Sambutan Hari TB, Diabetes & AIDS Peringkat Negeri Perak

Saturday 2nd April 2016 - As early as 6.20 am, I had already left home, heading to the town of Parit Buntar for this event. Buddies of Ipoh had been invited to set up an exhibition booth during the event, and I was personally invited to be one of the panelists for a forum held in conjunction with the event. Since the event was held in Parit Buntar, I had earlier decided to use the services of 2 of our northern volunteers to man (ermm... I mean woman) our booth, since I'd be busy with the forum. Besides, I felt it wasn't too practical to bring along volunteers from Ipoh with me for 2 reasons: (1) My car was loaded with the exhibition materials, and so only the front passenger seat was left available. (2) Having to make a move so early in the morning, I wasn't too confident the other volunteers in Ipoh would be as punctual as I want them to be.

While my GPS suggested that I used the Bandar Baru exit, I instead exited the Taiping Utara/Kamunting exit, to fetch a volunteer from Kamunting. She waited for me at the Taiping Utara toll area, and so I didn't even have to go out of my way to fetch her. From then on we used the old trunk road to head to Parit Buntar.

The day before, the moderator of the forum sent me a message to ask if I knew how to get to Dewan Kerian Permai, where the event was to be held. She offered to wait for me somewhere. I told her I'd just use my GPS to find my way, but I'd call her if the need arises.

Turned out we reached the place even before the moderator (who lives in Bagan Serai) and our other volunteer (who lives in Parit Buntar) did. It was only while we were setting up our booth did the Parit Buntar volunteer arrive.

The 2 volunteers at our booth.

 Meanwhile, I joined the forum panelists. They had a doctor as the moderator, and they had doctors to talk about TB and diabetes. And suddenly there's this makcik without any medical background to talk about HIV/AIDS. It would have been different if the whole forum was about HIV/AIDS and they had different panelists to talk about different aspects of HIV/AIDS. This time however, I was there representing the topic of HIV/AIDS as a whole. Needless to say, I was quite nervous at first in case someone bombarded me with a clinical related question. Thank goodness even the medical questions were general stuff I was able to answer.

After the forum, the Pengarah Kesihatan Negeri, Dato' Dr Hjh Juita Ghazali officiated the event, before she went round the exhibition booths.

 Introducing myself to Dato' Dr Juita. We had "met" on the Perak TKC Old Girls whatsapp group, but never met face to face, hence the introduction.

A photo at our booth with Dato' Dr Juita and Dr Puvanes.

The event ended at noon. Lunch of nasi ayam was provided by the organiser, all packed, and so after dismantling our exhibition materials, the 3 of us from Buddies had lunch at our booth, before loading all the materials into my car. We then went to a bicycle shop to buy a bicycle for a 10 year old girl (daughter of a client of mine who stays in the same district). I was unable to send the bicycle personally to the girl since there wasn't enough space in my car to load the bicycle, but the shopowner was kind enough to help deliver the bike to the girl.

After a short rest at the home of our Parit Buntar volunteer, it was time to head home. This time we decided to enter the expressway via Bandar Baru (which means we were actually in Kedah for a short while), exited Taiping Utara to drop off my Kamunting volunteer, and then made a u-turn to re-enter the expressway. All in all, I think the event was a success.

Freemarket in Chendrong, Batu Gajah, Perak

While most of the voluntary work I share in this blog involve my work with Buddies of Ipoh, I am also a committee member of another NGO called Pertubuhan Wanita Prihatin Perak, set up just last year. We got together to help out the Rohingya boat people, and eventually decided that we should set up a proper registered organisation.

Our first project for this year is to organise a #freemarket, starting off at Dewan Orang Ramai Chendrong, Batu Gajah, Perak. This being our first of more planned freemarkets in future, we decided to turn it into a Karnival Wanita Prihatin, to include other activities like coloring competition for children, and setting up various booths including education booths. YB Dato' Nolee Ashilin, the ADUN for Tualang Sekah officiated the event and the launch of our first freemarket.

The response from the public was overwhelming. We received a whole load of contributions consisting of clothes, shoes, books, toys, food items and various other stuff. It being the first freemarket held, many were still oblivious to the concept of freemarket, some couldn't really believe that they could have the items for free.

I noticed one boy, still in primary school, who tried on a pair of school shoes, even though the shoes looked quite old. To me he obviously came from a poor family. While he was trying on the shoes, I silently hoped that they would fit. Thank goodness they did.

Then there was a lady who came with her young children quite late, when most of the better items had already been taken up by those who came earlier. She was looking for children's clothes. Noticing that this was also a needy family, a few of us volunteers took the trouble to search for suitable clothes to be given to them. Thank goodness we did find a few, so they did not leave empty handed.

After we packed up and as I was heading to my car to head home, I saw another lady who came with her son, asking another guy about the exact location of the freemarket, only to be told it was over. She must have only heard about it from others who had already taken some free items earlier. But by the time she got there it was too late. Sigh...

We are hoping to do this on a monthly basis in different locations all over Perak.

