Pain,you have such experience?

For more than three months, I was down with chronic pain on my shoulder and later spread to my arm. X-ray showed that I have disc problem in my neck.
Unless you have suffered such pain, which I hope you should never, you would not understand it. When people shared with me about their pain, I can only pity them and not knowing how to help them.
I went to do physio in GH and one of the therapists there understands it. She pressed "here and there" and my pain dissipated but return again later, but with less intensity. After a few visit, the pain is completely gone.
I asked where she learned this art of "pressing the points", she simply said, it is from the internet! Ok, for those who are more interested, there are a couple of books about this type of pain I am suffering from. Just check out "Trigger point" in google. There are two famous "Red Book". Just in case you are really interested, click here for the book title in Amazon.

 

This cat has perfect heterochromia

This is the first time in my life to see a cat with different eye colour, one blue and one brown!

 I just wonder how is the vision like...

According to my son Jonathan, this is a condition called heterochromia iridum. Read up more about it here.

Update: After I publish this blog, the cat has mysteriously disappeared from my friend's shop in town. Could someone had stolen it or whatever, no one knows.

Most Ignored Cancer Symptoms by Dr Oz

Click here to watch this informative video on early symptom of cancer. I have captured the important points of the video below:

Possible signs of esophagus cancer
Difficulty swallowing; feeling a lump in your throat

Possible signs of stomach cancer
Pain in upper abdomen; heart burn or feel full after small meals

Possible signs of colon cancer
Extended periods of constipation; diarrhea; change in stool size,

Possible signs of bladder or prostate cancer
Pain during urination; blood in urine; change in frequency

Possible signs of leukemia (or many other types of cancer):
General fatigue; overall weakness; unexplained weight loss

Possible signs of lung cancer
Difficulty breathing; persistent cough; chest pain when breathing in,and wheezing

Possible sign of voice box or thyroid cancer
Hoarse voice; unusually husky or deeper voice

Possible signs of skin cancer
Black or brown streaks under fingernail

Possible signs of liver cancer
White or pale fingernails

Possible signs of ovarian cancer
Abdominal pain; pain during intercourse; urgent urination issues

Possible signs of pancreatic cancer
Yellowing of the skin or whites of eyes; dark coloured urine; light grey coloured stool; unusual skin itching

Note: The above is provided for your information. Proper diagnosis must be carried out by doctors. I am not responsible for the accuracy of information provided.

Their exams start today - pls pray for them

Time flies! It has been almost five years ago since they left home to study in a far away land in UK.

Today, is the beginning of their 4 days of exams. It is tough and requires lots of clarity in their mind, as what Janice said in her blog:

" I need prayers! For my exams, esp OSCE! Also pray for others sitting for 5th yr finals: Esther, Thaz, Yau, MH, Cindy, Bette, Ryle n Sing Yee. I think we are all prepared for exams (in terms of knowledge) already but having knowledge is useless if we don't know how to apply it. Nerves are always the main problem which can deter us from thinking clearly and cause us to stumble in our words. So do pray for God's peace and His clarity.

My exams schedule:
5,6th May - written n slide show
11,12th May- OSCE"

OSCE exam is the most feared part of their exam. I think they need to go through 18 stations (simulated patients). After the exams, it also mark the end of their formal education in medical school.
If you know how to pray, please pray for them. Otherwise, pray this exam prayer for them and all their friends:

Our almighty God and Father in heaven, I wanted to acknowledge that you are our God, Lord and Father, You have control over everything. We wanted to thank You for all Your blessing in our lives. Today, I ask Lord that you release your grace and mercy on my (William) two daughters Esther and Janice and all their friends,  Man Hon, Yau Chia Chuin, Thaz Min, Cindy Wong, Fariha Hashim, Kaajal K, Julian Chow and Ryle Leung. As today is the beginning of their final medical school exam, Lord, I ask that Your Holy Spirit to be with them. Lord, give them clarity in their thought, take away their anxiety, give them peace, give them understanding to the questions and help them to answer all questions accurately and clearly. As they go through the OSCE exam, Lord, I ask that You give them extra wisdom, understanding and application of their knowledge. Help them to speak clearly and put the right words in their mouths. Take away all their fear, negative thought and nervousness. Give them peace, clarity in their mind and help them to remember what they have studied. As they go through the final few hours of revision, prompt them to study what is important. I also pray that the "patients" in all the OSCE stations will cooperate with them and will not "play them up". Almighty Father, give them good health during these few days. Help them to rest, sleep and eat well.
I commit all of them unto your almighty hands. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen!

My Gall Bladder Stone

Just in case you don't know how stones in our body looks like, here is a sample of my gall bladder stone.

To my surprise, they are solid stone! I soaked them in water for a week and nothing change. When taken out through the key hole, they need to be crashed first.
Many people suggested that I should use natural method to expel them. I tried but didn't work. Now I realised that it is not easy to remove solid stones. Beside they are huge. And the bile duct is simply too small for any stone to pass through.

