Sunday, November 23, 2008

Brownian movement

It has been quite a bad week. A week when most of the things DIDN'T fall into places nicely as expected. A week when things that could go wrong, DID went wrong. Maybe it was a case of too much of expectations. Maybe certain things were overlooked. Maybe if more preventative measures were taken, it wouldn't be this bad. Maybe.

The bottom line is, it has been one frustrating week but I guess, that's life. What's life without tumbles and turns eh? C'est la vie bak kata orang Perancis. Emmm... the person I was looking for desperately this morning turned out to be in Paris right now. I'm so jealous but again.. C'est la vie!

Hoping for a better week next week... If not, kena cari batu belah batu bertangkup. Kat mana eh?

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Humanity is still alive and kickin' even during this economically trying period. I am glad for that. And I am humbled.

It all started when one cardiologist friend (let's call him Dr T) asked me whether I want to chip in monetarily to help save a patient's life. Frankly, I thought he was joking at first knowing how much money will be needed for an angioplasty especially that the patient in question is a foreigner. An illegal immigrant to be precise. But Dr T was very serious about it and couldn't accept the fact that the poor guy will be left alone without the best treatment just because of his status. This particular patient came in with a massive heart attack and had another one while in the ward but kept the pain to himself because he was scared of the increasing hospital bills.

Over a quick lunch, Dr T, another cardiologist friend (let's call her Dr I) and I (let's call me Ms RC..heheh..) started reminiscing the good ol' UK days where medical treatment was (and still is) free for everybody without bias, irrespective whether you are locals or foreigners; with medical insurance or not. Long waiting time yes, but everyone still receive the best standard of care unlike in some other countries (this country included). Driven by Dr T's passion to serve, Dr I and Ms RC started to make some phonecalls here and there to find any individuals or NGOs who could help fund the patient's procedure bills. One of my call recipients was Sis K, a super senior from my alma mater whom I know has been involved heavily in charity, locally and internationally. When all the other calls were cut short and requests for help turned down due to patient's illegal status, Sis K continued asking for more details. Thinking she would only forward the details to any NGOs she knew, I didn't put much hope but surprise, surprise... within two days, Sis K managed to raise RM1k to help fund the patient's angioplasty and within 3 days, the amount doubled.

Life is full of surprises eh... I am glad that people like Sis K and those generous individuals who have contributed still exist in this messed-up world. The patient did undergo the angiogram and angioplasty that he needed and has now been discharged from the hospital. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart...

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Finally turned up for basketball yesterday morning after almost 3 months of no show. Got a lot of sticks from the boys for my very poor attendance but glad that I came.. got to know that one of the old gang and a good friend will be flying off to Mumbai for a short-noticed new work assignment and he'll be away for 2-3 years. Looks like I've just lost one of my loyal car-pooling buddies then.. Obviously, I am happy for him...we all are, but guess the once closely-knitted gang is now slowly disintegrating with every one of us taking up new challenges in our lives..

Good luck mate and have fun.. you definitely deserve this big break!

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