Have been busy, busy, busy!
What with the school hols and all, and the kids are at home 24/7, and them asking me, "Are you going to work today, Mommy?" (like a dozen times a day - and that's just in the morning!), I feel like there aren't enough hours in a day this term break.
I've already stocked up the fridge, freezer and pantry to last the first week of the school holidays last Friday, but, I think the stock for milk and fish is already running low!
A lot has been happening, and I've been meaning to blog about this and that, but other commitments seemed to have a strong hold on me in the last few days.
So, now that I have the chance to write, I'd better do it immediately.
I guess I'd better do this chronologically.
Thursday, 28th May 2009
(i) Report Card Day for Hasya and Hilman.
Ayah couldn't make it for Hasya's report as he had a few patients scheduled for his clinic that morning, so, yours truly had to go alone. There weren't many parents when I reached there at 10:30a.m., and there weren't many pupils either as they were given the options of staying home or, going to school, and then following their parents home after the meeting with the class teachers. I guess most pupils opted for the former.
There were quite a number of prefects present though, and I guess they didn't have any choice but to attend school as they were given specific duties to help the teachers for that day.
Surprisingly, "Schoolaholic" Hasya opted to stay at home, and I could sense why. She knew she didn't do as well as the previous years, and she didn't know how to react if her report card were to be handed to her by her teacher personally that day. And frankly speaking, I didn't know how to react, too, when I was handed her report card.
Hasya got 5th place in her class, Syukur alhamdulillah. But, for someone who usually got 1st or 2nd place all this while, 5th place was quite a spirit damper - not just for Hasya, but also for her Mommy. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't upset, nor was I disappointed. I was sad more than anything because I knew she could have done better, and I guess I was partly to be blamed.
I admit that I had not spent as much time with the kids this time revising for their exams, as I did previously. And I had not been that strict with them when it comes to watching TV/DVDs, playing PS2 and reading story books. Hasya seemed to be ONLY doing just that two weeks prior to the exams. My bad. I thought she was ever ready for any exams thrown at her.
Hasya was using the excuse that all her classmates who had beaten her in the exam go for tuitions, and thus, they were more prepared and more advanced than her in all the subjects. Hmmmm, we'll see if that reason would still be valid for the next exams, okay, Hasya?
Because starting after the hols, we're engaging Hanna's former tuition teacher, Mrs Ya*un*ha to be Hasya's home tutor pulak. One thing we realized, the fees now is quite a bomb compared to Hanna's time 2 years ago! Well, for Hasya's sake, insya Allah it'll be worthed every single sen, insya Allah.
Anyway, for Hilman's report, I had to go again in the afternoon, and this time Ayah was there, too.
Hilman was jaga-ing a Std 2 Class when we arrived. There was no queue at his class and Ayah and I managed to see his teacher the second we reached there.
And as expected, Hilman got 1st place in his class. Syukur alhamdulillah. Yang kelakarnya, everytime he saw his friends along the corridor when we were going home, he would ask them their placings in class, and when they told him their placings, he would tell them, "I got 1st place", Hehehe! Those who know Hilman would know that he wasn't bragging or anything like that. To him, it was just an act of sharing information :)
(Come to think of it, Hilman watched as much TV as his Kak Ngah did, if not more, and in fact played PS2 MORE than her...So, how do you explain him getting #1, and Hasya #5?! Hmmmmmm....?)
Anyway, as a lesson, Hasya is not allowed to watch TV/DVD or play PS2 indefinitely. So, for the past few nights Hilman has been dilligently supplying her with all the details of the 10:00pm Naruto show.
And last night, as I was going to the Family Hall on the way to the Master Bedroom, I saw Hasya sitting on the sofa, facing the wall, with her back to the TV. Naruto was on. And I asked her -
Me : Hasya what are you doing staring at the wall?!
Hasya : I'm listening to Naruto, Mommy...
Me : What do you mean?! Hey! You're not supposed to watch TV, okay?!
Hasya : I'm not watching, Mommy. I'm just listening! You said I could not watch TV. I'm not watching, okay Mommy...you didn't say I could not listen to the TV...
I tak tau nak marah or nak tergelak, and I just walked into the room. Ayah who was lying on the bed, heard what Hasya said, and he was trying hard not to laugh. I locked the door behind me, and both of us just burst out laughing!
Hasya...Hasya... Sigh... :)
(ii) Kantoi
Anyway, that evening, Hasya and Hilman were supposed to have mengaji at 8:30pm at their Wan's place, and as usual, right after school all the kids were deposited at my MIL's house.
It was at 8:00p.m, when I received a phone-call from their Ustadz who apologized and told me that he was not able to make it to teach that evening as he had to attend to some "hal mustahak".