My Experience with Gall Stone

(Some gross looking photos at the end.)
Many people asked me how I came to know about my gall bladder stone. Well, it was found during a medical checkup and the doctor did an ultrasound scan on my abdomen. He told me that I had big stones in my gall bladder.
The news shocked me because I felt no pain or any abnormality. Not satisfied, I went to another doctor for a confirmation and he said the same. So what were my options to get the stones out? I read about flushing the stone out naturally. I consulted the doctors and they all said that the natural method will not work and surgery is the only way. They also explained that when they scanned the patient who claimed that the stones were excreted, they found the stones were still there. The doctor explained to me why the natural method would not work because the bile duct is too small and whatever taken orally does not pass through the bile duct. When I went to KL, I asked the doctor there again. He told me that one guy tried for a year and it didn't work. (To be fair to those who wanted to try the natural method, please do go ahead. However, after trying, do go back to the doctor to have it scanned to ensure that the stones are no more there.)
Ok, my fate was sealed...operation was needed.
I had to go through a battery of tests before I could be operated on... blood test, ECG, chest x-ray, ultrasound of the lower abdomen. I was also asked a standard set of questions. I need to be hospitalised the night before the operation.
At about 8:00AM, 1st Dec 2010, I was asked to put on one of those clothing with opening along the back. A drip was attached to me. Then I needed to lie on the “trolley” to be pushed to the operation theater. I was given an injection at the door to the operation theater and was told that I would feel “blur”. When I was pushed in, I saw the lights above me. I couldn’t remember anything after that until I woke up at 1:00PM. The nurses came very often to offer me pain killer and took my pulse and blood pressure. The lowest pulse rate was 50 upon awakening and this increased gradually. Blood pressure was also very low at the beginning. At one point, the nurse couldn’t even find my pulse!
I was later told by doctor in Miri that I was given an injection to relax my muscles. No wonder I was told that a tube would be put through my mouth to help me breathe during the procedure. The whole operation took only 35 minutes.
The large stones need to be crushed before it could be removed through the small incision on my belly button.
Thanks God that everything went through smoothly. It happened so fast that I didn’t even had time to inform anyone about the timing of the operation. Four keyholes, two about 5mm and one each about 10mm and 15mm were made on me for this procedure. I was told that due to the size of the stones, a major incison would have been made to remove the stone at other hospitals.

The gall bladder which was filled with stones.

Gall bladder duct was clipped and then snipped. I now have 4 tiny clips in my body.

Process of removing the gall bladder which was attached to the liver by membrane and fat. A burning tool was used to remove the tissues (circle) and you can even see the "white sparking flame" at the hook.

From the video, I now know one thing... I have too much visceral fat which can cause the blocking of my artery leading to heart attack. I need to do exercise from now on.

Footnote: I have no idea why I have gall stone. However, I knew of a few cases, coincidence or not, all of us took calcium suppliment when we were young. Gall stone can be formed from calcium or cholesterol deposit.

Blood donation, are you scared?

Last week, I responded to my friend, Kho from Dayang, for blood donation. I donate blood regularly. Everything has the first time and I must admit that I was a little scare. Then, I realised that the only part that was a little scary was the pricking of the finger for a drop of blood. At that time, the poking was manual and it was a little painful. First, they poked on the finger tip. Now, here is the secret... ask them to poke at the side of the finger tip as it is less painful.

I was the last to arrive. The house was full. 70+ people registered and only 50+ qualify. The blood donation process is quite simple. Fill in a form, register, take blood sample to ensure that you have enough blood, etc. Take your blood pressure. If all cleared...

... a jab of local anesthetic. No pain here! 

Then the big needle is inserted into the vein. Totally no pain due to the above jab!

Secure the needle.

Let the blood flow... until the package is full. For men, it is 1 pint, for ladies, it is less... can't remember how much now.

... done. 

The day's harvest! About 51 packages.

Kho (right) and his staff. Everyone have a treat of some makan and T-shirt of Dayang...

Dayang ultra modern office building at Riam Road.

So will you give blood next time if you have never done before?

After 5 long years ... Dr Stephanie Ting

Technology really changes everything. I just watched Stephanie's graduation ceremony back home! But thanks God that I have Ah Jon who helped to tweak and finally the streaming video played smoothly.
Stephanie receiving her certificate. She is now called Dr. Stephanie Ting. Only post graduate students wear "square hat" in Leeds.
I thought she is quite tall but amongst the locals, her height is overshadowed by them!
All the students taking the final oath.
The graduating students were on the left, parents on the right and on the balcony.
Leaving the graduation hall.

a post on cannula

This is in response to my dad's previous entry on his colonoscopy experience in which he mentioned 'the thing' and he was baffled at how the needle was removed. I initially wanted to write a comment but realised that it would be better if I posted an entry on it (with pictures!) as I have an unopened cannula sitting on my desk. So why not, since it's Christmas hols (and I nothing to do atm), take pictures of it and 'dissect' it to show the readers who have never seen the cannula in its original form and packaging?