Homeless by choice

Remember last month I mentioned about sending 2 homeless guys to a shelter home? We helped to buy train tickets and to pay the initial registration fee to the home for both guys.

I visited both cases when they were warded at Ipoh GH. The first guy, J, when asked, did agree to go to a shelter home, but if possible he preferred the place to be in Perak. But when told that there was none available in Perak specifically for HIV cases, J finally agreed to go to a home in Sg Buloh. The arrangement was that I'd buy him a train ticket up to Sg Buloh station, from there he'd go straight to Sg Buloh Hospital, and someone from the shelter home would fetch him at the hospital. For J, so far so good. He's still there at the shelter home. No complaints.

As for the other guy, H, when I visited him in the ward, he did mention he didn't want to stay at a shelter home. He was then staying at an old abandoned home, without doors and windows, without any furniture whatsoever.

I was rather surprised when the nurse from Ipoh ID clinic called me to seek my help to arrange for transportation and to pay for the initial registration fee to the shelter home for H.

"Eh? Hari tu dia kata dia tak nak dok shelter home?" I asked the nurse.

"Sekarang dia dah setuju," the nurse replied.

I figured he must have ran out of options and finally agreed to go to the shelter home. So I bought him the train ticket and arranged with the rep from the shelter home to pay for the registration fee once this homeless guy reaches the shelter. But before H went, he sent me a text message, asking if there'd be any financial assistance for him. Financial assistance? We already bought the train ticket, we agreed to pay for his initial registration, what else did he want? Apparently he was asking for monthly financial aid. Banyak cantik! I told him that we're only assisting, not taking over responsibility. After he left for Sg Buloh, I thought that would be the last I'd hear of him.

Late last week, a call from an unfamiliar number came in on my handphone. The caller turned out to be H, coming up with stories that he had to leave the shelter home because the doctors told him to start on methadone and the people at the shelter don't accept methadone cases. And so he was asking me for transport money to get back to his old place. Methadone? I thought he said he was no longer taking drugs? When I asked if he was taking drugs, he denied. Then why on earth would the doctor want him to take methadone? In the end I just told him I'd have to find out more from the nurse at Ipoh GH.

Within less than an hour he sent me a text message, "Macam mana ba?" I didn't bother to reply. I hadn't even spoken to the nurse yet, and he was already pestering me for money. Our assistance actually stopped the moment we sent him to the shelter home. He shouldn't expect us to give him money as and when he wants them. Who does he think we are?

When I went for my clinic duty at Ipoh GH on Monday, I took the opportunity to ask the staff nurse at ID clinic. Apparently when H called me to ask for transport money to go back to his old place, he was already back! The nurse was surprised when she saw a case brought to the specialist clinic from the ward, the guy looked familiar and finally she recognised it was H. She then called the rep from the shelter home and found out that H only stayed there for a week (he told me he was there for a month). And H told the nurse a different version of reasons.

He denied being on drugs, but the truth is, he was brought to the hospital by the police, after he passed out when the police caught him taking drugs. No wonder the doctor in Sg Buloh wanted him to start taking methadone. And the reason he left the shelter home was because he couldn't get his supply of drugs there. They did not chase him out. He was the one who left.

So now H is back to being a homeless guy... by his own choice.

Visiting the pregnant lady

During my visit to the home of a newly referred pregnant client last month, I talked more about the importance of ARV adherence, what to expect in the next few months until delivery etc. The client, Wan, had not started her ARV medication yet back then, but was supposed to start soon. It was important to remind her about adherence before she started her medication.

I didn't call her after that visit, wanting to give her some time. But last week she called, sounding rather panicky. Apparently her husband (who had earlier been tested HIV negative) had breathing difficulty, and when they went to the nearby Klinik Kesihatan, the doctor immediately referred them to Ipoh GH. So Wan called me from the emergency department, while waiting for tests (x-ray, blood tests etc) to be done on her husband. When the doctors found out that the wife was HIV+, there was always the possibility of him being infected as well and also the probability that he had TB.

Wan started thinking that as a result of all that, soon her mother and other family members may find out that she was HIV+. I told her to just take a deep breath and relax. Even if indeed her husband was infected, the doctors/nurses don't simply tell each and every family member of the diagnosis.

The very next day, I texted Wan to find out if her husband had to be warded. The moment Wan replied, saying that her husband wasn't hospitalised, I knew it wasn't too serious. Apparently her husband has a history of asthma, and every 4 to 6 months, he'd usually have a rather major asthma attack. But he never really went for proper check-ups and follow-ups, just buying inhalers from pharmacies to be used when needed. This time, the doctor told him to follow up at the nearby Klinik Kesihatan.

On Monday, Wan sent me another text message, this time seeking help, wanting to learn more about the religion. "Saya nak lebih dekat dengan agama", so she said. I decided it was time for me to pay her a second visit. She was already opening up, it would be the perfect time for me to show her my support. Besides, I needed to assess what level of religious knowledge she wanted to learn.

