"Gentle with the Chain. It's Buddha!"...

I think the service in Canada has impressed me once again...


Ok, so I didn't tell you I got admitted into the hospital last week. It was a small issue (flu, really, how boring can you get?). But I wanted to share about the service...



The fever from the dratted flu had hit a nasty 40.5 degrees Celcius (105 F) in less than a day, and the migraine was bad, real bad. That coupled with the fact that most clinics here require an appointment, I found myself on the way to the hospital.

The emergency room in the area is notorious for having a ridiculously long line (my friend, whose son broke a nose, waited for over 4 hours, before the mother gave up and drove him to a hospital in another county) as it is one of the busiest hospitals in Ontario...Having known this, I chose to use the ambulance when the first aid team on campus proposed getting admitted (TeleHealth Ontario adviced for the ambulance anyhow)...



Since I arrived in the ambulance, I didn't have to wait in line. I thought the doctors would roll their eyes that this Malaysian girl got herself in because of a fever, but I instead got a 'Hon, what took you so long to get in?'...

Turns out, they thought, I had, among other stuff:

1) Meningits...
2) A ruptured Ovarian cyst...
3) Malaria (Mosquitoes in Canada, in Winter?!?)...



But they were surprisingly sweet (including the old-lady-volunteer who made sure I was comfortable; then the meningitis thingy came up and she had to leave because infectious cases are out of bounds for volunteers).

I was alone in isolation (in case it was meningitis), but they were very kind. I had countless doctors and nurses checking on me ("Hon, how you feeling?", "Hi dear, on a scale of 1 to 10, what is your level of pain?", "Sweets, I'm the doctor on call, and I'm gonna ask you some questions, ok?").


And after I was done with my feeble arguments against the lumbar puncture (yeah, like in HOUSE!), I found myself consenting. After they promised my migraine wouldn't get worse...Hehe...


Darn...No mummy to sit with me...Screwed, right?


Turns out, it wasn't so bad. They sent a nurse to hold my hand and she whispered to me throughout the whole thing, and even sat with me till I nodded off from the morphine (finally, no pain, so I drifted to sleep)...

And one funny thing happened in radiology. They removed my Winnie-the-Pooh chain when they did the X-Ray, and I heard one of the nurses saying: "Gentle with the chain. It's Buddha!". If I wasn't in pain, I would have laughed my head off!!!

BUDDHA? It's Pooh!!!



Anyway, I was pretty impressed because I know how busy that emergency department is. Outside my room, I could hear a swarm of activity (the flu season is bad!). And yet the nurse sat with me like that.



And today, I got a call from the hospital, from one of the doctors. He said one of my blood cultures grew a bacteria, and although he suspected very strongly it might be a contaminated sample, he thought he'd checked on me anyway...

Aww, that was pretty sweet. What service! But yeah, drama aside, it was definitely just the flu...

"Come back if you still have a fever, ok? We would be very happy to see you again", he said...



And so it is that I want to record my thanks to the staff of the Emergency Department of Peterborough Regional Health Centre. It's the same hospital I volunteer in (Emergency doesn't know though), and I am very proud that I get to be a part of such a bunch of dedicated staff...



PS: My nose, is still out there, somewhere! ;) Somebody saw it in Malaysia! Hehe...

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My Nose Ran Away, and I'm Going to Find It!...

Sorry it has taken me so long to update. Have been down with the flu. It seems my Canadian experience could not be complete without getting a share of the flu bug. In case you're wondering, 'the flu' is not synonymous with 'the cold', although I wish it was...


I will be taking a break from blogging until this wretched bug leaves my system. Have been missing school and now have a lot of work to catch up on. It does not help the weather is below -30 degrees!


They say if you get the flu shot, you'll either escape the flu or get a lesser version of it. They bluff wan lar...

I got the flu shot, and still got the full effects of it; you heard it from me first: BUGS ARE SMARTER THAN US!


Anyway, will return to blogging once I get my routine back, and...after I find my nose that ran away...


Sources say it is somewhere in Scotland...;)

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In Reflection: 2008...

And now, it’s that time again: Reflecting the year that was (Yeah, I know I am late...Again...)

Boy, it sure feels like I just wrote the reflection for the year 2007! How time flies...



In the year 2007, I was dreaming of meeting Tun Dr Mahathir, busy putting together my scholarship application, getting ready for Canada and wondering if I would survive Autumn.

And I am now in Canada, halfway through Winter, and still very much alive! Indeed, how fast time flies...


2008 was a wonderful year too, in many aspects.

RDA: Shahirah and me...(And I got my braces out too!)

The RDA featured strongly for the first part of the year. I had the opportunity to volunteer both in Penang and Ipoh, where I got to work with many special children, and also with the many horses. There is something very special about being around such beautiful and majestic creatures. Very calming and very humbling...







THE Letter...




Then of course there’s the entire hullabaloo about finally receiving news from the scholarship committee. I had taken so many months to put it together, and they had told me I would be notified by the end of April. So when the news came on the first week of April, I was not prepared in the least.

