THEY WILL ASK thee as to what they should spend on others. Say: "Whatever of your wealth you spend shall [first] be for your parents, and for the near of kin, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer; and whatever good you do, verily, God has full knowledge thereof." - Al-Baqarah (2:215)
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Wednesday 5 December 2007

Clinic duty: 5/12/07

It has been quite some time since my last clinic duty. The last time I was supposed to be on duty was immediately after the Hari Raya Puasa holidays but that particular clinic was cancelled.

When I got to room 9 (where we carry out our HIV counseling sessions), I took a peek outside to see if any of my clients were around. There wasn’t a single familiar face. Later when my colleague took a peek, right outside the door was Zainab and her daughter! I haven’t seen her since Raya. We called her in for a while to have a chat. Her daughter is still on medication for kidney problems. As a matter of fact, the girl’s face looked a bit bloated. But the girl has not been complaining of any pain at all.

Before we could talk much, SN came in with a new case to hand over to us. A Chinese guy was wheeled in, accompanied by his father and younger sister. I like this family. They seem very loving and very supportive of each other. Despite this guy complaining about having lots of pain here and there, the family seems to have a very good sense of humor and could still joke around and laugh. In fact, the sister, who is the main caregiver, seems like a very caring caregiver! This guy is very lucky indeed. Oh okay, maybe he’s unlucky to get HIV lah… but still lucky with the care and support he gets from his family members!

Then a Malay guy in hospital clothes was called in. He was brought for his appointment in an ambulance as he had been warded for the past 2 weeks at the hospital in the town where he stays. Since he had a bad case of TB as well, he was forced to wear a mask over his mouth/nose. After looking at his file, I noticed his address looked rather familiar. This guy actually stays in the same kampong as Hana! Hmmm, maybe they do know each other. Or at least he may know Rashid, Hana’s late husband.

Anyway, since SN was busy handling other cases, not many new cases were referred to us today. But I stayed on anyway, waiting for Zainab and her daughter so I could send them home. I know Zainab usually has to walk quite a distance from the bus stop to her house; and since Zainab still hasn’t had any rest after getting home from work this morning (she was on night shift), I know how tired she must be.

Since there were no more new cases, I waited outside at the corridors and had a chat with Zainab, while waiting for SN to pass her all the necessary documents for her next blood tests and checkups. Just then, the ambulance driver who brought the Malay guy earlier came over. He had brought Rashid before so he recognized my face. From him I found out that the Malay guy (who was referred to us today) and Rashid actually knew each other. As a matter of fact, they were from the same gang of junkies – and for all we know, may have gotten infected from the same needle!

As I continued chatting with Zainab and the ambulance driver, a call came in on my phone. To my surprise, the call came from SN! Now, why would SN call me when she could easily come out of the doctor’s room and find me outside?? As soon as I answered her call, she asked where I was. And the moment I said I was just outside, she came out of the doctor’s room, giggling! Apparently she went looking for me at room 9 through the corridor on the other side and when she didn’t see me there, she thought I had gone back!

SN wanted to discuss with me about Yah Ah Ngau. Huh? Who’s that? New client? Heck no! This is the same Yah, the Malay lady I’ve been talking about lately. I just changed her blog name to Yah Ah Ngau ever since she got bitten by the ANGAU bug… :)

Apparently the results of Yah’s viral load test just came back and it was not impressive at all! With very low CD4 and very high viral load count, Yah is in a bad position. SN is confident Yah had not been compliant with her medication. And I believe SN. Yah may always tell you she takes her medication on time, but with the happenings that had taken place lately; I wouldn’t be surprised if she forgets to take her medication from time to time. She herself admitted that of late she couldn’t get Mr. Darling out of her mind. This is no longer just a case of tidur tak lena, makan tak kenyang… but also a case of ubat tak makan… oh dear…

SN asked if I was in contact with Yah and if I knew when she’d be in Ipoh next. I told SN Yah is coming next week for her blood test. So SN told me to get Yah to come up to the clinic to see her.

Ah, so much of takut kena marah! Yah Ah Ngau is going to get it from SN this time…

Anyway, after Zainab got all the documents needed, I brought both Zainab and her daughter out for lunch first. Despite being quite a big eater, when the girl suddenly realised it was 2 pm, she quickly said she was full despite not finishing up her share yet. Her mother knew she was rushing for something. Since we both had finished our food, Zainab just packed the leftovers in the little girl's plate.

I sent them home immediately after that. The girl had an important business to attend to at 2.30 pm. I managed to send them home by 2.20 pm.

What could be so important for the little girl? Oii, got cartoon series on TV at 2.30 pm she simply cannot miss lah!!

15 comments:

Pak Zawi said...