In a way, I was quite relieved because I was supposed to go and get the cards and gifts for the kids' teachers for Friday's Teacher's Day Celebration while they were having their mengaji that night. So, immediately upon being informed that the class had been cancelled, I asked the kids to pack their stuff and change their clothes, and off we went to One-U to get the cards and gifts together. Saved me the headaches of choosing everything for them.
Anyway, we reached One-U at 8:45pm, and we were making our way to Me*or* La*e at the Lower Ground Floor when we bumped into......Guess who?!!
Their Ustadz Mengaji!!!
He was outside a gift shop with his daughters and wife. His daughters were obviously looking for cards and gifts for their teachers, too!
Awkward, I tell you. Really awkward... Hehehe!
So as not to make him feel embarrassed, I gave salam to him, and said,
"Ustadz pun kena cari barang untuk Hari Guru, ya? Samalah Kak Shana. Budak-budak ni, selagi tak beli kad dengan hadiah untuk cikgu-cikgu dioghang, selagi tu tak senang duduk! Nak kena beli MALAM NI jugak! Esok tak boleh! Nasib baik juga Ustadz batal kelas malam ni, dapat jugak bawak budak-budak ni untuk pilih sendiri, etc.!
Ustadz pun tersipu-sipu malu. Kesian pulak kat dia. But, I hope he knows that I truly didn't mind him cancelling the class that night.
I'm also a parent of demanding kids. I understand ;)
Anyway, we managed to get 4 cards and 3 gifts each for the three kids to give to their teachers.
Nak harap their Mommy buat cupcakes for their teachers (like a lot of my supermoms blogger friends out there! Bravo!)? Errrrr...tahun depan pun tak leh janji, okay? Hehehe!
Saturday, 30th May 2009
Besides my normal supir duties - sending and fetching kids to/from Chess, Guitar, and Swimming Lesson, that night Ayah and I sent Hanna and her friend Mira to Bukit Jalil for the Relay for Life event.
We decided to while the time away by going to Endah Parade. We were there at 9:20pm and decided to leave the place shortly after that.
How do I say this? Errrr...that was the first and the last time we would go there. That place was so....errrr...so-NOT-my-cuppa-tea laah!
So, while waiting for midnite - the time we told Hanna and Mira we would fetch them, we decided to go to my Sis Lala's place in Keramat, only to find that the whole family had gone to have dinner at my BIL's Kak Ngah's place in Hillview. So, my BIL invited us to join them at his Kak Ngah's house. All the usual suspects were there. (They are actually our second set of Majlis Tertinggi - the family version, who meet nearly every Saturday Night for PotLuck thingies at my Sis Lala's place in Keramat).
We left Hillview just before midnite and went straight to Bukit Jalil to fetch the girls, reaching home just before 1:00a.m.
Sunday, 31st May 2009
Supir duty again!
Morning - Sent and fetched Hasya and Hilman to and from their Dance Class.
Afternoon - Sent Hasya and Hilman to Royale Bintang Hotel (The Curve) for a birthday party, while Ayah sent Hanna to Kg Tunku for her Taekwondo training. She's competing in the MSSD Sports Meet later this month, insya Allah.
Evening - I fetched Hanna from taekwondo training, while Ayah fetched Hasya and Hilman from Royale Bintang...(Hehehe! Saja tukar angin :))
After Maghrib, we left for One-U to watch the 9:30pm show of "Night at the Museum II".
I tell you, it has been quite some time since I last had such a good laugh at the movies! Highly recommended. Memang a great stress-buster that movie!
Monday, 1st June 2009
My Abah and Mommy are staying with us the whole of this week, as it is my turn to bring Abah for his radiotherapy treatment at GH.
Abah has been going to GH on a daily basis for the last 3 weeks for his radiotherapy treatment (except for weekends and Public Holidays) and all this while, my Sis Lala has been bringing him to the hospital. It has been quite a convenient arrangement as her place in Keramat is so much nearer to GH, and as Lala is a SAHM, her daily schedule is rather flexible. Abah and Mommy had been staying over at Lala's place, and she has been attending to all Abah's and Mommy's needs for the last three weeks. God bless her! :)
However, we have to make another arrangement for this week as Lala and her family have gone to Bandung/Jakarta (they left this afternoon) for a family getaway.
As it is already the Semester Break for the Uni, my schedule is also quite flexible now, and after seeking permission from my HoD, I've been allowed to take time off in the morning so that I could bring Abah to the hospital for his treatment, and only go to the office after lunch.
As I'm writing this, Abah has another 4 radiotherapy sessions to go to, before he starts on a couple of brachytherapy treatment sessions, insya Allah.
Abah is responding very well to the treatment, in fact, he's doing MUCH, MUCH better than he did when he had to go through the same treatment when he was dignosed with his first NPC in 1995. Syukur alhamdulillah.
