Crow mouth....

 

 

After years of practice, most of the physician would have some instinct/experience guessing diagnosis with only a small piece of history of findings. Most of the time you would be happy that you have gotten the correct diagnosis….

K was sitting with me at the desk and a 10 years old girl had sent to his side by the local rescue service. The complaint was right thigh deformity after fall during a basket ball game.

While the patient being sent for imaging, I had chatted with K and told him that most probably it would be cancer(osteosarcoma most probably) as the impact during a basket ball game is not strong enough to break a 10 years child’s femur.
Well, I regretted what I had said instantly and loaded the film once it showed up at the imaging list… Crow mouth I had…

K notified the orthopedic surgeon and after reviewing the image, the surgeon had told K to refer the patient as she would need to be managed by a multidiscipline team in a tertiary medical facility.

No one wanted to break the bad news, K had to tell the mother that the fracture is complicated and need to be managed by orthopedic surgeon who is specialized in that field.

I had regretted sharing my spot diagnosis….10 years old girl with a total hip amputation and a long course of chemotherapy waiting for her; even with such aggressive treatment she is still facing a 30% 5 years survival rate….

The incident had haunted me and I had paid my price during the level 3 IDPA competition 2 days later....

Trust no one.....

 

The central line insertion was definitely a heart pounding procedure for a medical trainee during the first few years of their training. The localization of the central vein is the most challenging part especially for patient with thick adipose tissue.

The introduction of ultrasound into ED practice had eased the process and raised the successful rate of central line catheterization.

Most of my young colleagues practice the actual ultrasound guided method, but I usually used the ultrasound to confirmed the position of vein and proceed with the procedure using the traditional method. We got a small amount of incentive if we use ultrasound to guide our catheterization. I am more confident during the venous puncture part as the imaging had given me a rough idea of the position and size of the vein. 

The catheterization was always a one man show until recent few years, the head of department had wanted the surgical aide to assist in the procedure as someone would need to hold the probe during the puncture. Well, as I did not use the probe during the puncture, frankly said, I am not very particular about having an assistant. However with an assistant, the secure with stitches part would usually be done by the aide and I would left the scenario early after fully insertion of the catheter.

I did remember in the past that one of my senior had told me that when the catheter is inserted down the guide wire, we would need to make sure that the tail of the wire is visualized and properly grabbed hold on so that the wire is not fully inserted into the center vein which might need a vascular surgery to extract out the wire.

I had always being cautious and would teach my staff that the tail of the wire needed to be secured by the operator before the catheter is fully inserted.

All of our surgical aides knew the rules as I had always insisted that part is clearly done.

However, few months ago, one of our junior colleague had met the worst case scenario above mentioned.

It was an easy femoral puncture and our junior colleague had left the table prematurely after the guide wire was being inserted. The insertion of catheter was left alone to our senior surgical aide. The wire was not secured before the catheter was inserted. When the aide noted the wire is not seen at the tail of the catheter; he got panic and removed the catheter immediately; the act had left the wire fully inside the femoral vein. What he should have done is to clamp the catheter with a forceps and remove the catheter hoping the wire would be removed with the catheter.

When notified, our junior colleague however was bold enough to do a small cut down with the aid from the senior surgical aide. The wire was noted and removed from the femoral vein without complication.

It was a heart pumping scenario which was compensated without a scratch.

When my junior colleague told me about the incident, both of us sighed and agreed that it was an narrow escape.

The surgical aide was senior enough and capable enough to perform many procedures ….but yet accident do happens..

My conclusion -----“Trust no one”

urn run - final leg and the price

 

The sip of cask strength did not give us a hangover. We had awakened up early and enjoyed a good continental breakfast at the restaurant of the hotel. From nasi lemak to roti canai and fried egg; It was perfect for a good start.

We packed everything and headed to the thousand buddha temple with the help of the google map. The temple was situated around the largest cemetery in KL. The huge cemetery held over 10000+ of graves. The cemetery was separated into different part which were managed by different organizations. 

We arrived at the temple and I found out that the temple had expanded; a few more new building  were constructed around the main temple.

We found the office and was greeted by a female staff. After signing a few documents and paying up the relevant fee; she had directed us we to the old columbarium for the pickup process.

There was another young female and a foreign worker waiting for us at the praying desk with the urn. The detail on the urn was verified by us and I proceeded with the final prayer before the journey.

I had prepared 3 red packs just in case my parents wanted the prayer to be done by the monks. However my brother told me that it was not necessary. I left those red packs to the young female and asked her to share it with the foreign worker and the office lady staff.

I knew that both the female staff were orphans which was adopted by the temple as I heard the story about temple was running an orphanage and some of the orphan would stay back to serve the temple.

My brother had given me a surprise look when I placed the urn in the Ikea basket and fixed it securely with the safety belt around the backseat. I told him that I am not stupid enough to carry the urn on my lap for the whole journey. I had more than 20 years securing object on the backseat with safety belt…..

The drive was smooth and we had stopped over around the Pagoh R&R for lunch. The Malay mixed rice with the ayam masak merah was tasty and up to standard. After the brief stop we managed to arrive at Kulai around 1+pm.

We had met up with my sister in law who had arranged the cubical purchase at the P memorial park. A middle-aged male was assigned to us and we had headed to the columbarium for the relocation.

It was indeed a good spot with good view. There was this strange smell which was quite irritating during the drive from the office to the columbarium. I did not ask around but was aware that something was interfering the process, all I could do was prayed….

The position of the cubicle was just as promised, eye level and nicely located near the exit of the hall. I placed the urn and did the final ritual. The smell had gone away after the placement.

Everything was set and three of us had headed back home.

I enjoyed my dinner at a food court later that evening with my family; I discovered that nothing was below RM5; a decent meal with drinks would cost more than RM10. The price hike was steeper than I expected for the past few months.

