The surgery
My wife took this picture of me and my surgeon, Dr Abdullah.
It was Tuesday 1st July 2008. I stayed late in bed until 1030 am and almost noon, got ready for the SJMC. Rostam sent me to SJMC, I checked in and was promptly ushered into the surgical ward to be briefed on surgical and clinical procedures. I chatted with the consultants, including the surgeon Dr Abdullah Harun, a self assured and relaxed cardiac surgeon who was going to do the bypass operation on me.My wife joined me in the evening, and that night I slept very early to be assured of a good rest. Very early the next morning I was taken to the ICU, seduced and put to sleep, and was being operated on almost immediately, undergoing a 4 hours of operatitions.
I must have woken up on late Wednesday. I remembered my wife coming to my bed together with her boss. Later I saw Latip who appeared to be looking at me in awe.I saw Din and Abang De , saying to them I was profusely sorry for not being able to say much.Then there was Juana and Salim.Tikah was also there, accompanied by Shimran.All passing glimpses, like slides of fast running projector.I was terribly tired, I was never that tired in my life and could never say more words and never could open my eyes. I fell immediately into slumber the moment I woke up.It must have been the same feeling some climbers succumbing to acute hyperthemia at high altitute, approaching death, and only hoping he could fight on using his the strong determination to survive. I couldnt recall what day and time it was, night became days and days became nights.
On Thursday I started to be aware of the surroundings. My neighbour in the ICU was a young boy who had an accident and had been calling for help from her mother whom he couldnt recognise any longer. There was an Indian man who persistently called the nurses for asssitance. When the respirator and some of the wires that connected me to the system were removed, I know that things were getting better for me and I was going to be moved to the normal ward.
That night, my wife accompanied me in the normal ward responding quickly to the slighest discomfort I showed.I was able to move ,get out of bed, sat on a chair and walked unassisted to the toilet.Later Ham, Nor, Megat, Rodi,Rosdi,Sali, Abangmail, Kak Mah, Ikah, Shimran, Tam, and a host of other relatives and friends came to wish me all the best .Most visitors that come were complaining that I should have informed them of my pending operation, but I had no answer to that query.
On Monday, on the 6th day of my hospital stay I was discharged to recuperate at home. I was able to walk to the nearby mamak shop, walked a round trip at Kelana Jaya lake, and walked about for an hour to sweat it out. As I looked at the 30 cm cars on my leg and my chest, I sometime asked did I really agree to do this operation on myself, conceeding so easily and quickly to such a major surgery, giving very litttle thought to any adverse outcome of it.Like other similiar ventures before, I took a plunge into this, convincing myself that the outcome would be good.Two weeks after the operation, I saw my surgeon again, who confirmed that my heart was beating very well and my would was healing nicely.
It was Tuesday 1st July 2008. I stayed late in bed until 1030 am and almost noon, got ready for the SJMC. Rostam sent me to SJMC, I checked in and was promptly ushered into the surgical ward to be briefed on surgical and clinical procedures. I chatted with the consultants, including the surgeon Dr Abdullah Harun, a self assured and relaxed cardiac surgeon who was going to do the bypass operation on me.My wife joined me in the evening, and that night I slept very early to be assured of a good rest. Very early the next morning I was taken to the ICU, seduced and put to sleep, and was being operated on almost immediately, undergoing a 4 hours of operatitions.
I must have woken up on late Wednesday. I remembered my wife coming to my bed together with her boss. Later I saw Latip who appeared to be looking at me in awe.I saw Din and Abang De , saying to them I was profusely sorry for not being able to say much.Then there was Juana and Salim.Tikah was also there, accompanied by Shimran.All passing glimpses, like slides of fast running projector.I was terribly tired, I was never that tired in my life and could never say more words and never could open my eyes. I fell immediately into slumber the moment I woke up.It must have been the same feeling some climbers succumbing to acute hyperthemia at high altitute, approaching death, and only hoping he could fight on using his the strong determination to survive. I couldnt recall what day and time it was, night became days and days became nights.
On Thursday I started to be aware of the surroundings. My neighbour in the ICU was a young boy who had an accident and had been calling for help from her mother whom he couldnt recognise any longer. There was an Indian man who persistently called the nurses for asssitance. When the respirator and some of the wires that connected me to the system were removed, I know that things were getting better for me and I was going to be moved to the normal ward.
That night, my wife accompanied me in the normal ward responding quickly to the slighest discomfort I showed.I was able to move ,get out of bed, sat on a chair and walked unassisted to the toilet.Later Ham, Nor, Megat, Rodi,Rosdi,Sali, Abangmail, Kak Mah, Ikah, Shimran, Tam, and a host of other relatives and friends came to wish me all the best .Most visitors that come were complaining that I should have informed them of my pending operation, but I had no answer to that query.
On Monday, on the 6th day of my hospital stay I was discharged to recuperate at home. I was able to walk to the nearby mamak shop, walked a round trip at Kelana Jaya lake, and walked about for an hour to sweat it out. As I looked at the 30 cm cars on my leg and my chest, I sometime asked did I really agree to do this operation on myself, conceeding so easily and quickly to such a major surgery, giving very litttle thought to any adverse outcome of it.Like other similiar ventures before, I took a plunge into this, convincing myself that the outcome would be good.Two weeks after the operation, I saw my surgeon again, who confirmed that my heart was beating very well and my would was healing nicely.
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