This is called a venous cannula or venflon.

we hold it like this

When the needle is inserted, the doctor would fiddle with the bottom end of the plastic (which is connected to the needle) by withdrawing it a little to look for any blood (flashback) which will appear in the tube.

If there is blood, hurray to both the doc and the patient coz the doc has hit the vein!

If there is no blood, the patient has to suffer while the doc probe or wriggle the needle in the person's arm.

Did you notice the thin plastic tube surrounding the needle? So when the needle is withdrawn a bit, blood will enter the plastic tube so the doc knows whether he has found the vein or not.

When the doc noticed flashback in the plastic tube, he gently but swiftly withdraws the plastic end which has the needle.

It is by no means magic or the needle dissolves in the body which makes the needle disappear! lolz.

This is how the cannula looks like, dissected:

So the plastic bit will sit in the vein of the patient with the screw back on again while the needle bit will be thrown away in a special bin called the sharps bin.

Happy New Year everyone!

Navigation by Garmin GPS

This morning we drove from Nikko Hotel to Sime Darby Medical Centre. Ah Jon told me that he will never be brave enough to drive in KL. There are so many cars and they all cut in and out like crazy!

Even with the aid of Garmin GPS, we still make wrong turn. I think it is because Ah Jon is still not used to the system. Also, the GPS software may be faulty, eg, keep left and turn right. This is like cowboy driving! Oh, perhaps it means "keep left and turn right using overhead bridge". Never mind, we shall get used to the instruction.

What ever, we arrived at our destination, some 30 km away with just 2 errors and took 40 minutes. I think we did quite well.

We reached here at about 9:00AM. The doctor will not come in until 10:30AM and true enough, he arrived precisely at 10:30AM. Our turn will be about lunch time. The two little boys are now very restless, bored!

Update From KL

We left Miri on Saturday and went straight to Normah to see Dr. Lau. I have to credit him for being a very caring and understanding doctor. He wrote a letter of referral and prepared all the necessary document for us to see Dr. Ng of Sime Darby Medical Centre (Formally Subang Medical Centre) in Subang Jaya.
On Saturday afternoon, we visited Jasmine and family and talked to great length about prayers and deliverance.
We arrived in KL at 8:30PM and checked into Times Square Hotel an hour later. The taxi driver sent us to Times Square Shopping Mall. He sent us there either he didn't know or done on purpose. How could he not know what the customer want? Well, it shows the quality of the airport taxi service! If they are not speeding, they sent the customer to the wrong place! LOL! Sorry to generalise here. You may get better service if you are lucky. Whenever I could, I took the train.
On Sunday, we went to DUMC for the morning worship. I met many pastors there .. Ps Margaret, Ps Soo, Ps Chris, Ps Michael. In the afternoon, Ah Jon visited his forum friends at Sunway Pyramic. Emily/Gan brough us there. Thanks to them! In the evening, we were at Lowyat and "look see" until Ah Jon legs could carry him no more!
Mon 20: We got up early, ok, 6:00AM, in preparation for breakfast and then took a taxi to the Medical centre here.
We arrived at 8:15AM and there was a big crowd already. The clinic won't be open until 8:30AM. Anyway, we had registered ourselves and waiting for Dr. Ng to be ready to see us from 10:00AM as he needs to make his daily morning round!
So, now, we are waiting and thanks God that there is network here!

60 Doctors a years suffering from mental diseases

Update: 1-Dec 2008
Apparently it is refering to overseas students only as reported by The Star today. But what is the relationship between exam in foreign language and depression, I don't understand. How about those from Indonesia? I though their language is very similar to BM. Could it be because there are other underlying problems that we are not aware?

Many medical students suffer from depression
By M. KRISHNAMOORTHY

KUALA LUMPUR: Many Malaysian medical students overseas who take examinations in a foreign language suffer from depression when they return.
Physicians for Peace and Social Responsibility (PPSR) vice-president Datuk Dr Abdul Hamid Abdul Kadir said that large numbers of young Malaysians were being trained in foreign medical schools in Indonesia, Russia, India, Poland, Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

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Watch out... 60 doctors a year suffering from mental woes. Malaysia has 21 medical schools, we have a population of about 20+ million. Compare this to UK... they have about the same number of medical school and 3x our population. Their selection criteria is extremely strict. For us, I think it is high time to filter the student. I hope I will not have a psychotic treating me.

This news is from The Star.

At least five doctors to suffer from mental woes every month

By M. KRISHNAMOORTHY

KUALA LUMPUR: Every month, at least five doctors are found to be suffering from mental illnesses, director-general of health Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican said.

He said these doctors were either psychotic or neurotic but still managed to get into medical schools because these schools were not screening students meticulously enough.

“When the doctors complete their two-year housemanship and their applications are submitted for registration with the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC), they fail to get registered.

“Their supervisors do not certify them as fit to be registered because of indiscipline and poor attitude arising from mental health problems.

“The mental cases range from psychotic to neurotic. Psychotic cases include delusions and hallucinations, and neurotic behaviour includes anxiety, fear and anger due to the competitive environment,” said Dr Ismail.