His face does not have any burnt marks, and he has not lost the ability to taste food as he did in 1995. In fact, it gives me great pleasure to see him eat A LOT everytime I cook for him and the family :) My Mommy said he has been eating a lot more than he normally would when he was at home since he stayed at Lala's and now, at our place. I'm really glad :)
He spends most of his time on the sajaddah, berwirid and berzikir after solat, and other times in front of the TV, changing the channels every minute or so :) So, the kids have been warned by moi to NOT kacau Jaddi in the living room when he's watching TV (or most of the times, the TV watching him! Hehehe!) Anyway, as Hasya is OFF TV now, there's no risk of Hilman and Hasya fighting over which channels to watch on the upstairs' TV.
Next week, my brother Eddie will be bringing Abah for his final radiotherapy session on Monday, and thereafter for his brachytherapy as we pulak will be away for 6 days.
Where are we heading to?
Remember my posting on our planned Bali trip dulu? Yup! It's next week, and we're leaving this Saturday. Ayah will be away in Cambodia this Thursday and coming back on Friday, and he'll be sending us to the airport. Ayah will only be joining us in Bali on Monday, insya Allah.
So, in case some of you were wondering why laaaaarrr this posting is SUPER-LONG, this explains this longer-than-usual posting - I'm trying to make up for my possible non-blogging week the whole of next week. Takut ada yang rindu kat I pulak nanti...Heheheh :)
We are so looking forward to the trip, but I am so not looking forward to the packing, y'all. But, what to do? Can't rely on the kids to do it, can I? Nanti ada pulak yang tak cukup benda-benda kecik nak pakai kat Bali pulak nanti... ;)
See you all the later part of next week, okay?
Cheers!
(Land of The Barong!!! Here we come!!!!!!)
Showing posts with label Abah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abah. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
All in a day's work...and fun :)
I woke up at 7:00a.m on Saturday morning, and only went to bed at about 1:00a.m the next day. That's a good 18 waking hours - out of which I think I only got the chance to sit down for about 2 1/2 hours in total (excluding the times when I was sitting in my car, driving, that is :)
I don't think our new PM's schedule running up to the three by-elections pun was as packed as my last Saturday's schedule!
The day started off with me going to Pasar Taman Tun at 8:30a.m as I needed to get the stuff to cook for a Pot Luck Dinner to be held at my Sis Lala's place in Keramat to celebrate our Abah's 80th Birthday that night. Abah's birthday fell on Monday 30th March actually, but, we decided to have a makan-makan on Saturday instead with my other set of MTs - the regulars at Lala's on Saturday nights - i.e. my siblings and my BIL's siblings and families.
Hanna had to come along with me to the Pasar as she had to be at Sek. Ab*ul Sa*ad at 10:00a.m for her Interact Club meeting/gathering, and there was no way that I would go back to SD to fetch her after going to the Pasar, and then send her to Sa*ad. I would be wasting petrol, wasting my time, wasting on toll money, and of course - wasting my energy, too, if I were to do that.
By 9:45a.m, we got everything we needed from the Pasar, after which we went to my MIL's place in PJ to send some of the groceries there. Ya lah kan....Anak-anak I memang selalu didepositkan kat situ before and after school, and semuanya kuat makan, kan? Every 3 days or so - kena lah replenish stock in my MIL's fridge and freezer :)
From PJ, I went to send Hanna to Sa*ad and waited in the car with her outside the gate until her other school friends came. I left her with Aqila and a few of her seniors at about 10:00a.m, after which I drove back to SD - reaching the house at about 10:25a.m. By that time, Hilman and Hasya were already up.
I took my shower again, and after the kids had had their breakfast, I left for Sa*ad again at 11:20a.m with Hasya and Hilman to fetch Hanna. We reached Sa*ad at 11:45a.m - greeted by a sulking Hanna who had been waiting there, at the front gate, under the hot sun since 11:30a.m! Sorry, dear...
We rushed to One-U as Hanna's guitar lesson was to start at 12:00p.m. The traffic and the crowd were not that bad, syukur alhamdulillah, and we reached her class five minutes early. While Hanna was having her lesson, Hasya, Hilman and I went to MPH to get some books, and then to Pa*kso* to get a birthday present for Ayah's friends' daughter whose birthday party we were planning to go to later that afternoon. Imagine - 2 places to go to under half an hour, had to choose and shop for books and birthday presents some more! It was quite a rushed job as Hanna's guitar lessons was only for half an hour, and we were aiming to be back at her class before she finished her session at 12:30p.m.
