2025 CNY trip - the rest

 

After a good night sleep, three of us had gone out seeking some yummy breakfast. Upon return, Ving was much better and started to some liquid diet and she was strong enough to make it to the flight.

I had brought my nephew and niece to the Setia mall where we patronized the bookshop; the Nasi Lemak The Game had caught my sight and I grabbed it without hesitation.

We had a good game before we headed to airport.

The drive was smooth and I only filled up RM20 of petrol for the 100+km drive. I delivered the car and proceed to the check in. Prior entering the restricted area, I had taken a sip of old town iced cham and Ving had bought some fries from the Burger king outlet. The Oseltamivir worked great and Ving had started her tour of junk food…

Flight was on time and we met our parents later and we had our dinner at Aeon Mall. The food joint selling a variety of Malaysian cuisine and none of them were up till the standard. As usual, I slipped to the non-Halal area and grab a six pack of Shandy. Out of my expectation, no shortage of stock as in the past.

We slept early that night; frankly said, I haven’t recovered from fatigue aggregated from those long streak of shifts.

I brought my mother to the JPN the next day to obtained a letter proving that she had lost her thumb print. She was actually frightened by the bank staff on her last visit to bank. She was told that she might not be able to withdrawn her money if she was unable to past the bio-metric check next time.

During the journey, I was disturbed by the new parking payment system implemented by the local administration. The app supporting the system was not available to the mobile phone bought from outside the Bolehland. I had to installed the app via unauthorized apk site. Not easy to operate and I think old folks who is not good at using mobile phone would have a hard time parking their vehicle without getting a red ticket later. A good way of stopping old folks from driving to street….

As the main event, we visited my columbarium the next day and stopped by uncle hwa fire steamed chicken restaurant for lunch. A Balak factory turned into restaurant with no air-con; food was great and the price was affordable.

The rest of the day, I had wandered around the housing area, playing with my bro’s pet dog and spent my time recovering from the fatigue that accumulated from the past.

The return trip was uneventful where we put up a night sleep at the Tune hotel before we continue our trip the next day.

Food at KLIA1 was really disappointed as OldTown was replaced by another all rounded but so so restaurant, I would usually ordered a dried hor fan and half boiled egg before I left the Bolehland. Shop and dine wise, KLIA2 was still the best.

The uncomfortable ride on the A320 series was masked by sleep on the flight.

We had a 3+ hours stopover at CLK airport with grilled goose as our lunch. My comment was just like the last time I tried it 10 years ago, “last time, I would order this meal”. Tasty, juicy but not my cuppa of tea.

Final ride back to K city with the more spacious plane but the wait at the luggage belt was longer than usual due to large amount of passenger flying the same flight.

We arrived home later and I had prepared myself for the dooms-day like CNY shifts.

you can run but cannot hide

 

Weather had become extremely chill since December. Patient with URI symptom had flooded the ED initially and later, diarrhea and vomiting patient joined the long queue.

You can discharged fever patient with a jab but yet you need to make sure your patient overcome their vomiting to take up oral medication when they reached home. The ED was flooded with patient due to the excessive parenteral treatment being ordered. 

The worst part was as regional hospital around our area had met a disaster few months back leading to a massive bed reduction.

The hospital who was hit by mischief was the hospital I had worked in for more than 3 years before I came to my current job. A fire broke out 6 months ago causing a fatal scenario claiming 9 lives. The investigation had led to a major fraud with the building structure and setting.

Excessive extension of the hospital wing and the power center was done about 10 years ago. A building of 5 level on the original architecture plan was extended to 10 floors and the power center which was supposed to be 1 story height had been expanded to five.

The fire had started from the power center where the ventilation and backup power were installed. A typhoon had struck the power line and the emergency generator powered with diesel had overheated due to rapid switching on and off. Fire was noted and the smoke had later spread through the ward via the ventilation system.

The construction, supervision and finally the certification of fitness of the relevant building would need a load of peoples stamping those documents. String and connection were pulled through channel and interest exchange. The overbuild area was 3000%....