The next day, I had driven my parents to the memorial park again after breakfast. It was time to let them see the effort we had put in for the past few months.

My parents expression told me that they were satisfied with our arrangement when they saw the final setting.

I waited for a while as they offered their chanting. I looked at the cloudy sky and flashed back what had happened many years ago. The final days of my grandfather, the funeral, the cremation….

Once, my dad had told me that he would like to move the urn to a better position if he could afford it; well, wish had come true finally…..

I had taken a flight that night from Senai airport to KLIA2 as my flight back to K city which operated by double A was scheduled at 8am the next day.

While passing the security check, the alarm rang and how careless I was to misplaced my Leatherman knife in my hand carry bag…..Worst of all, my parents had left the airport and only thing I could do was to surrender it to the Imigressen.

It had accompanied me for more than 10 years and travel with me thousands of miles across the continent. I got my final hit later when I reached KLIA2. The staff at  tune hotel at KLIA2 front desk had told me that I had wrongly booked the hotel at Aeropolis.

I mumbled the 4 letters word start with F and rebooked a room as I was too tired to move on….

While laying on bed after a refreshing hot bath, I had tried to think back what had happened; the pocket knife and room booking were the price that I had to pay for dealing with the dark side. The heavy smell was the final warning and I had ignored it and proceeded with the final ritual. There were so many obstacles during the tour; all of the tricks that aim to let my ancestor laying elsewhere was the work of the dark side.

I had fallen into Alam Bunian and awaken early after a few hours of deep sleep. I had done the final packing and headed toward KLIA2.

A smooth check in though but I did not lay my hand on the salted sesame pancake (Ham Jin Bang) as the stall was not open yet at that early hour (it had also closed early on the day of my arrival)

The rest of the journey was uneventful and I was greeted by Ving and Xian at the airport few hours later.

Apart from the money and time spent with a loss of precious belonging, I had never regret of taking a walk down the path….

urn run - the first leg

 

My anxiety had growth over the waiting period; my shifts were packed as usual as I need to do 20 shifts in 25 days before I hit the airport. I later found out that the window I had planned was within the  school holidays and it also collided with Hari Raya Haji. No wander the flight ticket was expensive and hard to book.

After reminder from my dad about the holiday matter 3 weeks before the journey. I had to discard my plan of doing a last minute hotel booking. The best choice was hotel around the Mid Valley Mega Mall. The drive should be 20 mins or less; I had wanted to get something nearer preferably breakfast not included but yet it was not a good area for some food apparently. I had to settle with the Cititel Hotel which came with breakfast. 

During the scarce off day Ving and I had gone to IKEA and bought a basket made with rotan. It would be my container to hold the urn during the drive. I had done some math and estimated that the basket could hold the urn properly and could be secured with the safety belt on the back seat without any difficulty.

I had packed a simple luggage and booked the connecting flight from JB to KL 2 weeks before the journey.

Ving, dragon cat and I left home at 10am. It was a smooth drive and we reached the airport by 11am. I kissed Ving good bye and headed to the double A counter. The queue was long even with the frequent flyer lane.

I managed to check in my luggage after 40 min of lining up at the counter. The security and immigration check was fast though. In no time, I was patronizing the free duty shop and trying to get a cask strength whiskey for my brother.

My brother was lucky as I had managed to land my hand on a Omar Shirley Cask Strength produced by Nantou Distillery which he had sourcing for sometimes.

The boarding was smooth and I had fallen into dreamland as usual before the flight take off.

The Pak Nasir nasi lemak was tasty as usual; it had been 4 years since I had it. Not surprisingly, the ‘not enuf’ sensation had emerged when I swallowed the last piece of it.

Peace was with me as I closed my eyes and flashing back of what had happened since the CNY trip…Everything was in order and yet I had prepared for the worst as anything could go wrong especially when one is dealing with the dark side…..

The flight had landed uneventfully and I was greeted by my brother at the exit. 

We had had dinner at the Nine dragon ice shop where we had noodle and red bean ice campur(HK style of course). Nice meal but expensive though(no the price only, but later both of us had suffered from diarrhea the next day).

We had arrived late at the hotel  and enjoyed a sip from the whiskey which I purchased few hours earlier....

Misuse

 

I had this medical certificate request placed on my desk 2 weeks ago. I reviewed the medical chart grumbled a little while I figured how to write down the diagnosis.

There medical certificate here is something different than the Bolehland. During my service with the MOH, medical certificate a.k.a MC served as a permission for sick leave. It was very crucial for those people especially the laborer group. There were tons of reasons asking for one. It could allow them to take a day off either for rest or run some errant. The issuance of such MC had truly test the wisdom of the relevant MOs.

The medical certificate however was something more like a medical summary with a column for diagnosis and another column for comment. I had always been cautious to write down the diagnosis as it is an official document with possibility of landing into a medico-legal swamp.

The case of a bed-ridden patient who was brought into ED by ambulance for generalized weakness. I attended the patient 10 mins before the end of my shift. I reviewed the chart and found that the patient was seen in our ED the day before for head injury due to fall cause by weakness and poor intake.

The patient was alert on arrival with no sign of cerebral injury. I did not repeat the CT scan but order some blood test before I passed it to my colleague.

The patient was later discharged after 10+ hours of retaining in ED by the day shift physician. A diagnosis of R53.1 (Weakness ) was placed as diagnosis by the physician who discharged him.

The blood test came back normal and the reason of weakness was poor intake….

I was reluctant to issue the MC upon request but had to do so as my named was put under the attending physician column.

Few days later as young lady came and asked for my explanation about the diagnosis and content of the certificate. She identified herself as the daughter of the patient. Judging from her outlook, she appeared to live in urban area.

She had queried about the decision of discharging the patient. The conversation was not a comfortable one as she had a misconception regarding patient discharge. From her point of view which was based on common sense -> all patients discharge should be able to walk out from the hospital without aid. She had questioned our decision of letting a bed-ridden patient to leave the hospital.

