24/10/11 A YO YO MISSI....

In 1975, just few months before my SPM examination, I caught a typhoid. I was admitted to the Alor Setar General Hospital. I was confined for about seven weeks. Remembering those days, it was real interesting. The first day, the doctor took the serum from my back bone. The feeling once the needle penetrated the in between the bone; no words could describe. I felt my whole teeth seem to fall down. My whole body later shivered. I was then to rest on my side for almost six hours with no movement. At the age of 17 years old, a very active person, such a treat is just like placing me in the graveyard.

(2) Interestingly, later I woke up fresh and able to walk freely in the ward of 30 patients. I began to read all those doctors' notes on the patients head beds, and I really don’t bother when the nurses wanted me to just sleep and stay put on my bed. I just told them I want to be a doctor and I must learn what a doctor does. After lots of persuasion and even arguing with the doctors, later I got the permission to help the hospital ward warden to help to distribute the food to the patients. I spent most of my time reading and studying preparing for my SPM. Seven weeks without classes really made me uneasy. Sometimes I referred my biology subject with the doctor on duty and staff nurses. But Allah is always with me, I managed to pass with good grade despite having to study on my own. That was the hikmah that Allah had given me: a will for self improvement.

(3) The best memory probably was, there was this old Indian patient who was just two beds apart from me. In the middle of the night he used to scream a yo yo missi, a yo yo missi……many times that made the whole ward to hum like the disturbed bees. The nurses then will rush to his call. One night, I get to him and said: Dei….apa hal malam-malam kalu, mesti a yo ayo missi…a yo yo missi... orang tarak boleh tidurlah. His replied was: manyak sakitlah kalu malam-malam. Of course I put my argument back: Sini semua oran sakit juga. Mana ada oran sihat. Kalau sihat mana oran ada sini. Diam-diamlah, itu missi sudah kasi ubat makanlah….. The nurse, the other patients, and surely the old Indian person were puzzled with me. And he put me off later: Apa lu cakap besar. Lu bukan doktor….. Well a boy being a boy, my replied never stop: Saya doktor kalu, saya cucuk lu bisu tau!, the staff nurse whom then becoming my good friend, just dragged me back to my bed and said: Awak garanglah. Doktor mana boleh garang. Kalau awak jadi doktor, kakak tak nak kerja dengan awak, but she said it with a very sweet smile. I don't remember her name, but she came from Penang and want me to be her foster brother. I just want to thank her here for her kindness and morale support when I was alone faraway from everybody that I love.

(4) Last Friday I admitted myself to the Normah Medical Center (NMC). Months before, I made sure I have prepared my body to be able to take up the challenge. In fact the trip that I made to Thailand, Laos and Cambodia in September was part of the preparation ie to loosen my body fat so that the operation can go smooth and fast. It is just like skinning the cattle, once the fat is not there, then the doctor will have nice good job in handling the blood vessels and any related tissues. Accordingly, I never missed my extra Vitamin C dosage. Thanks to my good friend Alex Ting of Sibu who supply me with the soluble tablets. I also beep up my collagen intake as well as all those essential Vitamins and Minerals. All those are necessary to heal the wound fast. My first year medical classes and later human physiology helped me a lot in my self-administering of my health.

(5) My son Haqim drove me to the NMC. After changing to the hospital attire, I just asked him to leave and be back in the evening with my daughter Dewi. I was then wheeled to the Operation Theater by 10.45 hours. The temperature there was real cold. I shivered a lots. The nurses put three blankets to warm me up plus two bed of warm water on both side of my head. I have not taken my breakfast then. My gastric signaling to attack. I was going to face double jeopardy. Gastric and pain form the operation. After signing all those necessary documents, then, I was put on drip which contain powerful drug, morphine. I was then asked to lay on my side and the Theater Assistants began to put some jabs on my back and later the Surgeon pushed one jab into my spinal cord. That was when I began to recalled my 1975 experienced. Then I felt my feet getting warm. I don’t remember anything then. At my request, they put me to deep sleep.

(6) When I woke up, I asked: Are we done? The answer was yes, and I was in the Recovery Room. I can’t move my legs. I don’t feel anything. Only the nurses were with me. It is a real car assembling line. Wheeled–in, opened, pulled, repaired, wheeled-out. mechanical. Simple. Now, physically, I'm bodily injured. Deep cut.

(7) By 11.45 hours I was wheeled back to my room. I requested for the window bed. I asked the nurse to keep my curtain aside. I could see Mt Serapi half covered by the cloud. I was relief. They then left me alone in the room. Both Luqman and Dewi had not arrived. They are still in school and going for the Friday pray.

(8) Slowly, I felt nausea, the effect of the drugs. I was made to fast since Thursday midnight. The bubble of my gastric build up. I felt wanting to vomit. I hold hard. Can’t imagine if I vomited. The operation pain will be horrible then. My mind glared, not clear. My body felt floating. After hours and hours, the pains keep coming, building up and I was given dosage of pain killers. The operation pains and all those at the preparation jabs and injections, united force, really unbearable. Cold sweat on my forehead. My back becoming etchy. That was the time I smiled in pain: Want to scream….a yo yo missi…a yo yo missi. My Luqman dan Dewi were with me then, and probably a woman instinct, Dewi tried to help with my pains while Luqman, his hunter heart, just focused to his internet. Well, at least, I have both of them with me.