From MPH and Parkson, the three of us went to get Hanna and we all left One-U at 12:40p.m. Just as we were about to leave the parking area, my BIL Su*fi*n called to ask if Hilman would be interested to follow him to the Sepang Circuit as he had an extra ticket to watch the F1 Race. Of course Hilman was interested lah kan?! (But, having said that, he was having a difficult time trying to decide between going to Sepang OR going to the birthday party which was to be held at the Tr*ca*er* Bowl at Tropicana Club - much to his sisters annoyance! Hehehe...Dah lah dapat gi tengok F1 free - lepas tu boleh tak sure nak pegi or not?! Aiyooo...Kak Long Hanna dia sikit punyer tension ker...Hehehe!
So, instead of going straight to Tr*ca*er* Bowl, we had to make a diversion when I had to send Hilman to my MIL's place as Su*fi*an, together with my SIL Ly*n and their 2 kids - Q1 and Q2, would be leaving for Sepang from there. We reached Mak's house just before 1:00p.m.
After dropping Hilman off, Hanna, Hasya and I drove straight to Tropicana for Aleysha's 6th Birthday Party. Aleysha is the daughter of two of the doctors who are with Ayah at TMC. Ayah who had been working from morning was supposed to meet us there as I segan nak gi the party just with the girls as I had never met Aleysha's parents before this. So, we waited for Ayah in the car until about 1:35p.m when we finally saw his car going into the parking area.
Ayah and the girls had fun bowling while I just watched from the sidelines. And the amazing thing was - it was Ayah's second? (or maybe third?) time bowling ever, and he actually got the highest overall score that day (much to Hanna's and Hasya's dismay! Hahahaha!)
Hanna and I had to leave the party at 3:40p.m while Ayah and Hasya stayed on a little bit longer as I had to send Hanna to my MIL's place as her Aunty Ad*k was to send her to a handball tournament in Section 13 PJ which was supposed to start at 4:00p.m. They left just before 4:00p.m, and barely a few minutes later, Ayah came back with Hasya.
Leaving Hasya and my car at my MIL's, Ayah and I made a dash to BSC to join our KPP86 - BTU2 friends for a Reunion at The Do*e. We were fashionably late (Hehehehe...) as it was supposed to start at 3:00p.m...and we reached the place at 4:30p.m! Even though there were only 15 of us, it was actually a good start for our first reunion after 23 years of going our separate ways. It was really good to see all the gang. Thanks, Wa*Sa* and Li*a for organizing it. Insya Allah next gathering, we'll get a bigger turnout :)
We left BSC at 5:45p.m and headed back to my MIL's place as Ayah had to drop me there before going to another meeting - this time with his primary school reunion committee members at Ja*a32 (which was supposed to start at 3:00p.m!). I left my MIL's place with Hasya at 6:20p.m to fetch Hanna from her handball tourney. And seperti biasa (and I didn't mind really :)) Hanna asked if I could drop three of her seniors at a couple of places, and thus, we had to make a detour to Section 14 and Kg. Tunku before heading back home to SD.
We finally reached home at 7:05p.m and I had to start cooking immediately as I was to bring two of the main dishes to my Sis Lala's place for our Pot Luck dinner. Nasib baiklah I had earlier left instructions for Dar on what to siapkan, and Dar was ever so efficient. By the time I reached home, all the ingredients had been prepared, and I only had to put and mix everything in the pot and kuali and cook them. I finished cooking Ayam Masak Merah and Acar Rampai at 7:55p.m. and straight after that went up to get ready and solat. By the time I came down at 8:20p.m, Hanna, Hasya and Dar were all ready to go.
I couldn't wait for Ayah coz' nanti semua orang kat Keramat lambat pulak makan coz' waiting for my lauk-pauk! So, I called Ayah up and asked him if I could drive to Lala's with the girls first. Ayah had just finished his meeting and was just about to fetch Hilman from my MIL's (Hilman had just come back from Sepang then). Ayah gave his greenlight and off I went to Keramat with the girls and Dar.
We reached Lala's place at 8:50p.m - semua orang dah lapar menunggu ketibaan my lauk. Hahahaha! And the feast began at 9:00p.m :)
Abah was very happy to have his 80th birthday celebration last night. If only his sons were there, too. Eddie was down with flu, Jame was in Taiping and Abang Imi had something on last night. But, it's okay - Abah's favourite girls were all there with him last night :)
However, Ayah and Hilman only reached Keramat at about 11:00p.m as Ayah was called to the hospital just after they left Mak's place for Keramat. He had to attend to an emergency case. And according to Ayah, Hilman had a field day exploring the A&E Department last night while waiting for Ayah to finish his work. Hehehe...