She had expected a very detailed medical summary on the MC and asked us why we didn’t write any plan nor detailed instruction of discharge. She had barked on me claiming that she as scolded by my colleague who had discharged her father on that day.

I had asked around later and found out that an unpleasant conversation had occurred between the lady and my colleague. The daughter had requested an admission and was turned down; the reason of admission was that she was busy and she had wanted the hospital to act as an interim care node for temporary settlement. She was offended by the conversation and later she had come to us requesting medical certificate. After obtaining the certificate, she had utilized the diagnosis and the simple notation on the paper to query our decision; stupid but effective one.

The beat up and no retaliate strategy had worked out though and the daughter was in no ground to proceed as I had avoided the provocation by the relative.

The feeling was a strange one, I felt like a ghost being hit by a truck; no scratch over the body. However part of my soul was engulfed by something which I cannot describe.

It was difference from emptiness resulting from a successful striking back. Frankly said, I don’t like both of the feeling; but I need to make a choice…

urn run - prep

Lack of man power had been haunting the medical field for the past 8 months. Since the loosening of Covid control; hospitals around the island had been flooded with patients. Wards were full and admitted patients had been backlogged and kept in the ED. The major element leading to such condition was the lack of nursing staffs. The wave of resignation had swept through the island and we ward were closed down. We had similar problem and a whole floor was shut down. My name was marked on our roster for 22 times instead of the usual 15. Any straight leave would land me on a very long streak of continual shift. It was inevitable for me to tolerate such hardship should I decided to proceed with the mission.

K was the roster master and he would do everything to satisfy our need; thence the deciding factor would be availability of the flight.

Price was not much a difference as I was buying the ticket on a very close date.

Not much choice to choose from however it still took me 10 days to make the final decision.

I had consulted my parents about the ritual of moving when I finally get all the info and completed the relocation site selection. My parents had been followers of Soka Gakai for a long time and my bro was currently with Tzi Chi. I had asked them if they wanted to bring some local followers up for chanting/praying and they had told me it was not necessary. I had hesitated for a while about performing the ritual all by myself. I had experience facing the dark side but yet performing the ritual alone? It would be my first time for such ritual; not sure if I could handle the price to be paid....

The date was fixed eventually and I had planned to rent a car, put up one night in KL, proceed the relocation on D2 and returned to KL on D3 for final preparation of taking flight back on D4. I was still confused about getting someone accompanied me for the whole process.

The great one had however answered to my call; when I informed my bro about my decision and date of return. He told me that he would be back during that period and would pick me up in KL and complete the mission together.

The process had actually stretched over few weeks before everything was finalized. The uneasy sense cause by uncertainty was an agonizing event for me. Disturbance and unrest were diluted by stress resulted from overworking.

I did not feel any relief when I booked the flight ticket. There were so many events to worry about; the extraction process, the 380km journey, the return flight from Senai to KLIA and much more. I knew I would have to put my faith upon the Great one to take me through the process.

urn run - the first step

I had fragmented information about the temple and location of the urn. The Jalan Kerayong had 2 entry; one around the palace and the other around the old airport. All I know was the name of the temple and the number on the rack (3033 or 3303). I need to identify if the urn was still there before I proceed further.

The 1^st part was simple, just Googled and I had the address and phone number. The street view confirmed that it was truly the site I last visited 5 years ago. I Whatsapped the number as indicated from the FB. I got a late reply asking me to provide the information about the urn's cubical.

All I knew was the name of my grandfather and the cubical position of 3033 or 3303. It took the admin a few days before she replied me that no name similar was noted at both the position. However she showed a two letter name name which she thought might be relevant to what I described. I grinned when I saw the name; the surname was the same but the name was “進” instead of the “进” which I sent. It was traditional Chinese vs simplified Chinese; my bad for not knowing some of the young Malaysian Chinese did not learnt traditional Chinese.

It was the first step of starting the journey. A further inquiry about the procedure and payment needed was done and I proceeded to the next step.

Sourcing the relocation site was not an easy job as I had set down a requirement which I considered as crucial.

The cubical would have to be at eye level; so that when we visit the columbarium we could have a good view without torturing our neck or back. The sourcing job had to be trusted to my sister in law. She had visited two of the memorial park around Kulai. Movie clips and photos were taken to aid our selection process. For the N memorial park, most of the cubical were purchased and only a few leftover. The new one was undergoing construction and could only be available by the end of the year. The leftovers were either to high( 4 meter up !) or located at a very strange position. 

The P memorial park had however provided us with more choice but most the cubical were meant for couple with larger space to contain 2 urns. We were considered lucky as there was still some cubical that met my condition.

The price was however a little bit weird; a 25% discount would be given if you paid by installment. If the cubical was to be used before the installment end; the full amount would need to be paid up immediately upon the cubical usage. In our case as we need to use it stat, the price would be RM26k. I was satisfied with the result and my bro had agreed with my choice. Prior to the payment, the staff had however offered a 40% discount to my sister in law and we had taken up the offer with grace.

The procedure had however involved 2 police reports to be done prior to the shifting of my grandfather urn. One would be done in KL and the other would be done in Kulai. The ashes was considered as remnant of the deceased and would be treated as control item; the police would need to monitor such process according to the law. The temple side told me that the police reporting would be done by them and my sister in law would make the report with the Kulai police station 1 day prior to the relocation.

Everything was set though and I would need to fix the day of travel….  

urn run .....prelude

 

The second journey was planned soon after my return to the working desk. It was about 5 years ago when I had done a short escape back to the Bolehland and took my parents on a Qingming tour from the south.

