Thankfully I have a garden at home the size of a small toilet! So it’s a breeze cutting the grass with my electric lawn mover. However, I haven’t quite perfected the art of cutting the grass evenly (which makes me respect those professional grass cutters immensely). After my effort, the garden usually looked like it had a very bad hair day! But, at least I haven’t (and I hope I won’t) injured myself while using that electrical contraption!
Thurs, 290606 @ 1558
Got this off the ‘youtube’ website when I searched ‘Erectile Dysfunction’. It’s not in English but then again, with ads like this, who needs to know the language?
Some may find the ad offensive (if you feel that you are likely to belong in this group, please practise extreme self restrain and refrain from clicking the link below). 
Personally I do not find it offensive. I think it’s a very well done ad and has all the right ingredients: informative, attractive, entertaining and laced with a bit of humor. How come we don’t see ads like this in Malaysia?
So, click and enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VLJ0tMZ3as
Thurs, 290606 @ 1531
Work’s almost done for the week. My week ends early as I have taken leave tomorrow. The sea breeze and the sound of the gentle lapping of the water upon the shores beckon me and my family. Yup, it’s time to unwind again and judging by the weather the past few days, I think we are going to get a healthy tan this time round.
The patient load in my ward is dwindling slightly which is good news indeed. The last few weeks have seen a dramatic jump in patients admitted for dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever and even one or two dengue shock syndrome patients. I think the fact that the horrendous rain has stopped since last Sunday has contributed significantly to the reduction in patient load.
Thankfully most of our patients survive and recover pretty quickly. Others are not so fortunate. We have an average of 1-2 dengue related deaths a month despite intensive and sustained resuscitative efforts.
Here is a list of the hot areas in KL:
1. Subang Jaya (I sincerely believe it should be renamed as Lubang Jaya)
2. Shah Alam and some parts of Klang
3. Old Klang road
4. Kerinchi and Vista Angkasa area
5. Parts of Kajang
6. Parts of Puchong
Those staying in these areas, please take care and make sure there are no mosquitoes breeding nearby. Dengue is preventable and if we all play a role, I am sure we can see more lives saved.
Thurs, 290606 @ 1526
Yesterday I went to my gym, for the last time. Ironically it was also the first time that I brought along a guest (an old friend whom I have not seen for ages). Guests pay RM15. The workout was so so but it was a good time to catch up with one another.
I did write earlier about the reasons why I am leaving the gym; mainly because I have been, over the months, became disenchanted with the services offered there. I am not sure if I will end up joining a rival gym but at this moment probably not.
I’ve been working on ‘cleaning up’ my data for my thesis every day for the past one week. It’s really tough work and by the end of the day my eyes see stars due to prolonged staring at the computer screen.
Why the rush? Well, mainly because since I joined ID, I haven’t had much free time to work on it (this week most of the bosses are away, so things are kinda easy) and most importantly, the statistician (Dr Quek, whose brain is all numbers and formulas) whom I have been working with, is leaving the service, for good! I think today will probably be the last day I get to sit with him and go through the data again. I hope I can learn a trick or two in analysing the data. It’s quite distressing.
It’s Grand Round day today. Sigh….
Thurs, 290606 @ 0800
He was just a young kid, barely 20 years old; an Indonesian, hired to work in a plantation. He was admitted into my ward (P2 in Hospital Kuala Lumpur) on the night that I was on call as a House Officer.
You could hear him a mile away. He was wild, kicking and screaming! Eyes wide like saucer plates, his half naked body gleaming with sweat. And he was panting, muttering some guttural words.
Three security personnel had to hold him with his iv line and drip. In a flash, he managed to escape their clutches and yanked out his iv catheter. Blood flowed freely from the newly exposed wound. He tried to run out the door but it was blocked by the security personnel. We (nurses, my senior specialist and yours truly) encircled him. He looked at us in a wild uncomprehending manner.
Seeing that he had no way of escape, he turned and sucked the free flowing blood into his mouth and spat the scarlet fluid at us! My specialist was bathed in bloody spots and so was a few nurses. I managed to avoid the literal ‘blood bath’.
Thinking back, I must have been insane but at that point, I decided to lunge and tried to pin him down. He struggled violently and snapped the strap of my watch and sunk his teeth into my wrist! Thank God he did not draw blood!
We managed to subdue him with an intramuscular jab of haloperidol. During his 2 weeks stay in the ward, he was no longer violent but displayed strange behaviour. For instance, once he loaded his drip stand, the chair and the cabinet beside his bed, onto his bed and he latched up the metal railings on both sides of his bed. On his bed, he would behave as he was sailing and he was the captain. He would pretend that he was looking into his telescope to see some imaginary lands far off an imaginary horizon.
It turned out that he has been behaving strangely for the past 3-4 weeks prior to his admission. According to his work mates, he would go off alone to a nearby hill and ‘meditate’. He was withdrawn and spoke of visions and hearing voices.
We thoroughly investigated him and found no evidence of infection. The psychiatric team finally took over management after 2 weeks, finally convinced that he had no ‘organic brain disorder’.
Last I heard he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. I don’t know what became of him.
Wed, 280606 @ 1420
I have decided to also write a new series called ‘Memorable Referrals’. I will write about some of the interdepartmental referrals I have received working as a doctor.
I shall start the ball rolling by writing about this rather hilarious referral.
It happened 3 years ago when I newly joined this hospital as a Medical Officer. One night, while I was on call in the ER, I received a call requesting me to quickly see a 20 something Malay woman who came in with some non-specific symptoms.
The urgency was because the Xray of her chest was abnormal. On further enquiry, the patient only had generalised body ache. There was no fever and examination of the lungs were apparently normal. I was also told that the blood counts were essentially normal. Still, the one who did the referral was not happy as the Xray, according to him, showed ‘bilateral lower lobe consolidation’ or in layman’s term, both lungs have infections in the lower parts.
I had my doubts given that the patient was reportedly well. My doubts were confirmed when I saw the Xray of the patient. There were indeed bilateral lower zone haziness but it was because the patients was rather blessed with an ample pair of breasts!
The ‘haziness’ was her ‘breast shadows’.
Wed, 280606 @ 1412
This is the place my family will be going to this weekend. Am looking forward to it! And it had better be sunny too! 
Wed, 280606 @ 1215
Not fair right, if I only give a pic to my son and not my daughter. It’s like that in my family, everything has to be duplicated to avoid sibling rivalry.
Daddy loves you equally too!
Wed, 280606 @ 1155
I took this pic yesterday. He was a 40 year old man, who was recently diagnosed with HIV and pulmonary tuberculosis. He complain of the itchy rash all over the body especially on his face and limbs. Topical creams didn’t work and anti-histmamines mildly alleviated his problem.
This a close up shot of it. The lesion is known as Nodular Prurigo, commonly seen in immunosuppressed patients. They tend to resolve on their own once the patient’s immunity has improved.
Wed, 280606 @ 1150
I got this pic from one of my reader’s blog (with permission). This pic is for my son, Ryan, knowing how much he loves the chicken little character in the cartoon. He even sings the “We are the Champion” song real well, complete with the ad libitum sound effects!
May you learn to persevere and know that even the smallest creature has its day!
Love, Daddy.
Wed, 280606 @ 1141
