I had the misfortune fortune of being tagged by Bernard to write on Blog Round 12. So, before I start, I would like to lay down some cardinal rules (sorry, no time to consult anyone before the rules were set; anyway, most of them were thought of while sitting on the lofty throne in the mornings!)

Rule 1: The Blog Round shall henceforth be numbered using the Arabic Numerals (i.e 1, 2, 3 and so on and so forth). I can’t imagine using the ‘I’s, ‘V’s, ‘X’s and ‘M’s in long sentences in the not too distant future. Everyone say ‘aye’??

Rule 2: Anyone being victimized tagged to write on the Blog Round shall NOT be tagged again for at least another 10 Blog Rounds! Every one again say ‘aye’??

Rule 3: We shall steer back to the original noble intention of sticking to doctor’s blogs only and will only seek final recourse in other blogs if the pickings are lean for that week! (I can sense voices of dissent even as I type this! Gulp)

Rule 4: No one should spend so much time and attention to a Blog Round Writeup (like what my predecessor did) and writing one of such lofty standards that mere mortals like me cringe when tagged to do the next one! It’s not fair. ;-P

And now, let the round begin!

The wonders (and curse) of the Chinese language seem to rule the medical blogosphere this week. Bernard did a fantastic job of translating his English presentation into Chinese using tools found on the www and landed a pretty pic in the Nanyang Siang Pau! Well done Bernard!

I blame my parents for not sending me to a chinese school when I was young (they registered too late and there were no more places) and so spent much of my teenage years being labelled as a ‘banana man’ (yellow on the outside and white inside, gettit?). Otherwise, I (and legions of us banana people) would be able to make sense of Blooddoc’s take on CML. I am very sure it’s an interesting article, if only I could read Chinese!

YY Yap announced the official naming of his son, Ethan, and had a bit of trouble with the Chinese character part which got wonderfully sorted out, again thanks to the internet. What would we ‘banana’ people do without the internet! Anyway, congratulations Yap!

Sbanboy proudly announced that he has lost 2kgs since joining the gym and is now moving on to the pink of health! Before long, he will give RAIN a run for his Korean money! Keep up the good work brother! On the subject of exercise, docfiles has a unique way of keeping fit at work. You gotta see it to believe it!

While surfing the net, I was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar face on Fibrate’s blog! Not the clown, silly, it’s the sweet lady next to the clown! I have seen her a number of times in this hospital but have never spoken to her. Maybe I should just go and say “Hi Fibrate”!! She found a measure of cheer next to a clown, who was a HO in disguise; part of the hospital’s noble effort to bring some cheer to the place.

Shah shared about his recent trip to Kuala Selangor with tantalising pics on his blog! It made me hungry just reading it! The last time I went it was pitch black, just to see the fire-flies. I didn’t know Kuala Selangor has so much more to offer.

Two weeks ago, one of my tutee approached me for my approval for her to pursue her elective at Langkawi Island where she plans to learn more about making Gamat Oil. Spinosum tells us more about ‘Gamat’ which is the local name for the Sea Cucumber. It is believed by the Malay folks to have medicinal values, hence you can find gamat oil, gamat paste, gamat tablets, gamat powder, gamat just-about-anything which purportedly cure just about everything in the medical world! Chinese people generally just cook ‘em and eat ‘em! But as Spinosum pointed out, when we are at wit’s end and the doctors have no more answers, anything that offers a glimmer of hope would be embraced. Wouldn’t you?

Suann reminds us again of the bloopers we commit as health care providers and that we should not be too hard on the patients, the nurses and ultimately, ourselves. Everyone deserves a second chance.

I think we, as health care providers, have been placed in a unique position of being privy to the joys and unfortunately, more often than not, the sorrows of the people we care for. Swee Kheng  ponders on the sacrifices that primary carers go through, all in the name of love (or otherwise) in his ode to daughters, husbands and grandchildren

Finally, allow me to take the opportunity to expose unveil our latest DOC ON THE BLOG: Two Woods, who gave us a hilarious account of being trapped in a lift. Welcome aboard Two Woods! Sorry I had to expose you prematurely. Your article was too good not to be shared!

And Blog Round 12 comes to an end. I hope I have done justice to the task entrusted to me! I don’t know who to tag next. I will just leave it to the general consensus. But remember the cardinal rules ya….especially Rule No: 2.