Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Of the penniless and the system

I recently had to find out what the "little dot" was all about. And for this I've decided to use one of the country's best medical house .. err hospital. I've heard all the bad stories about the services, as well as success stories that soars the reputation of their expertise and facilities. As penniless as I am, I had to go the public side of the hospital to get the "free" treatment. Oh yes there is another side of the hospital which offer more or less the same treatment or facilities but you have to pay a hefty amount, just for slightly faster and so called more efficient services.

True enough for the penniless, you have to wait for hours to see a doctor (a trainee doctor mind you), in a small treatment room where two doctors share a small table treating their own patients back to back at the same time. So if you don't focus to your doctor, you can actually hear how the other doctor treats his/ her patient and the whole patient medical history. I was baffled for a while when my assigned male doctor wanted to perform "the procedure" on me. Oh no.. no.. I somehow requested (in disbelief!) for a lady doctor. Luckily there was a lady doctor in the room who I believed is their supervisor. So what she did was perform their routine and told the trainee doctor her findings behind the screen. And the trainee doctor recorded the necessary in the report. So what happened was, I had to go for another screening as they couldn't figure out the "little dot". I had to come another day for another screening. Fine.

The day came, I endured a 1.5 traffic crawl to the hospital with an empty stomach and a full bladder. Only to reach the hospital late and being told by the nurse that the doctor had filled in the wrong form to do a screening on me. A wrong form!! I had to go back to the doctor and asked him to fill in the right form. That's what I did, kind of rudely... I actually burst into his room (with a patient in of him) and demanded him to fill in a new correct form. He did and he apologized for what was obviously his mistake. Even that done I still had to come another day (perhaps endured another long traffic crawl, and long queue at the treatment room) as by the time he finished filling in the form, the time had passed (yeah, they have allotted specific time only for some specific treatment). 
This was a week ago. I'm supposed to go there again ... but I dread it thus postpone the appointment for the next three weeks. Perhaps by then I've recovered from the "ordeal".

My whole point is, should I am not as penniless as now, I would have gone to a private medical practitioner where I will save my time, my energy (my anger), not to mention be in a nice smelling place, smiling nurses, and a big comfy private treatment room. But I am so cannot afford the private treatment at this moment hence the ordeal which is nothing to many but a big hassle to me. And another point is, this is the sad whole truth the penniless had to face, the inefficient service, the long wait, the uncomfortable treatment room. I was lucky to encounter smiling faces but I've heard of many cases of rude staff as well. And I have yet to relate others' ordeal in chronic cases where all you need is pull some cables and wallaa... you get the best treatment at lower service rate or non at all. Yeap, the whole sad truth in this country (perhaps applicable in others too?). Oh what can I say now.. the penniless.. as you know it.. no money no talk. I hope there's nothing wrong with me and the little dot is just a dot. Otherwise I'll just wait by my deathbed or go thru the system that is definitely not "penniless" friendly..

Thursday, April 19, 2012

A whole new world

It feels like I'm entering a whole new world. A world totally different that I have ever imagined. A world of new people, new challenge, new events, new expectations. I'm loving it so far. And I pray that Allah makes it easy for me, despite the challenges.Thank you Allah for showing me the way. I hope this is the right path that I'm following. InsyaAllah.

I become super busy, physically and mentally. I gotta wear different hats at different times of the day. Amazing how it works, but it's progressing well so far. I hope I will have the strength to carry on and I hope this remains as it is for as long as I need it to be.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Lessons of life - fwded

I received the scripts below in my inbox. I like it so much and I agree with it totally... as such I decided to capture it here. 

Written by a 90 year old

This is something we should all read at least once a week!!!!! Make sure you read to the end!!!!!!

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio .

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short – enjoy it.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

5.Don't buy stuff you don't need.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for things that matter.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye but don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to be happy but it’s all up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what your love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive but don’t forget.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have not what you need.

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Its estimated 93% won't forward this. If you are one of the 7% who will,
forward this with the title '7%'. 

I have forwarded this via email ... and now I'm keeping it here and sharing it with the rest of world.

*