Very intersting narration as only Pi can do it even if its a matter of life and death. Did Tunku Halim ever ask you to make this into a book?

Anonymous said...

ahhh....cartoon rupanya..errm...i think i was like that also lah hehehehh
-niasulaiman-

Pi Bani said...

Zawi:
I write whatever comes to mind. Turn this into a book? Ish, biarlah I blog aje dulu... I feel more comfortable when I don't really have to be too conscious of the kind of language I use!

niasulaiman:
You were like that too, huh? Biar tak makan jangan miss cartoon, kan? :)

winniethepooh said...

i too tot what was so important..to the kids, their cartoons are important! hehehehe :)

hopefully SN can 'talk some sense' into Yah and she inturn will be more prompt in taking her medication..argh..sometimes love can make one become irresponsible. sigh

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

hihi...yah ah ngau.

punch me in the head next week if i sound too serious today but if indeed mr romeo darling cares for her, he could have at least be more responsible to be that someone and serve as a reminder for yah ah ngau to take her medication on time. from what i can gather so far, diorang ni mabuk cinta je lebih. tanggungjawab utk diri sendiri pon boleh lupa. but i could be wrong as usual.

* Kak Pi, i'll thank you personally on tuesday.

Pi Bani said...

Winnie:
You tot the kid got business meeting ka? :)

Yeah, hopefully SN can talk some sense into Yah. But frankly, SN also getting a bit fedup with Yah...

Kerp:
Punch you in the head? Can I give you a big whack instead? Geram kat Yah, lepas geram kat Kerp... hehehe...

Looking forward to meet you, bro. InsyaAllah.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

how about a big hug instead. i needed that badly last night i had to settle with my ever so faithful but lifeless pillow.

Unknown said...

Yah Ah Ngau?...Muahahaha fit her so well!

Oh ingatkan business apa budak kecik tu nak attend yang penting sampai you really have to send her off cepat2...rupanya kartun..anak I pun mcm tu akak, if kartun nye cerita suruh MH drive laju2...ade ker? ingat jalanraya ni kita punya ke? ehehehe

Akak!!!! Awat spek mata tu dah tukaq? Ishhh...gerun saya nengok mata2 tu berkedip2...

Unknown said...

KakPi...Tumpang lalu (ni nak smack Kerp ni...)

Come next Tuesday, we all will surely hug dear brother (kan kakPi, Kan?)...Now remember what I texted you, okay? Remember Optimus Prime's tone...Remember...the last part of the Transformer movie scene..Remember...

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

kak pi, mintak laluan...

yes kak D, both of you can give me a good hell of a whacking. i need that to get all the things said by an idiot out of my freakin' system.

but ofcos needs some hug too. the thought of getting a tight one from kak D seems very soothing.

ok i better stop there. till next week...decepticon, transform!

Pi Bani said...

Kerp:
Kejap suruh punch, kejap suruh hug... ni nak jadi Muhammad Ali ke pulak? Anyway, I hope that faithful lifeless pillow of yours is not your bantal busuk!

Raden Galoh:
I dah boring dengan spec besaq tu, tu pasai tukaq to gambaq mata merah dok blink blink. Saja to give that spooky effect sebab tengah marah dengan Yah Ah Ngau... hehehe... nanti I dah berubah mood, I tukaq gambaq lain la pulak.

Mat Salo said...

Pi, if this is possible (of course it is) like Bang Zawi said, your prose is getting better than ever. This also is a form 'Ah Ngau'. Angau about your blog, your angau for your clients and loyal readers. Angau of the good kind lah!

What stood out in the story, to me is the supportive Chinese family. He's a lucky guy. Biasanya semua cabut lari. Can you perhaps tell us a little more, the motivation --what makes one family 'tick' more than the other?

Pi Bani said...

Mat Salo:
You pun nak jadi Mat Ah Ngau ke? :)

Anyway, with just one meet, it's hard for me to tell what made the Chinese family 'tick' more. But I can guess the family has been a close knit family since they were small. And the guy who got HIV, when he was working previously, had been supporting his younger siblings for their education. I guess to the younger siblings, the least they can do is to take good care of him.

Mior Azhar said...

Pi,
What is it, again? "Tidur tak lena, mandi tak basah, ubat tak makan" That's hillarious... but then again Yap Ah Ngau pun manusia jugak tak gitu...

Pi Bani said...

Mior Azhar:
That's the perumpamaan tambahan for people who are supposed to makan ubat but forgets to do so due to angauism... :)

Anyway, it's YAH Ah Ngau lah, bukan Yap Ah Ngau... ni takde kait mengait dengan Yap Ah Loy. Yep, she's human. And she can go angau all she wants if only she doesn't kacau me when she lands into trouble... adoii... letih...