By the time Ayah had his dinner with Hilman, most of the Keramat MTs were already leaving for home. Ayah spent some time berborak with my BIL and my biras, and I could see that he was struggling to stay awake! Mana taknyer - he had been out and about since 8:00a.m in the morning! He was physically and mentally exhausted after a looonnnngggg day of work and socializing. By midnight, he was having a splitting headache and had gone into my nephew Amir's room for a short nap.
By 1:00a.m, I decided to just let him sleep. Or rather, I decided that ALL of us should just spend the night at Lala's as I didn't think I would be okay to drive back to SD myself.
The kids were delighted of course!
Me - the only concern was on how to clean and store my contact lenses? Aiyoooo...pakai langgar ajer lah! So, last night I had to sleep with my lenses on. To all the opthalmologists out there - I know...I know...That is one of the biggest sins for you guys, kan? Sigh. But, what to do? Unplanned overnight stay, maaaa...
As for Ayah - he woke up at 3:00a.m, and immediately started working on his article for Ma*ay Ma*l. I don't think he slept at all after that. He woke me up for Suboh at 7:00a.m, and continued working until we left Lala's place at 8:30a.m this morning.
What to do? Suamiku sememang seorang workaholic... :)
Anyway, for a different perspective of what went on yesterday, Hanna also has bits and pieces of her day posted here and here :)
Here are some pics.
I don't think our new PM's schedule running up to the three by-elections pun was as packed as my last Saturday's schedule!
The day started off with me going to Pasar Taman Tun at 8:30a.m as I needed to get the stuff to cook for a Pot Luck Dinner to be held at my Sis Lala's place in Keramat to celebrate our Abah's 80th Birthday that night. Abah's birthday fell on Monday 30th March actually, but, we decided to have a makan-makan on Saturday instead with my other set of MTs - the regulars at Lala's on Saturday nights - i.e. my siblings and my BIL's siblings and families.
Hanna had to come along with me to the Pasar as she had to be at Sek. Ab*ul Sa*ad at 10:00a.m for her Interact Club meeting/gathering, and there was no way that I would go back to SD to fetch her after going to the Pasar, and then send her to Sa*ad. I would be wasting petrol, wasting my time, wasting on toll money, and of course - wasting my energy, too, if I were to do that.
By 9:45a.m, we got everything we needed from the Pasar, after which we went to my MIL's place in PJ to send some of the groceries there. Ya lah kan....Anak-anak I memang selalu didepositkan kat situ before and after school, and semuanya kuat makan, kan? Every 3 days or so - kena lah replenish stock in my MIL's fridge and freezer :)
From PJ, I went to send Hanna to Sa*ad and waited in the car with her outside the gate until her other school friends came. I left her with Aqila and a few of her seniors at about 10:00a.m, after which I drove back to SD - reaching the house at about 10:25a.m. By that time, Hilman and Hasya were already up.
I took my shower again, and after the kids had had their breakfast, I left for Sa*ad again at 11:20a.m with Hasya and Hilman to fetch Hanna. We reached Sa*ad at 11:45a.m - greeted by a sulking Hanna who had been waiting there, at the front gate, under the hot sun since 11:30a.m! Sorry, dear...
We rushed to One-U as Hanna's guitar lesson was to start at 12:00p.m. The traffic and the crowd were not that bad, syukur alhamdulillah, and we reached her class five minutes early. While Hanna was having her lesson, Hasya, Hilman and I went to MPH to get some books, and then to Pa*kso* to get a birthday present for Ayah's friends' daughter whose birthday party we were planning to go to later that afternoon. Imagine - 2 places to go to under half an hour, had to choose and shop for books and birthday presents some more! It was quite a rushed job as Hanna's guitar lessons was only for half an hour, and we were aiming to be back at her class before she finished her session at 12:30p.m.
From MPH and Parkson, the three of us went to get Hanna and we all left One-U at 12:40p.m. Just as we were about to leave the parking area, my BIL Su*fi*n called to ask if Hilman would be interested to follow him to the Sepang Circuit as he had an extra ticket to watch the F1 Race. Of course Hilman was interested lah kan?! (But, having said that, he was having a difficult time trying to decide between going to Sepang OR going to the birthday party which was to be held at the Tr*ca*er* Bowl at Tropicana Club - much to his sisters annoyance! Hehehe...Dah lah dapat gi tengok F1 free - lepas tu boleh tak sure nak pegi or not?! Aiyooo...Kak Long Hanna dia sikit punyer tension ker...Hehehe!
So, instead of going straight to Tr*ca*er* Bowl, we had to make a diversion when I had to send Hilman to my MIL's place as Su*fi*an, together with my SIL Ly*n and their 2 kids - Q1 and Q2, would be leaving for Sepang from there. We reached Mak's house just before 1:00p.m.