My grandfather ashes were placed in the Thousand Buddha temple near the Sungai Besi airport. When my dad was still able to drive; my parents would take a drive up north during mid of the year; they would visit my aunt and complete the Qingming ritual every year. The ritual was suspended due to Covid19; I had a few discussion with my bro regarding the issue of relocating my grandfather's urn to Kulai so that it could be easy for us to complete the ritual every year.

It would be a difficult task when my brother told that he had suggested it a few years back but my parents had “strongly” objected such idea.

I told my brother that I would tried again on this CNY visit and I was determined to get it done with or with their consent…

I brought up the idea again during one of the conversation and my parent had objected it as usual.

I however told them that I am doing it for the sake of our third generation. So it would be easier for them to complete the ritual in the future. The conversation did not end in a good atmosphere from my point of view. But for me, It was good to go from that point as I had done the job of informing….

All the fragments of the task were difficult; extracting the urn, sourcing the relocation site, finding a window of at least 4 days….

It looks like a multiple visit tasks but I hope to do it in one attempt….

cohabitant.....

 

I had this 60 + years old male sent to ED in a drowsy state. Patient was found laying on the floor and later emergency service was summoned and he was brought over to us for help.

I attended to the case and decided for an early intubation as my impression was intracranial hemorrhage. I stepped out from the active resuscitation area and asked if someone had accompanied the patient. A man in factory working suit about the same age had come forward on my hailing. As usual, I asked him what was their relationship; out of my expectation, the man replied,” I am his cohabitant”. This was the first time, I had met male couple in the ED who did not hide their relationship. Well, as the first region that approved same sex marriage, I presumed it would be norm for me to encounter such condition. The son called later and asked me about his condition. I explained the patient condition and later told him that a man had accompanied his father to the ED. And He replied, “ oh…that was my father’s roommate”.

Cohabitant = roommate…..

Well, the same sex marriage had really posted a challenge to the community; there was this 18 years old adolescent who get married with a 28+ year old male and later committed suicide few hours after they registered. The left over heritage was over 50million ringgit…the marriage was later considered as scam by the prosecutor and currently under legal proceeding.

The same sex marriage had allowed the partners of same sex to proceed with medical consent when it was indicated.

I am an old fashion guy and a religious guy; I did not favored such condition but I had to complied as my job need me to treat them fairly.

In the past, male homosexual had been tagged as “A” disease patient. Family had treated them as disgrace and some were cut off from the family forever. The local law had prohibited the medical staff from tagging the medical chart as positive and barring us from testing them for the “H” test without consent.

However things had changed and more and more same sex couple had floated to the surface and you could recognize them easily on the road.

Once Ving had come out from the toilet and told me that a guy had just entered the female toilet. I calmed her down and told her that the “guy” that had just walked into the toilet was a female despite of her short hair and men style wearing. I told her that I noticed the tight bra she had worn under her shirt when she walked pass me…..

I remembered that a drowsy plumy patient that was brought into ED after MVA. Everyone in the resuscitation area thought that the patient was a he until we stripped the patient and performed a primary trauma survey. 

Well, there was so many grey area around us...1 + years ago , we had a new male nursing staff who joined our unit. She had undergone partial transformation surgery and she acted more feminine than any of our female colleague. We were very careful not to touch any sensitive topic; however she was more open minded than anyone of us....

A brand new experience for me and I am trying to coup with the situation....

 

2023 CNY visit: final run

 

After the IC run, I was left with 4 days that were blank without any plan. Well, it was up to me to fill it up. It was a difficult task as there were no many site of interest to visit after all around the area.

Top of the list at the most wanted to visit was the Kota Tinggi. It had all the element that worth for a visit; good food(BKT oh!!!), museum and waterfall . However the rain and flood around that area had popped my dream; maybe next time. I had decided to pay a visit to some nearby interesting site on day trip basis instead.

The 1^st day was the thunder tea and wall art at kelapa sawit township. The thunder tea was definitely not my cuppa of tea. Those that I had tasted in Taiwan around Menon area was sweetened however the famous thunder tea around the local Hakka community was a soup like dishes. Well, definitely not our favorite and we could barely finished 3 bowl with 5 persons at the table.

The visit to the wall art was disturbed by the rain however Xian was still able to take some shot for his collection. The wall art was not new to the Boleh lander however the element that attracted me most was the local food stalls that sell a variety of food. However we were sated after the thunder tea meal we taken earlier; we should have skipped it and came here straight for lunch. We headed back home later and called it a day.

We had rested for one days and I had taken a relax day wandering around the housing area. I spent most the time chatting with my parents and played with my bro pet dog, Tigergal. A stray dog before my bro adopted her. She knew who is the boss and interacted well with all the family members. She behaved well even though no one had trained her to do so…

The following day, I had brought my dad to the Yongpeng where my dad grown up. A village dominated by Hockchiew; We missed the Lao Po Bing(wife cake ) by one day as the sifu was still on leave even though the bakery was opened. I had however paid a visit to the Malay market- Arena Warna at the Ayer Hitam to buy some Malay biscuit. I had came along a new product apart from the traditional Ubi Sambal Basah; a greenish version using green pepper as its main topping. I tried and bought a packet. It would be my last definitely; it tasted ok at the store but later when I returned, no one appreciated it and I was the sole eater. The green pepper had a slightly different taste and frankly said I am not fond of it.

My verdict was the sambal version prevailed and it would still be my first choice always.

I left my parents on D6 to KLIA2. We initially booked a flight from MAS on D7 morning but the flight was postponed and shifted to noon where we had only a 2 hours window for check in to our connecting flight back to K city. It was a struggle to ask for a refund as the local office MAS staff refused to do so as they had rescheduled the flight instead of postponed without any replacement. The first call to request for refund had failed however after googling over the net; I found out that ticket could be fully refund if purchase was done within 24 hours. I was lucky as the 2^nd call center staff(likely to be based in India) had assisted me to get my refund. I grabbed a late flight later with AA. However I need to spend a night in KLIA2 before our return flight.