I gave my poor mother a shock when I called her late at night, blabbering and crying. She started crying too because I was crying...and she didn’t know why I was crying...=)





And then there’s the part where I finally met Tun Dr Mahathir and Tun Dr Siti Hasmah! I was a complete idiot, but it was completely worth it! Enuf said...;)





They don't need introduction, do they?



And a good three months of my life was spent eating, and catching up with people before I left for Canada...The bloggers featured very strongly among the people I was meeting up with...

I am very glad I took that time to meet up with people back home, because it turns out, I won’t be home for at least another one-and-a-half more years...I’ve been busy planning my schedule and by the time I factored in the volunteer work I wanna do, the courses I need to take, the professors I wanna work with (they said yes!!!) and the attachment-positions I’m eyeing, I won’t be home till, the earliest, Summer 2010.

Although I’m very sad I won’t get to see my family and friends for such a long time, not to mention the food I’m missing, I am very excited to see the different things I have ahead of me...



And Canada has proven to be a wealth of experience...





Psychology Department, where I spent most of my days...




I have met so many people from such diverse walks of life. One German girl, Shirin, whom I met in Canada, turned out to be half-Malaysian. Her mother is a Sarawakian...





From left: Izzatul, Me, Shirin, and Asyraf, on traditional clothing night...




Friendship: Who said size matters?!?

I also experienced my first Thanksgiving Dinner...



From top: Kate, Bilen and me (at Kate's Aunt's place)...



I’ve had the opportunity to work in the puppeteer program. From this program, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to many town in Ontario, places I would never have otherwise visited...I have had the chance to meet so many wonderful little children, and talk to them about the importance of standing up for yourself, and why it is important to express yourself. And to hear their responses is simply...wow!






Who said friends have to be two-legged only?



I’ve also had the very rewarding experience of volunteering in the Disability Services Office on campus, working with the senior tutor after office hours. I am very glad I took up this position, because I would not have met such an amazing person otherwise.

Why? Because people always say how scary the senior tutor is and how we should stay away from them because they’re the people you meet when you fail, when you have trouble with your work, when you’re caught cheating etc. In short, the person you should stay away from!

And yet, Derek has proven to be a wonderful source of information, is a great person to talk to, and equally nice to tease!




I’ve also been volunteering in the local hospital, making up document-sets for the staff. I was at first a bit bummed out that I could not work with kids (it’s not a children’s hospital!), but turns out to be very therapeutic, doing nothing but paperwork!

From left: Ee Lynn, me and Ken...



And moving to Canada has given 'family' a whole new meaning. My aunts, uncles and cousins have been great. It's like I suddenly have an older sister and brother too.

I see many of my friends struggling with life here, and end up buying all kinds of clothes that do them no good (not warm enough!), and here I have my cousin, Ee Lynn, and my two aunts, who are very willing to set aside stuff for me, so I don't waste money buying them.

And my cousin, Ken, and my Uncle, they spent the whole Sunday lugging my bags, books, boxes and fridge when I shifted rooms. No joke of a feat, lugging them 3 flights of steps down, down a hall, and up another 3 flights of steps!

Calendar for January...



My 2009 is already brimming with activities, according to my calendar. If you’re wondering how I’m gonna be able to do all that is slotted in, you’re not alone, because I’m wondering the same thing!

But...I’m determined to accomplish them...

After all, life is short, and you gotta live each day to the fullest...Right?

PS: I got a leng-chai professor this term. Everybody was gushing about him ("Ooh, he's so hot!", "Wait till he flicks his hair!", "Aww man, why is he married?"), and I wasn't bothered about it (you've seen one professor, you've seen them all, right?)...

Until I got to class...Guess classes are gonna be interesting this year; even if the class turns out to be super-boring, at least it will be, ahem, aesthetically-pleasing *Winks*

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Palestine Relief Fund...

Dear friends,

As most of you know, there is increasing unrest and blood-shed in Gaza. Hundreds have been killed, many of which are children.


My fellow-blogger Elviza has been appealing for funds for the Palestine Relief Fund, which is undertaken by Mercy Malaysia (Kudos to her!). If you have the means, kindly do think about helping out. If not, help to spread the word around, or remember them in your prayers...



You can read Elviza's post here...

Elviza writes:-


"Therefore, Mercy Malaysia appeals to generous Malaysians to send it cash donations. Contributions will support Mercy Malaysia to procure emergency surgical kits, medicines and hospital equipments to help the hospitals in Gaza.

Cheque is to be made payable to “MERCY MALAYSIA” and addressed to Mercy Malaysia, Level 2, Podium Block, City Point, Kompleks Dayabumi, Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, 50050 Kuala Lumpur.

Cash donations can be made via on-line transmission or deposit at CIMB Bank Account No: 1424-000-6561053.

Donation form can be downloaded from here.

Further enquiries are to be directed to +603-22733999 or info@mercy.org.my"



Thanks everyone!

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