After dropping Hilman off, Hanna, Hasya and I drove straight to Tropicana for Aleysha's 6th Birthday Party. Aleysha is the daughter of two of the doctors who are with Ayah at TMC. Ayah who had been working from morning was supposed to meet us there as I segan nak gi the party just with the girls as I had never met Aleysha's parents before this. So, we waited for Ayah in the car until about 1:35p.m when we finally saw his car going into the parking area.
Ayah and the girls had fun bowling while I just watched from the sidelines. And the amazing thing was - it was Ayah's second? (or maybe third?) time bowling ever, and he actually got the highest overall score that day (much to Hanna's and Hasya's dismay! Hahahaha!)
Hanna and I had to leave the party at 3:40p.m while Ayah and Hasya stayed on a little bit longer as I had to send Hanna to my MIL's place as her Aunty Ad*k was to send her to a handball tournament in Section 13 PJ which was supposed to start at 4:00p.m. They left just before 4:00p.m, and barely a few minutes later, Ayah came back with Hasya.
Leaving Hasya and my car at my MIL's, Ayah and I made a dash to BSC to join our KPP86 - BTU2 friends for a Reunion at The Do*e. We were fashionably late (Hehehehe...) as it was supposed to start at 3:00p.m...and we reached the place at 4:30p.m! Even though there were only 15 of us, it was actually a good start for our first reunion after 23 years of going our separate ways. It was really good to see all the gang. Thanks, Wa*Sa* and Li*a for organizing it. Insya Allah next gathering, we'll get a bigger turnout :)
We left BSC at 5:45p.m and headed back to my MIL's place as Ayah had to drop me there before going to another meeting - this time with his primary school reunion committee members at Ja*a32 (which was supposed to start at 3:00p.m!). I left my MIL's place with Hasya at 6:20p.m to fetch Hanna from her handball tourney. And seperti biasa (and I didn't mind really :)) Hanna asked if I could drop three of her seniors at a couple of places, and thus, we had to make a detour to Section 14 and Kg. Tunku before heading back home to SD.
We finally reached home at 7:05p.m and I had to start cooking immediately as I was to bring two of the main dishes to my Sis Lala's place for our Pot Luck dinner. Nasib baiklah I had earlier left instructions for Dar on what to siapkan, and Dar was ever so efficient. By the time I reached home, all the ingredients had been prepared, and I only had to put and mix everything in the pot and kuali and cook them. I finished cooking Ayam Masak Merah and Acar Rampai at 7:55p.m. and straight after that went up to get ready and solat. By the time I came down at 8:20p.m, Hanna, Hasya and Dar were all ready to go.
I couldn't wait for Ayah coz' nanti semua orang kat Keramat lambat pulak makan coz' waiting for my lauk-pauk! So, I called Ayah up and asked him if I could drive to Lala's with the girls first. Ayah had just finished his meeting and was just about to fetch Hilman from my MIL's (Hilman had just come back from Sepang then). Ayah gave his greenlight and off I went to Keramat with the girls and Dar.
We reached Lala's place at 8:50p.m - semua orang dah lapar menunggu ketibaan my lauk. Hahahaha! And the feast began at 9:00p.m :)
Abah was very happy to have his 80th birthday celebration last night. If only his sons were there, too. Eddie was down with flu, Jame was in Taiping and Abang Imi had something on last night. But, it's okay - Abah's favourite girls were all there with him last night :)
However, Ayah and Hilman only reached Keramat at about 11:00p.m as Ayah was called to the hospital just after they left Mak's place for Keramat. He had to attend to an emergency case. And according to Ayah, Hilman had a field day exploring the A&E Department last night while waiting for Ayah to finish his work. Hehehe...
By the time Ayah had his dinner with Hilman, most of the Keramat MTs were already leaving for home. Ayah spent some time berborak with my BIL and my biras, and I could see that he was struggling to stay awake! Mana taknyer - he had been out and about since 8:00a.m in the morning! He was physically and mentally exhausted after a looonnnngggg day of work and socializing. By midnight, he was having a splitting headache and had gone into my nephew Amir's room for a short nap.
By 1:00a.m, I decided to just let him sleep. Or rather, I decided that ALL of us should just spend the night at Lala's as I didn't think I would be okay to drive back to SD myself.
The kids were delighted of course!
Me - the only concern was on how to clean and store my contact lenses? Aiyoooo...pakai langgar ajer lah! So, last night I had to sleep with my lenses on. To all the opthalmologists out there - I know...I know...That is one of the biggest sins for you guys, kan? Sigh. But, what to do? Unplanned overnight stay, maaaa...
As for Ayah - he woke up at 3:00a.m, and immediately started working on his article for Ma*ay Ma*l. I don't think he slept at all after that. He woke me up for Suboh at 7:00a.m, and continued working until we left Lala's place at 8:30a.m this morning.