It was a long time since we fly with the AA; I had sworn that no more double A in the future and yet I broke the vow within months.

It was however a pleasant journey and we reached tune hotel slightly before midnight. 3 of us had squeezed ourselves that night in a double bed room.

The breakfast served by Tune hotel was excellent; nothing could go wrong with continental breakfast and nasi lemak.

Even with the great breakfast, we had still stopped by the Oldtown Café for a last taste of Malaysian Yummy….

The final leg of the journey was uneventful with Ving waiting for us in our sweat home…..

It enjoyed the longest stay with my parents for the past few years. I had a taste of local Malaysian life during this visit and found out that long stay might not be an option for me in the near future. However I would be going back on a more regular basis after this visit.

The next run would be 2 months later and I might need to fly double A again…..

CNY trip - the errand...

 

IC run was one of the major events for our returning. Yun and Xian had signed a declaration during the passport renewal that they would have their IC change on their next return as they had attended the age of 18. Well, the worrying part was Yun had dyed her hair into pink color. I had advised her that the IC change is nothing to fool around with and we would be at the mercy of the official. Yun had however told me that she would let the hair fade naturally. After two months, the hair was not completely faded off and Yun told me that she would tie up the hair into pony tail and the pink color would not be visible from the front….

The day had come and the throbbing sensation over the chest when I laid my eyes on Yun’s hair. It was no retreat for us and I would have to gamble with her and placed my faith upon the great one.

We had our breakfast at a Hainan restaurant near Jalan Wong Ah Fook. It was nearby the old shop that my father had worked in.

We had later proceeded to the UTC JB and hit the office by 9am. A short queue was noted and all of us were accepted at the counter and given a number. Yun had finally started to tie her pony tail when we sat down waiting for our turn. She was apparently right and hidden the pink color successfully. I was however sitting on hot plate as I found out that no cash payment accepted in government department; only through card. The worst was there was only RM20 in my newly received Bigpay card(from the initial deposit), that would be enough for 2 persons and there were 3 of us. When both of them was called I had tried to pay up the fee with my credit card issued by Taiwan bank and none of them was accepted. I had to bailed out the RM20 for both Yun and Xian payment. And it was not long when I was called; while walking toward the counter, I recalled that my father had owned a Bigpay card as I had applied one for him during my last visit. And I was lucky as he had brought the card with him….

Both three of us had received our card hours later….

That afternoon after our lunch, Xian and I had proceeded to local PB bank and applied for a bank account. It was a long wait and we had managed to get it done after three hours wait…..

With a local bank account plus ATM card, big pay card; I was almost capable of doing any transaction without help from anyone back in the Bolehland.

CNY trip...the initial run

 

Two trips were actually planned when I started to plan for the home going trip in October. I had booked both trip tickets within a few days gap. The first trip was a success however dragoncat had deteriorated markedly after we sent her to the vet hospital for lodging. Her posterior limbs had become weaker and could only drag around with her forelimbs. After months of effort, Ving had decided to stayed back during Chinese new year to take care of dragoncat.

The CNY trip was a long one as we had to visit both side of our parents. However after Ving’s decision to stay back, we had the luxury to stay for a longer period at Kulai.

The trip was not an easy one for us though despite of Ving’s staying back.

Yun had met her biggest challenge when her business partner cum BF had gone into a dispute. She was disturbed and not focusing on the home returning event.

The day had finally come and Xian and I had packed our staff and left home late in the afternoon. The feeling was not good as we had to leave Ving and dragoncat behind. With Yun in such a chaotic state, the condition had become worst than ever.

Yun had chosen to visit her friend up north to seek some comfort/advice prior to the trip and would meet us at the motel around the airport that night.

The drive was smooth however the temperature was intolerable as the north had gone down to a chilling 12C and our area was about 26C in the daylight when I started our drive. We met up with Yun and her friend at the airport and we proceeded to the motel. We enjoyed our supper at a night market around the motel and retreated to our room around midnight. I had a shallow sleep as I need to wake up at 4am and perform the final check. We left the motel at 5am and parked our car at the pre-booked parking at T2. We had our baggage checked in and waited for our boarding without any difficulty.

I hit dreamland as usual prior to the taking off.

 

 I woke up when the meal was served and played the plant vs zombie again. I had chosen Singapore as our entry point as the connecting flight from KUL to Senai was limited after Covid. The transit time would be 3-4 hours and we would only reached Senai by 9pm if the flight route was chosen. However driving down south would also take same amount of time. The flight ticket from KUL to Senai and taxi fare from Changi to Kulai is however the same.

Passing the immigration was smooth however the luggage waiting part was an agony; the luggage came out one by one and there was no sign of our baggage. The shadow of losing baggage had still haunted us; luckily our final baggage came on the final batch.

We came out from the arrival hall and met up with my brother who came to picked us up.

The drive from Changi to the Woodland was smooth; passports were stamped and we passed the kastam without hazard. Another 30minutes drive before we reached Kulai where we enjoyed a late tea time meal of wantan mee and chicken rice.

The Bangla who prepared the rice had garnished the food with style before serving. Well, even the foreigner knew that to hug his job as tight as possible….

No peace of mind for me that night after the gathering meal… I was disturbed by everything….Yun, Xian, dragoncat and Ving…..

I spent the rest of the seven days thinking of our future.

Few things to accomplish during our stay; the IC changes, bank account and much more.

New Fe....

 

The new Fe had under my command for more than 6 months at the moment. It was truly a great experience with all those new gadgets.

The L2 driving assist had eased home driving stress especially on my post call journey. Unlike the FSD with traffic light sensing and overtaking ability, the L2 of new Fe was more basic; but with steering left and right and keeping an eye on the traffic light left for me to manage; driving had become more relaxing than ever.

A few trips up north had proven its value; I had enjoyed half a dozen of trips up north which were very relaxing.  