As my ex-boss was a political figure and the local county government was not on his side of the faction; the hospital was bashed violently without mercy.

The wing involved was sealed and later torn apart leading to closure of half of the bed and 60% of its ICU. Patient had floated toward nearby hospitals and part of the load had spilled to our setting.

During the period, I had been very careful; constantly washing my hand but yet I was hampered 10 days ago by the tiny viny malice organism.

The first episode was hoarseness after few days of shouting in a chaotic market like environment ;our ED was crowded and filled with patients stranded in ED waiting for slot in the ward. 

One night, I had left the desk voiceless and I had taken 30mg of prednisolone just to make sure I could able to commence with my job with hiccup. The next day, part of the voice had come back and I continued my shift for few more days before I had a severe crampy abdominal pain with nausea noted prior to starting a long string of night shifts.

Xian and Ving sent me to work later that evening after I slept whole day without any intake. I arrived early and ordered 1000cc of fluid with parenteral antiemetic before the pass over. I finished the 12 hours shift with a branula over my left hand, accompanied by low grade fever that chills through my shift. Xian and Ving picked me up and I gone into limbo for the next 6 hours before I drunk some fluid and headed for job again.

The symptom continued for the next 3 night shifts and I repeated the go back- home - sleep - drink and go to work event. Every sip of fluid would accompany crampy abdominal pain minutes later and I refrained myself from taking any large amount of intake. The best part of poor intake/fasting was sharpening of sense and apart from the bodyache, my mind was clearer than ever. However, the biggest achievement was preventing other victim in the family – Ving and Xian were good despite of my diarrhea x 15 times per day.

I had refrained from taking any antidiarrhea but finally gave in and taken some kaolin based mixture during the last day. As expected diarrhea was less watery but yet pain in the ass was noted….definitely a wrong choice.

Even though the diarrhea and nausea was better after 1 week of torment;  my hoarseness persisted with phlegm that was difficulty to cough out, occasional wheezing was noted and I tolerated with intermittent antihistamine only.

However strange sweety smell was noted yesterday when I cough out my sputum. Time for antibiotic and I had swallowed a 750mg levofloxacin before I hit dreamland.

Dxmn, no more cough nor sputum since then….

Life goes on and so are the suffering….

CNY 2025 - the return trip

Having a united dinner during CNY was one of the important matter for Chinese and I had been struggling to comply with this arrangement since my return to work in the Ghost Island.

These years, I had strived to arrange a trip so that the whole family would returned and had a united gathering.

The planning was disrupted as I had to wait for Ving’s examination date to be fixed. It was quite late when everything was sorted out; double A was out from the preference and I could only place my hope on the CP.

The ticketing was complicated one as Ving and Xian would be travelling back earlier and Yun and myself would be back 6 days later.

The purchasing process was a heart pumping one as the returning date should be on the same day and I hit the hard deck during the last phase while I booked ticket for Yun and myself. The failure to entering the final payment phase of purchase was noted and after 40 mins of struggling; I finally got it through. Average price was rm2500 per ticket and I was glad to be able to closed the deal safely.

It was a lousy plan; the returning flight from KUL to HKG was A321 and from HKG to KHH was A330 which was vice versa from the home going phase. We had to be trapped on the smaller A321 seat for 4+ hours. But nothing to complain as I consider myself lucky to secure a seat doing a late hour booking.

For the CNY escape to materialized, a long streak of shifts had lined up for me prior to the takeoff.

I still remember the day of Ving departure. I slept by 11pm and woke up by 3:30am. I helped Ving and Xian doing the final preparation and left the hut by 4:45am. The airport was crowded with passengers leaving for Korea and Japan. The CP counter was quite empty and we were third in the line. The check in was smooth and I had given Ving and Xian a final hug before they entered the restriction area at 5:45am.

I had headed back home and sunk into the sofa for the next 30min before I headed to job again at 7:05am.

It would be another 5 shifts before my turn of boarding the plane back home.

The next 5 days was a streak of long and boring shifts. I traveled between home and the desk and utilized most of the time in the house placing everything in order before my departure.