What to do? Suamiku sememang seorang workaholic... :)
Anyway, for a different perspective of what went on yesterday, Hanna also has bits and pieces of her day posted here and here :)
Here are some pics.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
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??!!
:)
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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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 :)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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??!!
:)
Sunday, March 8, 2009
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.
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.
Friday, March 6, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Health issues...
To those of you who are my FB friends, would know by now that I'm on a 2 day sick leave - yesterday and today.
Both Ayah and I were not well about a week ago with flu. I think I got it from him as I had a one day delayed symptoms of whatever it was that he had. Anyway, by Friday last week, both of us were over it. Or so we thought.
I still had some intermittent pain on my right ear, and I guess it's quite normal for that to happen after a bout of flu. And at the same time, I started having some back pain, or rather neck-pain (something like what we'd have if "salah tidur", only worse!)
Not really bothered, and thinking that the pain would go away eventually, Ayah and I brought the kids out for dinner on Sunday evening (case of feeling guilty leaving them at home when we went out for our Valentine's dinner lah ni...Hehehe!). On the way home, I was starting to feel pretty lousy, and my whole body was aching. Very much like having flu-symptoms. Joints aching and rasa seram sejuk. Hasya and Hilman became my tukang urut in the car throughout the whole journey home.
Later that night, I was having trouble sleeping as the pain (both ear and neck) were getting worse, and I could not find a comfortable position to sleep in. I kept on waking up several times during the night, and finally Ayah asked me to take some Ar*ox*a for the pain. For those who are familiar with this drug, would know that it's one of the stronger painkillers around. Even that did not really work on me.
The next day, as I was bringing my Abah to see Ayah's ENT specialist friend at UM*C, Ayah suggested that I had my ear checked, too. My Abah has been having nose-bleeds everytime he blows his nose for the past 2 weeks, and we only got to know about it last weekend because he was keeping it to himself all this while. Only when the nose-bleeds became more frequent that he decided to tell my Mom. It is a cause for grave concern because Abah has a history of cancer of the nose way back in 1995-96. It was detected quite early, but he had to go through radiotherapy treatment over a period of 2-3 months, and syukur alhamdulillah, he was given an all-clear after that.
I was in Newcastle then - a fulltime housewife and mom, following Ayah who was an SHO in Wansbeck General. I only got to know the progress on Abah's treatment, etc thorugh my sister Yong. After he got the all-clear, Abah, my Mommy and Yong came to visit us in Newcastle. This was about 1 1/2 years after I left KL to join Ayah.
I was so shocked to see Abah when we went to fetch them at the airport. Abah had lost so much weight! From a sturdy and tall gentleman of 5'10" weighing at 75kg, he went down to a frail man of about 55kg! And I remember crying my eyes out seeing the new him at the airport. Apparently, the radiotherapy treatment had caused his tongue to burn and his tastebuds just lost the ability to taste any food for nearly 6 months after that. That had put him off food totally, as everything tasted like sawdust, according to him. But, syukur alhamdulillah, he was given the all-clear. But, at his age, it was quite difficult for him to regain all the weight he had lost.
My Abah is 79 years old. He'll be 80 on 30th March this year. Apart from the old cancer, generally he has been quite a healthy old man. He has hypertension, which comes with old age generally. He's not diabetic, and he doesn't have any heart problems, syukur alhamdulillah. He never had any serious complains about anything, until his nose started bleeding again two weeks ago...
I brought Abah to see Prof Pr*pa who suggested Abah to do a biopsy as there was a small lump behind his right nostril. And my sister Yong brought Abah to see Prof Ra*ma* yesterday for the biopsy, and we will only know the results next Tuesday. We pray that it's just an old scar, and it's nothing serious...
As for myself, according to Prof Pr*pa I had quite a bad ear canal infection on my right ear, which apparently is quite common among those who frequently clean their ears with cotton-buds. Strange, because I am so not guilty of that. He couldn't explain why or how I got it if I had not been using cotton-buds to clean my ears in the last one month or so.
Anyway, I've been put on a course of antibiotics, clarinase and just as I'm typing this, there's a 4 inch gauze soaked in some ointment (which I swear smells like kerosene!) stuffed inside my right ear canal. It has been there since Monday afternoon, and it's only coming out on Friday. But, I can't stand it anymore. I think I'll ask Ayah to pull it out tomorrow afternoon. It doesn't only muffle my hearing, but, it's also so da*n itchy in there!
I had to see another doctor for my stiff-neck, and was given 2 types of painkillers and some deep-heat ointment to apply to the back of my neck and shoulders. And I was given a 2-day sick leave. But, at the moment I'm writing this, the pain in my ear is still there, and my neck is still stiff, in fact I think it has gotten worse.