So yesterday, after making sure that she'd be home, I went over to visit her. She did mention she had to go to the clinic at 8 am, but she should be back by 10. I purposely went a wee bit later than 10.30, just to be sure she'd be home. But when I arrived and gave the salam, nobody answered. I called her number, no answer. Initially I thought she wasn't back from the clinic, but after a while I saw moving shadows under the door. I decided to give the salam again, this time mentioning Wan's name. This time she answered my salam, and immediately opened the door. She didn't look too well.

"Maaf kak, sakit perut la pulak."

"Dah pergi klinik dah?"

"Belum. Nurse dah call saya tadi tanya kenapa saya tak datang, tapi memang saya tak larat nak pergi. Dia suruh datang pukul 2 pulak."

Ever since she got pregnant, Wan has no appetite during the day. Even if she eats, she'd vomit. So she'd usually only have dinner. And her dinner of mee kari her husband brought home the night before, must have been the reason for her diarrhea.

I was quite concerned that she wasn't eating during the day. After all, she is pregnant and so she needed some nutrition not only for herself but for the baby as well. But she did mention that she does drink milk for pregnant mothers, which doesn't doesn't make her purge, and so at least, she is taking some nutrition during the day. I do hope the lack of appetite is only during the early stages of her pregnancy.

Wan has also started on her ARV medication. Initially she did vomit after taking the pills, but not anymore. She did say she still gets dizzy, but that's normal. After all, it was hardly a week since she started her ARV.

Back to her intention of learning more about Islam, I asked what she wanted to learn. She wanted to start back from basics. She has started praying 5 times daily, but she wanted to be closer to God and wanted to learn more. I asked if there were any religious classes in her neighborhood, particularly at the nearby surau, but she said she hasn't been to the surau and so she doesn't know. She hasn't really mixed with around with her neighbours ever since she moved in last month.

I told her to get her husband to go to the surau and ask. Nobody knows she has HIV, so she shouldn't be too ashamed to mix around. I did however promise to get her some books for her reference. But she will have to wait until my next visit...

The 2 homeless cases, and a new pregnancy case

Ever since we started increasing the number of clinic duties at HRPB, Ipoh, from twice a month to 4 times a month, I volunteered myself to take up every 2nd and 4th Mondays. That is in addition to my once a month duty at Taiping Hospital. However, this year the 4th Monday of January was a public holiday, and so was the 2nd Monday of February, and so this is the longest break I've had from my Ipoh clinic duties.

That doesn't mean I could "goyang kaki" for the past month. Any cases at the hospital needing welfare/social help, the doctors/nurses would still contact me directly. Even though it had been 5 weeks since my last clinic duty in Ipoh, I've had to go to the hospital 3 times, to settle the cases of 2 homeless guys needing to go to shelter homes. For both cases, the nurses arranged for the guys to be accepted at a shelter home in Sg Buloh, but the hospital doesn't cover for transportation and the one-off amount that needs to be paid to the shelter home (usually the shelter home doesn't charge anything, however since some of the homeless people go in and out as and when they like, the home has started charging a one-off payment to make sure there is some sort of commitment on the part of the homeless people), so our help is sought.

Majority of our volunteers are working 9 - 5, therefore we don't have people to personally send the homeless to the shelter home, however we do have a Client Welfare Fund to cover for their train tickets. For both the above cases, I bought ETS tickets for the guys to go to Sg Buloh, from the train station they'd go direct to Sg Buloh Hospital, and the reps of the shelter home will fetch them from the hospital. As for the one-off payment, I've had to source from donors, and the money would only be transfered once the rep of the shelter home confirms that the guys have indeed arrived safely at the shelter.

And not going for any clinic duties doesn't mean I don't have any new cases to handle. Once in a while I'd get cases referred by district hospitals or health clinics which we don't cover for clinic duties. This time I got a case referred by a Klinik Kesihatan. A young couple, wife HIV +ve and pregnant, husband -ve. Both husband and wife are not working. I tried calling for the whole day yesterday, every single time I reached the voice mail. I sent a text message explaining who I was, there was no reply the whole day. I almost gave up. That was until midnight when the lady finally replied my SMS. And so this morning I called again and finally managed to speak to her.

Since she was okay with the idea of having me visiting her at home (easier to talk face to face rather than on the phone), this afternoon I headed over to her place. They had actually just moved into the house a few days ago and when I got there, they were busy putting up curtains and tidying up the house. Unlike some husbands who stay away when I visit their wives, this lady's husband sat together with us and listened to everything I explained. I especially reiterated on the importance of adherence of the ARV medication for the wife. I explained in detail why she must take her medication on time every day without fail, and I also explained the implications of non-adherence. I made her promise me that she won't miss her medications and appointments. I told the husband to remind his wife when it's time to take her medication.

I also took the opportunity to explain to them what to expect in the next few months until delivery, what to expect after delivery etc. I told the lady to contact me if there's anything she's unsure of and needed to clarify.

I can't help it. I always pay extra attention to cases of pregnant HIV+ ladies. My main concern is so that the baby will not get infected.