The 360 degree camera and collision warning system was a plus and had saved me a few time on some very close impact incidents.

The fuel consumption is a way improvement from 9-16km/l to 14-19km/l; nothing to complaint for a beast of nearly 2 tons.

I had escaped two embarrassing events of stopping at the roadside waiting for help situation; the built in independent tyre pressure monitor had proven it worthiness.

20000+km had passed and I thought the money was well spent; even though it caused a big hole in my pocket

The only cons will hit me years later when all the electronic gadget starting to fail; hopefully it would last as long as it could.

Justice served

 

This was one of the most joyful news that I had read recent few months….

The bicycle lajak case had finally closed when the Court of Appeal acquitted Sam. I had downloaded a review article from the net that had described and analyzed the facts of the case in detail. The act of prosecution and trial were truly bias and injustice according to the article. Poor Sam had to remain in the jail for 1 week before she was put on bail. Condolence to the families that suffered losses however the culprits and other accomplices where still out there being untouched.

There were so many efforts that could be done to prevent such tragedy; the imam, school teacher, parents, local police. How big could a village be ? No night patrol ? Magic was cast upon those bikes so that no one could see it in daylight? who was the source of finance for the bicycle? answer was obvious, may the relevant persons sleep well....

I remembered the day I encountered a traffic accident when I drove from Slim river hospital back to Tanjong Malim during my service. A car had collided with a truck and 6 passengers were trapped in the car with no sign of life. I stopped and help the police to confirm their death on site….I remembered my hand shake during my drive back home even after more than 100 autopsy done; seeing such a massacre grade scene was still a shocking event for me. For Sam, I couldn’t imagine the psychological stress that she had undergone.

However justice had prevailed  and life goes on…..

social service ..... cxxp....

 As a first line physician in ED, I had to deal with family violence case from time to time. I had seen simple contusion to severe case ended up in ICU. However for pediatric trauma cases, we were to stay alert as most of the victims were brought in by the persecutor.

The kid was brought in by his father with a swollen elbow. I had been a detail questioner; always asking detail so that I could compose a nice and lengthy history. The father however had shown a hostile manner when I asked him about the detail of how the kid had fallen. The act had instantly raised my suspicious of family violence. I had told the father politely that I had to evaluate the story and construct a trauma mechanism so that I wouldn’t missed out any possible hidden trauma.

It was partially true as I need to dig the story out. If the story was false, you would find inconsistent content and conflicting statement.

The triage nurse had later came to me and told me that the kid had told her that he was beaten by his mother when his father was making a call. Well, I told the triage nurse to call the police.

The kid was isolated to the resus room after the xray and the police came minutes after the xray shown up on my pacs system. A fracture was noted over the elbow and the police was introduced to the father. I told the father straight that I knew the incident from the beginning and this was against the law.

I told the young cop who came with his colleague that the kid needed to be sheltered tonight. It was almost 11 when the police finished the interrogation and told me that he would bring the kid back to the station and hand over to the social service for custody.

Well, everything seems nice. I was actually tied up at that time as 3 chest pain patients had poured into ED and I had a few a trauma patients to attend to at that time. By 12 midnight, the young cop had however came back to me and told that the kid was released back to the father for care as the social service felt that no shelter service was needed. I couldn’t believe my ears and told the young cop I would call up his senior/social service and tried to make things right.

I had called up the social worker on call and he told me that the shelter plan was rejected by his supervisor even though he opposed with the decision. I told him that I need to speak with the supervisor and tried to push for the sheltering the kid.

The supervisor had called me back moments later as the social worker on call said that he would relate my message to his supervisor and asked me to wait.

The call back was received about 15 minutes later. The supervisor said that they had handed over the kid back to his father so that he could be protected by his father at his home. Protected my ASS, I grumbled in my heart and trying my best not to burst out any would stating with F and ending with K. I asked the supervisor did them interview the kid and his father tonight. She told me that they had conversation over the phone while they were placed in the police station. I asked the supervisor had she heard the conversation of the father calling the mother while they were in ED. They supervisor just kept quiet. I told her that I would not tell her what was that content and that was very crucial for the shelter order to be issued. I further told the supervisor that I had glanced through the kid medical chart and found that he was admitted 8 months ago after he ingested some detergent in the house. The kid was later referred to a medical center and suspect of child abuse was impressed at the time. The supervisor asked me that did we report the case as she had not received any report while reviewing the case just now. I replied that I was not the attending physician and did not know about the condition. She immediately told me that than the social service department would fine us as we fail to do so. Wow, I was irritated by her act and told her that it was her jurisdiction to do so but I demanded that the kid to be sheltered tonight as I felt that he would be in danger further more how could the social service made such reckless decision without even seeing the case in person. The supervisor had however had told me that they would visit the case tomorrow morning and avoiding my question. I was tired of her bringing me rounding the park tactic and told her that I strongly suggest that the kid to be sheltered and hung up.

It was 3am when most of the patients were cleared out from the ED.

I spent another 30 mins written a long complaint letter to the email of county director of social service. I went off at 8am that morning, slept till afternoon and woke up wasting my life as a couch potato that day.

The next day was Monday after the morning patient rush, I decided to called up the local police officer in charge of the domestic violence division.

He told me that the kid was still under care of his parents and he was frustrated as I was because he could do nothing to change the situation.

I called up the director’s office and told the secretary to check the email and referred the matter ASAP.

1 hour later, I received a call from the domestic violence section head. She had looked into the matter and apologized for what had happened. She told me that they had visited the kid the next day and the family had only opened the door at 10am. I replied the section head that this was the best proof that they family could not provide any proper care. The parents had slept through the morning without proper feeding the pain killer to the kid in the morning. Well, however the section promised me that in the future they would see the victim before any decision is made. I told her the supervisor threat was the most irritating part as I was the civilian and the official had tried her best not to make things right but tried to threaten me just to fence the incident off.