But, somehow they don't seem to bother me that much anymore. They're just normal pains. Normal ailments. And insya Allah I'll be alright in the next couple of days...
It's waiting for Abah's biopsy results that is making me having sleepless nights now...
Please pray for him.
Thank you...
Both Ayah and I were not well about a week ago with flu. I think I got it from him as I had a one day delayed symptoms of whatever it was that he had. Anyway, by Friday last week, both of us were over it. Or so we thought.
I still had some intermittent pain on my right ear, and I guess it's quite normal for that to happen after a bout of flu. And at the same time, I started having some back pain, or rather neck-pain (something like what we'd have if "salah tidur", only worse!)
Not really bothered, and thinking that the pain would go away eventually, Ayah and I brought the kids out for dinner on Sunday evening (case of feeling guilty leaving them at home when we went out for our Valentine's dinner lah ni...Hehehe!). On the way home, I was starting to feel pretty lousy, and my whole body was aching. Very much like having flu-symptoms. Joints aching and rasa seram sejuk. Hasya and Hilman became my tukang urut in the car throughout the whole journey home.
Later that night, I was having trouble sleeping as the pain (both ear and neck) were getting worse, and I could not find a comfortable position to sleep in. I kept on waking up several times during the night, and finally Ayah asked me to take some Ar*ox*a for the pain. For those who are familiar with this drug, would know that it's one of the stronger painkillers around. Even that did not really work on me.
The next day, as I was bringing my Abah to see Ayah's ENT specialist friend at UM*C, Ayah suggested that I had my ear checked, too. My Abah has been having nose-bleeds everytime he blows his nose for the past 2 weeks, and we only got to know about it last weekend because he was keeping it to himself all this while. Only when the nose-bleeds became more frequent that he decided to tell my Mom. It is a cause for grave concern because Abah has a history of cancer of the nose way back in 1995-96. It was detected quite early, but he had to go through radiotherapy treatment over a period of 2-3 months, and syukur alhamdulillah, he was given an all-clear after that.
I was in Newcastle then - a fulltime housewife and mom, following Ayah who was an SHO in Wansbeck General. I only got to know the progress on Abah's treatment, etc thorugh my sister Yong. After he got the all-clear, Abah, my Mommy and Yong came to visit us in Newcastle. This was about 1 1/2 years after I left KL to join Ayah.
I was so shocked to see Abah when we went to fetch them at the airport. Abah had lost so much weight! From a sturdy and tall gentleman of 5'10" weighing at 75kg, he went down to a frail man of about 55kg! And I remember crying my eyes out seeing the new him at the airport. Apparently, the radiotherapy treatment had caused his tongue to burn and his tastebuds just lost the ability to taste any food for nearly 6 months after that. That had put him off food totally, as everything tasted like sawdust, according to him. But, syukur alhamdulillah, he was given the all-clear. But, at his age, it was quite difficult for him to regain all the weight he had lost.
My Abah is 79 years old. He'll be 80 on 30th March this year. Apart from the old cancer, generally he has been quite a healthy old man. He has hypertension, which comes with old age generally. He's not diabetic, and he doesn't have any heart problems, syukur alhamdulillah. He never had any serious complains about anything, until his nose started bleeding again two weeks ago...
I brought Abah to see Prof Pr*pa who suggested Abah to do a biopsy as there was a small lump behind his right nostril. And my sister Yong brought Abah to see Prof Ra*ma* yesterday for the biopsy, and we will only know the results next Tuesday. We pray that it's just an old scar, and it's nothing serious...
As for myself, according to Prof Pr*pa I had quite a bad ear canal infection on my right ear, which apparently is quite common among those who frequently clean their ears with cotton-buds. Strange, because I am so not guilty of that. He couldn't explain why or how I got it if I had not been using cotton-buds to clean my ears in the last one month or so.
Anyway, I've been put on a course of antibiotics, clarinase and just as I'm typing this, there's a 4 inch gauze soaked in some ointment (which I swear smells like kerosene!) stuffed inside my right ear canal. It has been there since Monday afternoon, and it's only coming out on Friday. But, I can't stand it anymore. I think I'll ask Ayah to pull it out tomorrow afternoon. It doesn't only muffle my hearing, but, it's also so da*n itchy in there!
I had to see another doctor for my stiff-neck, and was given 2 types of painkillers and some deep-heat ointment to apply to the back of my neck and shoulders. And I was given a 2-day sick leave. But, at the moment I'm writing this, the pain in my ear is still there, and my neck is still stiff, in fact I think it has gotten worse.
But, somehow they don't seem to bother me that much anymore. They're just normal pains. Normal ailments. And insya Allah I'll be alright in the next couple of days...
It's waiting for Abah's biopsy results that is making me having sleepless nights now...
Please pray for him.
Thank you...
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