Meanwhile Ving had attended her cousin wedding which was broken into two part, the pre wed party with open house buffet dinner and a ballroom wedding dinner at a luxury restaurant. She had however fallen ill after the ballroom dinner. From her symptom, I presumed she had influenza however I was still D-48 hours before my flight.

Yun had joined me for a late dinner D-30 before departure while she wrapped up her project and came home. It was a memorable night where we were shattered by the most stunning earthquake since 921. The quake lasted for more than 5 minutes and it stopped before we decided to evac from our home.

Shaking continued for the next 20 hours and I finally reached home from job 8 hours before our departure. Leaving home with wave by wave of earth quake hitting was an unpleasant feeling, but as there was no turning back for me at the point, I could only surrender my faith to the Great one.

I glanced through my luggage and double checked everything before I headed to bed at 1am. I was truly disturbed by Ving’s illness. I loaded whatever it was necessary hoping that I did not miss anything.

I had bet my luck driving straight to the airport parking zone that day. There were many parking slots when I sent Ving and Xian off. In the past the credit card offered a great deal of goodies when you pay the flight ticket with the card. However goodies were shredded to kacang putih; no more Priority Pass, no more free parking even you owned an Infinite card. The goodies were reserved to superior infinite grade holder who need to pay a non-negotiable annual fee of at least 1kRM; not my cuppa of tea at the moment.

I spotted a spot near the international terminal and headed toward the counter. I rested at the gate by 6:30am. Unlike the last year heavy queuing session at CKS; everything was smooth.

I fell into dreamland before the flight take off; even though the seat size of A321 was slightly better than the double A. The fatigue aggregated from the past 3 week of straight shifts had finally crushed my spirit and I was awakened by Yun when the staff served the meal. Shaomai with fried noodle, favorite for both of us. Sadly speaking, it is a shame that no coffee nor tea was served after the meal. Cheap coffee or tea doesn’t seem to be a great offer but yet it was enjoyable taking a sip of some sugarless drink after meal.

CP landed promptly at HKG airport. Yun and I took a slow walk to the transit gate and passed through the gate smoothly.

It was another 2.5 hours before the next flight. We tour around the Disney outlet and eaten a snack meal at one of the food joint. Expensive as usual and frankly speaking, Malaysia Cantonese food are still the best….

The flight to KLIA departed on time and the meal was surprisingly nasi lemak with a small scoop of sambal; definitely beyond par but yet no fish prawn also ok la…

We landed on time and boarded the KLrapid to KLIA2 to picked up our car from PRAC rental.

The process was not smooth as I finally realized that PRAC doesn’t have an office at KLIA2 and the car needed to be sent over from KLIA1. However, if I had picked up the car from KLIA1 and returned it tomorrow at KLIA2 it would be a surcharge from different pickup and drop off location.

I had booked an Accord but a new Camry hybrid was delivered instead. It was my second drive with Toyota’s hybrid and the driving experience was great and fuel efficient.

The evening jam was packed as usual and I managed to reach home by 8:45pm.

Ving appeared weak and had been laying the whole day with minimal food and water intake.

I fed her with the Oseltamivir and crossed my finger she would be well before tomorrow afternoon...

The night ended after we had a great meal at a local mamak shop. My bro in law Tango, Xian, Yun and I had placed order 4 rounds before we stepped out from the shop. All kind of roti, mee goreng, nasi lemak and 2 glass of drinks per person....

When we reached home, Ving was much better 3 hours after taking the medication….

last trip of 2024

had done a short trip back to Malaysia last year during November. I had to settle with double A again for the same reason.

I was lucky to get a connecting flight which arrived late at Senai.

The connecting flight was operated by MAS and we had to transferred to KLIA1 with the KL express. 

The flight was uneventful and we had arrived slightly late at the KLIA2. As I had opted for the “Xtra carry on” with the double A. I had no  baggage to wait for and we cleared the entry gate in no time.

We had the luxury to enjoy a good meal at the KLIA2 and I had opted for the ABC one bistro at the L1.

