I guess only certain people are allowed to wear yellow these days

4am - the most dangerous time of the day

Yup, I somehow is still surviving this inhumane 36+ hours oncall system and yesterday, the worst thing happened to me, or should I say, the innocent ECG machine.

I don't get it. I've already assessed the patient and deemed that he just needed some chest physiotherapy and suction to help with his breathing and as soon as I stepped into the oncall room for less than 2 minutes, the nurse calls me saying that MO's orders were to take an ABG, order chest xray and do an ECG for the same patient. Ok, ABG was fine, at least I was successful at the first attempt.

ECG was another issue. I just don't understand why on earth that house officers at UMMC are made to do ECGs for patients. This is damn stupid. As if the machine could electrocute the patient or something. Well, the ECG machine was more dangerous than it seemed. It has the potential to fracture a bone or two.

I was waiting for the ECG machine to print, but then somehow, it's ink finished and I couldn't get a clear picture. So, I politely asked the nurse if they could get another ECG machine which was returned by verbal directions to where the other ECG machine was hidden. Ok, fine, I had to go find the machine myself.

First warning sign that something was about to happen...... I started wheeling it and the extension plug resting on the wall dropped. So, I unplugged it and started moving it again.........

This time, the whole machine came crashing down while doing a somersault in mid air just before it landed a few millimeters from my foot with a big 'thud' as there was another power cable connected to another power point which I'd didn't realise after removing the first one at 4am in the morning.

Yes, it died and was beyond salvageable and at that point in time, I just couldn't be bothered. I think I woke the whole ward up and nurses were threatening me that I needed to pay compensation for it. Whatever......I'd never learned how to handle ECG machines gently plus is it our job to do ECGs? This is just ridiculous. What a waste of resources and I've caused more wastage.

Never get a doctor for whatever reasons at inhumane hours of the night. We pose a dangerous threat not only to the patients but also to ourselves. Why do doctors need to work inhumane hours for the benefit of mankind? Aren't we humans too? If someone starts collecting data on the number and types of mistakes made by doctors working inhumane hours, it will be appalling.

I'm still wondering if I have the right to refuse to manually ventilate a patient in the CT scan room as I'm unhappy with the amount of radiation that I'm exposed to. Well, I don't even have the basic human right to practice safe working hours, what more avoidance of risks of cancer. Can we get compensated if we develop brain tumours or Alzheimers in future? Who knows what are the long term effects of constant exposure of high doses of xrays. My memory is getting poorer, thanks to the constant dying brain cells and mutations from all those beams.

I hate doing ECGs. I hate giving IV drugs. I feel that we should be learning more to be doctors rather than doing jobs which doesn't require 5 years of medical training to carry out. I rather learn when is appropriate to order ECG and then interpret that ECG.

When will be the time where all Malaysian doctors practice safe working hours? When will be the time where people start making changes for the better of the future generation rather than using examples from the 'good old days' to shut us up?

I think the effect is already there

Rally or no rally, I think by now, whoever is interested in the politics of Malaysia or who are inconvenienced by the road blocks are aware that there's a fight for the right to a clean election.

It's such an irony that this rally is considered 'illegal' as if you look at it objectively, it's a rally to do the righteous thing. The only effect is that it gives the present government a bad reputation and this whole thing becomes a 'threat'.

All that built-up of tension leading to today will have an impact. I think it has raised awareness too all Malaysians that we want a clean and fair election and most importantly, we want a government who can bring Malaysia to greater heights with solutions to corruptions, high crime rates, inequality, etc. that we all have been suffering from all this while.

This rally will be an interesting start. Even people as ignorant as me will be affected one way or the other. I'm looking forward to the elections.

Please register as a voter if you're of qualifying age. You'll need to be registered for at least 6 months prior to the elections to be eligible to vote. More information on how to register at http://www.spr.gov.my/

I would be delighted if all roads leading to UMMC are blocked tomorrow as I'll be oncall. Let there be 0 admissions tomorrow for medical. Hahahahahaha. Since I'm doing cardiology, I'm worried that there may be elderly at home who gets too angry at their children for misbehaving during this stressful times and they get a heart attack and end up in my ward. Nooooooooo. Please practice a healthy lifestyle, cut down on that coconut milk, and go for 30 minutes workouts at least 3 times a week.

Redang Island through pictures

 It was my first time setting foot in Terengganu's soil and here I was, after a 55 minutes flight from KL and this was the sight that greeted me:

 I felt like I've traveled back in time where there's no high rise buildings. Reminds me a lot of Kelantan and Sandakan but this was further back in time.

 Kuala Terengganu from the highest building in Chinatown.

