tengah panic tu, she forgot that she could have called my office number instead! And it didn't cross her mind to even call Ayah!

Both Yong and Eddie took half an hour to reach the house, and Abah was just sitting down on the floor throughout that time, as he was still feeling dizzy, and was probably still shocked by the fall. Both of their next door neighbours were at work, and my Mom who was also quite shaken with what happened just could not bring herself to get help from the other neighbours. She was hoping there would be passers-by from whom she could ask for assistance, but, there was none at all. I can just imagine how scared my Mom was at that time, tending to Abah...

Abah had some cuts and lesions on his elbow, but apart from that, he's okay now. As for his NPC, Ayah and I will be bringing him to see Prof Go*al* this Tuesday morning at PPUM to discuss the next course of action and all options open to Abah. And we're hoping that he could undergo his treatment at PPUM instead of GHKL.

We all bersyukur that the Big C is still at its early stage, and the tumor is quite localized, and insya Allah, with the right treatment, Abah will be fine.

But, whatever it is the treatment that he will be getting, I think we have come to terms that the next few months will be like a roller-coaster ride for Abah and the family, and we have to make sure that we're prepared physically and mentally for the ups and downs coming our way.

We need to make some adjustments to our daily rituals, but life has to go on.

And we're trying to make sure the kids are not too affected by all these, insya Allah.

Again, thank you for all the do'as and well-wishes. We are indeed touched...

God bless.

NPC...

Have you ever felt that by not talking or writing about something, it would just go away?

Have you ever felt sometimes, that you just didn't want to talk or write about certain things because you just didn't want to think too much about them? Or you just didn't want to think about them at all? Because when you start talking or writing about them, you would not be able to think straight? Because you would be worried sick?

I went through that for the past two weeks.

I didn't want to talk or write about it, but, as much as I had prayed for it to go away, it is still there. It is not going away. And I have to deal with it. And one way of dealing with it, I realized - is to talk about it, and write about it.

My Abah is having a recurrence of nasopharyngeal cancer or NPC (you can read more about it here and here).

His biopsy results came back positive, and he did a CT Scan soon after that to find out the extent of the cancer. And he was straight away referred to the NPC specialist team at PPUM.

All was done within one week - his ENT appointment, his biopsy test, his CT Scan, and his appointment with the NPC specialist.

The news that the Big C was back shocked us, and we were praying that it was still at an early stage. Syukur alhamdulillah, the scan images showed that the tumor is quite localized, and has not spread to any other parts of his body.

But Abah still needs to undergo treatment, and because he was under the care of KLGH when he had NPC the first time around in 1995-96, he has been advised to go back to KLGH. Apparently he would have to go through BOTH the External Beam Radiotheraphy Treatment (EBRT) AND the Internal Beam Radiotherapy Treatment (also known as "brachytherapy") for his recurred NPC.

However, we have been told by an oncologist friend that the chances of NPC to recur after 10 years are actually very, very rare, and as such, we're getting a second opinion as to the diagnosis.

Although we are preparing Abah (and ourselves) for the impending barrage of radiotherapy that he may have to go through, we are also praying very hard that it's not NPC.

At his age, we are trying to spare him from having to go through radiotherapy unnecessarily, if possible.

And we are praying...hard.

More prestigious than the Oscars...

BJ a.k.a MrsNordin and Kak Yati Samad, somehow or rather had thought of me as one of those who deserve the The Mom of the Year Award. I'm touched and thrilled of course, but, I know so many mothers out there who deserve this more than I do. But, kecil tapak tangan, nyiru saya tadahkan. Hehehe! Thank you, thank you :)

The recipients of this award would have to come up with an acceptance speech/posting (chewaaahhh!) which must include the following -

1. Admit one thing you feel awful about (involving being a mom)

I feel awful for not being a fulltime Mom to my kids. How I wished I could just drop everything when they need me, especially when they're sick, when they need me to drive them around and chaperone them for anything, anytime, anywhere. I just feel I don't spend enough time with them now - in their "growing pains" years.


2. List 7 things you love about your kids, you love doing with your kids, or that your kids love about you.

I say...7 things only kaaaa?! Hmmmm...manyak susah ini macam. But here goes (in no particular order)

(i) I love spending time with my kids, and chit-chatting with them, especially in the car when I send or fetch them to or from their schools/1001 lessons :)and I love to go shopping with them (when we would normally argue on our choices of clothes and stuff to buy, but almost always end up with them getting their way anyway...Hehehe!)

(ii) I love that they never fail to amaze and amuse me with their totally different personalities and characters :)

(iii) I love it when they say their "pleases" and "thank yous", and when they would call me at work just to ask my permission first if they can eat the chocolates/tidbits/sweets/crisps/Maggi/snacks and the likes in the fridge/pantry at home.

(iv) I love it when they compliment my cooking and say that it's better than the food we have when we eat out :)

(v) I love it when they take turns to give me foot and body massage (no need to go to the spa maaaa...)

(vi) I love organizing parties and outings and sleep-overs for my kids and their friends (when I have time on my side, that is)

(vii) I love cooking for them. Unfortunately I don't bake. I think I will get a decent oven for the new house so that I can learn how to bake cookies and cupcakes, especially, and can spend time messing up the kitchen with them (as long as I have a maid to clear and clean everything after that, that is. Hehehe!)

3. Send this to 5 other moms of the year that deserve a reminder that they too are the best moms that they can be.

There are so many mothers out there who deserve this award, but for now, I'm bestowing it to these five wonderful ladies -

Ibu
Ja (Dalam Dakapan Ibu)
Jabishah
Myheartbleeds
Azian

They are truly wonderful moms, because they have truly wonderful kids :)

Cheers, y'all :)

Thanks!