All the staff were of south asia origin; the food was darn spicy even for someone who had spoiled tongue like me. The mee mamak goreng was actually not as tasty as I had tasted previously at the food garden but the roti canai and nasi lemak was up to the standard. It was just like the old Genting highland taxi stand canteen.

After the satisfactory meal, we had proceeded to KLIA1 and boarded the flight on time. The kite airline had maintained its standard even though negative news had struck them since months ago.

The trip up north was actually a packed one for us; a drive up to KL then stopped by Seremban and put up a night in Malacca which lasting more than 450km in a day.

We pushed out early and reached OUG garden slightly late after mid day; traffic was heavy and we had encountered a few jams on the way. Later someone had told me that jam on the PLUS highway occurred without any cause(no construction work nor traffic accident nor other bla bla bla reasons) during the weekend.

On arrival at OUG garden, I had found a BKT shop near my aunts house and everyone had put up a thumbs up about the meal. A good BKT for every trip back to the homeland was one of my wishes…

We arrived at Seremban at 4pm to visit my big aunt.. My big aunt’s health had deteriorated markedly since 1+ year ago. My cousin is a retired senior manager with the GE insurance company and is currently full time looking after her. I had been visiting them for the last 2 years. My mom feared that it might be their last chance to meet and she had requested the trip. 

Our trip landed in Malacca and I had booked a luxury lodging to put up a night to make up for the lousy stay on our last trip.

I had booked a service apartment at Casa de Rio. An excellent riverside residence that was located near the Jonker street.

Spacious 2 rooms apartment which was very well maintained. We had our dinner near Salud Tapa; a spanish restaurant offering nice food. It was a special meal for us as we had never try out any spanish food in the past.

After the good meal, we had picked up some nyonya kueh on the way back while touring the Jonker walk.

The next day started with a average breakfast at a restaurant near the apartment and we had tasted the gula melaka cendol at the Jonker street before we headed to meet my cousin and their parents. The strong gula melaka aroma was not my cuppa of tea; the aroma would mask the taste of cendol itself.

The meeting with my cousin and their parents was enjoyable and we had left Malacca after lunch.

We reached home before evening as the traffic jam continued along the plus highway.

My dad did not feel well that night and he was struck by giddiness the whole next day. I prescribed medication and acupunctured him with clip and his condition had improved before I headed to the airport. His condition had deteriorated as well and not fit for a long travelling trip in the future.

The flight up north was slightly delayed and we had checked into the Tune hotel after midnight. The check-in was not smooth as usual and we hit dreamland soon after we unlocked the door.

A good Malaysian breakfast at Tune hotel before we boarded AK170 heading back to the ghost island was the most graceful part of the journey the next day .

The Xtra Carryon package was a good option for travelers not wanting to wait for luggage. However you no liquid nor handy tools is allowed if you do so.

The next trip back home during the CNY would be a great challenge for me as I had to wait for the part II of cloth making examination date; Ving was sitting for the exam. I had to try CP again as it would be difficult to secure any seat on the appropriate date if I booked the ticket after November.

Rubber issue

 

The new Fe came with PC6 when we took her in. I had a flat tire noted after 2 weeks of driving and nail pricking had been karma for the new F since then. For the past 2 years, she had 5 patching session over the 59000+km drive.

The last one happened 4 weeks ago; when I glanced through the panel while stopping at the traffic light during my drive to the hospital for work and I found out that the left rear tyre psi had dropped 15%(20% dropped will cause the light to lit on). Definitely a leak and I had pulled over at the first petrol station available and pumped the pressure up. I saw a nail on the tyre during the pumping process.

I googled and found out that a tyre shop was still opened around my hospital at the late hour.

I had an early start that day and if the shop still opened when I arrived, I would not be late for the job that night.

The mechanic cum boss was an elderly uncle. He jacked up new Fe and removed the tyre. I told him that I just needed to patch it from outside instead of inner part as the tyre is due for change. He told me that he always patches from inside and if I requested to patch from outside, he would still remove the tyre from the hub as it was easier for him to access the leak part. Some old fashion guy still believe patching from inside of the tyre is better for the tyre.