 Sweet steamed cake. Very concentrated with egg.

After eating so much, we finally made our way to Redang island. It took half an hour by land and another hour by speed boat. I'm so glad that I have no motion sickness. All that traveling paid off as I stepped into a different world:

 The view took my breath away.

 We stayed at Redang Holiday resort and the first thing on our itinerary was buffet lunch. Throughout our stay, I'm so glad that we had good food at every meal.

 Relaxing while waiting for our turn to go snorkeling.

 I thought that my spot was the most conducive place to take a nap and forget about all the worries as it was really shady and that constant cool sea breeze blowing at 12 noon was making me sleepy. At the final moment before I achieved 'inner peace', I looked up and saw......

 Coconuts hanging directly over my head which can give way to gravity at any split second.....maybe it's time to choose another spot.

Yup, I moved to another spot with a more comfy beach chair and brought along my mp3. I fell asleep before I could understand what inner peace was. Anyone who hasn't watched Kungfu Panda 2 should really go watch it. I loved that movie. Sorry, straying away from the topic.

Redang is all about postcard scenery, snorkeling, relaxation, snorkeling and monkeys...

 This was one monkey spotted resting on the water pipe.

 

 And another 2.

 This was our accommodation at the resort with no more monkeys in sight as it was noon time and the sun was hot and blazing.

 Enough about monkey, let's move on to snorkeling, the highlight of the trip. I love snorkeling!!!! How I wish that I had scuba diving license too. The fishes and corals seemed so far from me.

 On our way to Anchor Rock, one of the snorkeling spots.

 Bored LC who wasn't too eager to snorkel and she was still tired from the previous snorkeling expedition. Redang is all about the sea. It'll be such a waste if you don't snorkel.

 Such beautiful colour.

 I loved the clear aqua colour of the sea. So beautiful! I wanted to count the number of colours of the Parrot fish but each fish seemed to be of different colours. I even saw a school of anchovies swimming past me. So cute!

 After snorkeling. Tiring but fun.

 Let's hope that we get back to the Resort with LC steering.

 LC and I

 The time flew by so fast while we were snorkeling. Our holiday package came with 3 snorkeling trips and they were worth it.

 One of the main highlights was snorkeling at Marine Park. 

 I remember our guide catching one of the smaller fish to lure out the giant moray eel hiding behind the rocks. So scary.....I thought all fishes were vegetarians but this one was carnivorous. So scary. Photo is taken from this website.

 On our way home.

 If I could take strolls along the beach every single day like this.

 Pass by corals washed up shore by the waves.

 Take dips in the sea whenever the weather got too hot.

 Enjoy the night life without worries.

Life will be .......mundane for me after a while. I think you didn't expect that coming, didn't you? It's good to be relaxed for a short while, but not too long as I'll end up becoming too bored and lazy.

 Pisang goreng (banana fritters) and barley tong sui. What more can I ask after all that snorkeling in the sea.

 We had bbq dinner on one of the nights. I didn't expect that the bbq was prepared. I thought I would be sitting around a bon fire roasting marshmallows.

 I loved the different variety of pulut pangang. Usually it's filling is made of dried prawns but this was of fish. Delicious! Please don't ask me how many I took.

 Freshly made roti canai for breakfast.

Soon, it was time for us to bid farewell to Redang. I will miss this place. Back to Kuala Terengganu for the afternoon before catching our flight back to Kuala Lumpur.

 Terengganu's nasi dagang. It's very different as compared to the nasi dagang of Kelantan. However, the sweetness is the same. This was super duper sweet.

 Another steamed cake and this time, it's steamed yam cake with pieces of preserved pork topped with dried prawns, chili and friend onion. I love this kuih.

 I was introduced to Jim Kuih (Crab cake in Hokkien dialect). It's RM 10 per piece. It was my first time eating kuih made out of while crab with minced pork and some other secret ingredients. Delicious and it's only available in Terengganu. I've never seen it elsewhere. It's such a delicacy that orders have to be made at least 24 hours before or you won't be able to buy any on the spot. Located at the corner shop in Chinatown.

 Chinatown arch in Kuala Terengganu. This place really reminds me of Liverpool as there is also a grand arch but the number of shops is so few.

I wished that I'd more holidays. I'm dying to travel to somewhere  and escape all the stress at work at my new rotation. Doing cardiology rotation at the moment and all I can say is it's challenging with the number of patients with cardiac problems. Please, cigarettes are so out of fashion nowadays. You don't look cool holding that cancer stick between those fingers.

One of my patient told me today that he thinks that he could start smoking all he wants again after angiogram. It's not even angioplasty or stenting. I don't know if I should start laughing or crying.