Later in the afternoon, I got a call from the director herself. It was quit embarrassing as she had apologized and thanked me again which I thought was unnecessary as all I wanted was proper care of the kid.

Well, I had felt not right after the incident and brought all of my AR and Glock to the shooting range and sprayed thousand of round of BB that weekend.

I had however read through some info after the incident. The country social service was evaluated by the Convention of the children right in 2017, the committee had found that the shelter rate of abuse children was too high and since then the social service of all county had tried their best to reduce sheltering abuse children. Really pain in the Axx and the local children protection alliance had objected multiple times regarding the government of reducing sheltering rate.

Well, I had told myself if the we had a rotten policy than I shall walk the edge and try something…

Next time I would keep the kid in ED/ward until daylight where I could face the social service and tried my best to fight for something better……

                         

GE15 ..... no looking back

 

My anxiety increased after I sent out my ballot. I had glancing through the net trying to find any trace that would suggest and turnover. I was disappointed though as without support from the eastern bloc, no miracle could happen.

I clearly understood that if the religious gang remained at the seat in the parliament; the condition would be worsened.

I was working on the day of vote casting. I had switched to astro awani channel on the net and Malaysia Chinese News channel for a precast speculation.

The info I received was stunning as most of the commenter had claimed that Malay folks had switched their support to the moon/become-one pact as the bribery issues torched the arena.

I was disturbed the whole day and the vote count was not even half way when I drove home.

I slept late even though I knew that DSAI would not make the cut but yet I still cross my finger hoping for a miracle.

I woke up after few hours of sleep; hung parliament as expected.

The next few days are games of poker with bluffing and calling out for support.

Twisted view of how to form a parliament were presented over the media but politicians and experts. I still remembered the book written by Lord Jeffrey Archer, “First among equals”. It briefly described how the parliament would be formed after an election.

The status declaration was actually not the key for party’s leaders as proof of having enough support. However those backdoor walkers had tried to hypnotized the public about the SD myth since the triumph by Sheraton’s move.

The formation of government is something between the YDPA and various party leaders. Party/coalition with the most member of parliament electees will be consulted first and given a reasonable period to form the government. If the leader could not form the government by the period thence the leader with 2^nd most electees will be consulted and so on.

However those leaders from the religious/become-one pact had under estimated the wisdom of our ruler persistently trying to spread the news that they had enough SD as proof of support.

After 1+ weeks of struggle, a unity government was formed. The Brits had really done a good job of leaving back a good system. Every key component had acted accordingly and the name of back door had vanished and hopefully not heard again for a very long time….

It took another week for the cabinet to be formed and yet some supporter had expressed disappointment about the list as it was not distributed according to the ratio of MP.

I would praise the leaders of DSAI pact that they had done it beautifully generating the list. Attack from the racist bloc was fenced off with the rocket faction making way as a strategic retreat.

As I watched DSAI sworn in from the TV live; a thrill had flown through my nerve. I was excited and finally we got a chance to move forward. A small step at the moment but hopefully the path to my retirement in the homeland could be paved bit by bit in the future.

 

 

GE15 - the begining

 

The bolehland was having a rough ride after GE14. I was quite upset the result of the Sheraton move. I hate to see good fella leaving some crucial spot. However nothing could be done as everything was lost.

Those ministers from the religious based pact had expressed their point of views which were unacceptable from the point of view of human right and gender equality. I was hoping thing would change during GE15. However DSAI’s faction had slowly dissolved bit by bit as time passed. The result of by-election and early election of southern states had made me more worried. The chances of DSAI to gain control had faded and I was not optimistic about the final outcome of GE15.

Traitors and jokers were those figures that I wished to see their fall.

I had opted for oversea voting as I had not fixed my date for my home going plan when the rumor of parliament dissolution spread over the media.

We had four votes in the family as the age for voting was lowered. I did the application for four of us and hoping that we would get the ballot paper in time for GE15. The approval came shortly and all I could do was wait for the date.

When the date was declared and detail of oversea voting came out; my anxiety increased day by day. Over the chat group, some fellow Malaysian had gotten their ballot paper and there were no a single trace of our mail.

Finally the fedex envelops came and only 4 days left for me to return it to the office. No way to get it in time even if we sent it via courier.

However there were dedicated Malaysians in Taiwan who had coordinated a great project to get those oversea ballots to the proper offices in time. Collecting point was set up and all we need to do is to hand over our sealed envelope at the relevant spot. A network was established; volunteers would relay our ballot from the local pick up spot to the airport in Taiwan. Those home going Malaysians would spare their luggage capacity for those ballot. On arrival in Malaysia, more volunteers would dispatch the papers to the local office.

I was post call on the day of handing in my papers. I drove home after my shift, take a good shower and left our house with Ving. I called up the volunteer when I arrived in K City. The pickup point was in front of a tall business building. It was difficult to find a car park and I had walked 1km to the pick-up point. I called the fellow Malaysian and he had shown up minutes later. The handing over process was done in detail with proper signature. After the completion of the handover, I show my fist and told the fellow Malaysian, “lets drag them down” and he returned a grin….

I handed over 5 papers and please don’t ask me how those envelops were sealed….

I told Ving that we had done our part and the fate of our homeland would be decide by all other our fellow Malaysian...

I enjoyed a good hong kong styled lunch and headed back home for a good nap before my night shift that day….

home going- final leg

 

The next day was a thrilling one, as we had planned a tour up north to visit some of my aunts. It had been 3 years since my parents visited their relatives and some of them had been not well since the covid.

We had a good dim sum meal and started the journey. I had driven the Sorento in the past and it had similar setting like the fefe I had currently. Well, something was not right when I drove out from the petrol station. The steering could not be fluently steered. Definitely something wrong with the power steering, my heart sunk but yet I could live with it, I had read about power steering failure which leading to heavy steering during drive and it seems like a kacang puteh in my currently situation.