(9) The worst, my gastric really attacking hard. I felt my tummy blotting. It really hurt and unbearable. I called for the nurses and telling them my problem. They continue to give me dosage of pain killer. That was probably the only instruction given. It doesn’t work. My tummy kept blotting, I was in deep pain. My mind blurred. Air bubbles began to develop in my body and I can feel my heart warming. I know my gastric problem. I had be administering it without the medicine. The pain due to the jabs, drugs and operation put my body into deep stress and thus triggered the gastric. Worst, I was without food till 1500 hours of the day.

(10) The doctor was not there. I began to wonder how now I have to administer my gastric without those medicine. I never took any medicine in administering my gastric. I just make sure I can fall asleep and rest quietly. But at that point in time, it was impossible. The blotting in fact that made me very uncomfortable. Then I realized that I have been taking lots of water to discharge the drugs in my body. But I don’t feel wanting to ease myself. My mind try to figure out what should I be doing. Then I just made a try, I rang for the nurse. Two trainees turn up, and I told them: I’m blotting. My gastric is bad. Their replied was simple and naïve: Encik pergi kencinglah….. I was still immobile. I can’t walk to the loo. I looked into theirs eyes. Then only they helped me to pass out. I was relief. My blotting subsided. All the other pains subsided.

(11) I began to be able to move my legs at about 2100 hours. But then I was still weak. I just took fish porridge. I drank lots of water. I want to clean my body from all those drugs and medicine. My back etching badly. The nervous effect of the jabs mounting. I belief my nervous system was then making quick recovery and functioning as normal. The pain keep coming. I tried to delay taking the pain killer. I read a book recently, that the more we suppress our normal nervous system, the weaker would be our body defense and recovery system. Later when Dr. Lim Joo Kiong visited me, and asked me about the pain, I just said to him that I should stand by the pain. With that my recovery would be faster. I told him about the book. His replied:”Haya Abdullah, don’t read too much. Take the pain killer”. Well every expert have their own opinion. But we choose the logic. To me the book have some logic, so I just delayed in taking the pain killers. I just don’t want too much poison entering my body, worst since I had my gastric.

(12) Poor those trainee nurses, they have to help me pass-out twice that night before I settled to sleep. I slept well. The next morning I woke up a bit fresh. Have my fish porridge for breakfast. Then I just spent my time on the books that I brought over.

(13) By Sunday, I read all the four books Eisntein, Da Vinci, Musafir, and the Third Alternative. All those books gave me some inspiration what I should be doing come 1 Dec., 2011 when I would just sign off for the last time from public office. As not to annoyed my blog followers, I did made some entries on Saturday and Sunday. I do received some sms, telling me to keep on and some were wondering the meaning of all those entries. Now I believe, all have the answer.

(14) Here, not the a yo yo missi that disturbed me but the words: Ada kencing, ada berak….. Those words sound very rude and there in fact better words than those: Ada buang air kecil, ada buang air besar…. Today generation, they can’t use the correct word correctly. I hope what Muhhydin Yasin want to do with our Malay language will improve thing.

(15) Kencing, berak…say it then feel it! Want me to Kencing lu punya muka ka? or Apa hal you berak dalam ofis?. All those can have double meaning, and can be bad. I had many times told my young executives even among the ladies, it is not polite to use the word: I mahu pergi kencing dulu, I just adviced them why not you just say: I need to go to the wash room, ke bilik air sekejap. Even the word jamban also doesn't sound good. There is a word: Bilik Air. To me it is all about politeness. A Malay in particular, is a well sopan santun person. Without which, the Malay may just be a barbarian the word derived probably from biadap, kurang ajar, tak cukup ajar.

(16) My operation was about a rapture in my abdomen tissue lining due to some heavy and prolong cough that I experienced last year. This syndrome seem normal, one for every 100,000 men. With this, I must then avoid seriously to be caught in flue, since flue always trigger my cough. I really hate those guys who smoke and have no concern about others health, while they smoke to their joy. Smoking always agitate me and usually cause me to flue. Today, I asked for a discharge and love to rest with music and more books to read.

(17) To those, whom I had made my operation a secret, just bear with me: I love to be alone and testing myself that way. I’ll be facing much difficult life ahead, I just want to experience those now. Tak elok hidup menyusahkan orang. For those who managed to trace me down, may Allah bless your honesty and sincerity. Take good care of your health.

(18) Thanks to all those nurses that have never stop taking my blood pressure, blood oxygent level, temperature and asking those jittery questions: ada kencing, ada berak, ada minum , ada makan, worst ada sakit?. Anywhere I joke with them most of the time and try to teach them to ask the more polite questions. I could only remember one of them ie Suriani if not mistaken whom seem to be very polite than the rest.

417 Normah Medical Center, Petra Jaya
31 Oct., 2011