I had a good look when he removed the tyre from the hub. The wear was way beyond the thread wear indicator and I need to changed it soon

I usually changed my tyres at around 40k and this was the longest distance I had travelled on a set of tyres.

I contacted my usual mechanic and told him that I needed a change. I opted for the PC7 but it was not available and he recommended PS4 which was same standard as PC7. The PC series was noted with better noise reduction than the PS but yet PS is better at control and grip.

The replacement was done 4 days later. The price was 2.5x of the Bibendum’s tyres I used previously on my Z. The control and grip was better than the PC6 but yet it was noisier as review. You gain some and you lose some...

Well, safety come first and since 20 inch tyre doesn’t come cheap and there would be another pain again 2 years later. 20 inch tyre ? I would think twice next time I buy a car….

game of balls

 

I had always hated testis pain who presented to ED. The examination includes an ultrasound which need the physician to touch the sensitive part of the patient. The difficulty is increased as the ball will be sliding as you glide the probe over the surface. If the testis is painful the patient would start to resist and the scanning is more hazardous. Without the power doppler mode, you can only diagnosed testicular torsion if no definite flow is noted and it would be too late by if you see this….

Someone had told me this story months ago; A middle-aged patient was seen few times for abdominal pain with each consultation separated by 12 hours apart; even though CT scan was done twice(enhancement and none enhancement) during the visits, he had still ended with ball removal.

The unless proven otherwise rule was not applied in the case where the pain was not proper diagnosed and patient was discharged. The patient was treated as urinary stone where radiation pain to testis was an acceptable symptom. The key in the case was no stone was noted by the scan and a negative UFEME was noted.

I had been more cautious lately and I met a few cases of ball pain lately where I performed ultrasound without hesitation.

It was an embarrassed moment for everyone, the physician, the chaperon and the patient. Especially the chaperon who mostly is the nurse or nursing aide available and most of them were female.

Frankly said, I hate doing it as flow noted in the ball does not exclude torsion as we had no power doppler mode on our ultrasound and there is a 50% chance a urological consult was unavailable. Our urology consult was supported by two inhouse staff and half of the time the consult was covered by visiting staff who was reluctant to come...

I crossed my finger on every discharge…

we are one.....

ML was sitting on the bench opposite the triage area holding her belly while I walked into the ED. I thought she would be my first patient but her name did not show up on my screen after I seen three patients. I asked around and found out that she was turned by K today morning and G last night as she was just discharged from ward few days ago.

ML was a female with a sorrow past. A schizo since her young age and victim of a fire incident leaving scar over her appearance. She was jobless since the accident and living on subsidy.

Her visit to our setting had increased markedly since last years as she developed liver cirrhosis and massive ascites which required frequent tapping. She had visited us on an irregular basis. Her psy stat plus her noncompliance to medication behavior had led her ascites to increase great speed.

She was turned down from time to time as she tapping request sometimes was too frequent.

Prior to her arrival yesterday, she was admitted to our ward and tapping was done 3 times during her 11 days stay. A good 20000cc was removed and you could she her walking past by our desk with a tea drink jumbo cup on her hand.

After K and G turned her down, I was in no position to help her even though I estimated 10000cc in her peritoneal cavity judging from her belly size.

She had wandered around the hospital since then and I had asked one of nursing staff to hint her that to come back tomorrow morning and someone would proceed the tapping for her if she do so.

She however ignored those advice and kept bothering us from time to time.

I stood the ground as it was not an emergency situation which demand urgent management. The integrity of the EP team is important if no medical emergency is involved. She had then shifted to the OPD and later referred to our department gain but yet the staff did not attend to her.

She was still hanging around the hospital when I went off by 10pm.

When I arrived to work the next day by 9:30am, she was still wandering at the convenient store in front of our hospital; her belly was taken care of apparently.

Well, I logon to my account and found that G had settled her problem after midnight. Even though her problem was solved but yet she was still wandering around…. nothing to shout and comment as my decision to keep the integrity of our team was correct. No hard feeling of delaying the tapping.