All I could do was prayed, hoping I could complete the journey of 700km….Long way to go and yet I still felt piece.

We had reached Malacca after 2 hours drive with 2 stops for refreshment. We met with aunt(mother’s side) and her family. I had a good chat with my cousins and exchanged our view about the bolehland. 2 weeks to go before GE15, the discussion was pessimistic as it would be a great challenge for DSAI's pact to have enough seats to command the parliament. We left Malacca after lunch and reached Seremban at 4+pm.

I had dropped my parents at the hotel’s lobby and proceeded to the basement for parking. The orange 4wd light was lit on when I parked the car. A green 4wd symbol will lit on when the 4wd mode was engaged but the orange light means trouble.

Double jeopardy !, I yelled to myself. Now I had two problems to worry about. Could I complete the left over 500+km or should I turn back. Turning back means I had to leave Ving at her house and met her at the KLIA on the day of return flight. Proceeding means I had to tolerate the thrill of facing major problem of the car the whole journey.

I was too tired to think more and dipped into the bed for a short nap after a good hot bath.

I woke up 1 hour later and gone to the famous baked crab shop at the Seremban Seafood Village for dinner.  

The orange 4wd light was on again as I driven out the car from the basement. I called up my Hyundai mechanic at K city during the dinner with my parents. My mechanic told me that it should be fine if the drive is smooth. The light is most probably due to differential lock malfunction which means the car lost its AWD mode and driving in 2WD only. It was a relief when I change to the output distributing page while driving. Indeed, the page had shown that power is only limited to the front wheel only.  

The crab was tasty but not my cuppa of tea; the sauce was not sweetened like the one we had at the Seremban Siew Pao restaurant. I slept early that night despite of the anxiety regarding the drive. I had to surrender everything to the great one as the rest of the 500+km lies at his mercy…

We woke up early the next day and had our dinner at a shop nearby. I had dried pork noodle and pao which were deliciously made. We visited my elder aunty and later proceeded to KL for another night stay.

Despite the disturbing orange light and steering, the drive was smooth. We spent a day in KL and I had wandered around the Pearl Point that afternoon. It had been a long time ago, when three of us (my cousin, my bro and I) roved around that area. We were high school student then. My cousin who was same age as us was not very good at study and took up a job as electrician after high school. He never got married and stayed with my aunt. He had always been an optimistic person. He had suffered from an bike accident few years ago and had recovered fully after months of using crutches. We had a good chat that night, a simple life he had led and may grace be with him always…

We proceeded to Setia alam to pick up Ving the next day. It would be the final day for us and we would be travelling back to Taiwan the next day. After the unsatisfying crab meal, we headed again to the Seremban Siew Pao city restaurant for another trial of crab dish. It was as cheap as it was and delicious.

The journey back to Kulai was uneventful and we had made stop at the R&R and bought some Malay biscuit.

I had only told my parents during our dinner back in Kulai about the car condition. They were shattered but nothing to shout about as I had completed the amazing journey with grace. The visits to our relatives was priceless, I was the messenger as assigned….

We had a good night sleep and boarded the flight back to KL operated by MAS. It was a smooth flight and we had stopped again at the old town café at KLIA for the final meal before boarding again.

It was another perilous journey which was completed by passing so many obstacles. Everything had to be in order and no mistake was allowed. The planning stage and the execution stage was not flawless; with hiccup, I was able to retreat in one piece and I had to admit that the walk with the Great one was truly amazing…..

Home going - arriving home

 

After reaching my in law’ house, I had proceeded with the sim card installation. You just can’t leave home without any connection nowadays. Well, it took me awhile to finalized the setting as the scanning via OUR phones (yes…all the phones available in the house) were not successful.We hit the road at 5pm and reaching Subang airport at 6pm. It was a slow drive as we got trapped in the rush hour array. I was grateful with my bro in law that taken his time to sent my there.

Subang airport was one of the memorable places for me. It was the main hub for travelling since my college days. I had remembered the drive to the airport. I had always felt sorrow on the way to the terminal as I need to leave my love one behind during those days.

Well, the Subang airport had transformed into a domestic airport. Rumors had said that double A had tried to take over the terminal as it home base but was rejected by the government. Subang airport is located just outskirt of the capital; one could consider it as one of the most convenient airport. It is currently flown by MAS owned firefly and a few flight companies operating domestic flight.

The flight to choose from was limited and I had to settle for the flight at 8pm. The arrangement had allowed me to enjoy a dinner at the food court. I was not sure about the info over the net but yet I had laid my eye on Malay food. Nothing comparable to a good spicy Malay dish followed by a desert as finish. I found the shop Kopitiam after a short tour around the terminal. I joined the queue line to order food. Two Malay ladies had ordered nasi goreng plus a ABC kurang manis. ABC kurang manis; first time ever I had heard such ordering.

Well, without hesitation, I had ordered a mee goreng mamak and ABC kurang manis. I was served in a short while and the mee goreng was a thumb up and the ABC kurang manis was as sweat as I could tolerate. Well, imaging how my sugar level would rise if I had ordered a normal ABC.

After 3 years, I finally had a classic malay meal....I grinned while looking at the empty plate and bowl; I am finally back to homeland…..

The flight was slightly delayed to make way for a newly form airline. Not sure if the airline had pulled string to get this kinda of advantage. I boarded the flight as planned and reached Senai airport as planned. The airport was not crowded and I found my way to the taxi stand without difficulty. I was greeted by my parents at the gate. It had been three years since I saw them….

They had prepared a load of night market food for me as supper. I had shared part of my food with my bro’s newly adopted pet dog.

I did not slept early that night as I had a in depth discussion with my younger niece; from computer to novel and loads of topic. Discussion about THREE BODY with a standard six kids ? Well, both of us had exchange our view and broaden our imagination….