I was also supposed to fly to Kuching for a conference that evening. My invited presentation was supposed to be on 20th November evening. Before I received the letter stating my final day as Deputy, I was also planning to attend a special Senate meeting on the 21st November. Thus I have booked my return ticket to Kuching accordingly to arrive back in the early morning of 21st. Thus, if it did happen as planned, it will be a pretty hectic schedule.
So let me back track to one day earlier. Both me and my other half took leave in preparation for our son's convocation. We had two separate bags packed in preparation for my trip to Sarawak. Since we will be checking-in into the hotel after 2pm, my other half decided to go to the Ministry of Health in the morning to settle some of her work matters. We stopped by at IOI Mall to have lunch and tried something new: Mee Tarik Warisan Asli Restaurant
It was different from most things we had and enjoyed the meal (warning: the dishes come in large size). After lunch, we went to the Palm Gardens Hotel to check-in and rest.
During the night, I was feeling rather sick and started to cough badly. Took my meds immediately and trying my best to stay healthy for tomorrow but things do not turn out that way. My other half and son had to travel out of the hotel to find further medicine from the pharmacy. Initially, we thought it was something I ate. Then I remembered during check-in, the hotel staff appeared to have flu. Must have gotten from the person. My other half told me it must be an aggressive virus (e.g. like influenza B) since it did not take long to make me sick. Tried to stay up to complete my slides for the conference but failed miserably.
Come the big day, we tried to be early in UPM and use the INSPEM office (with permission). I wasn't feeling very good but forced myself to be there. As mentioned earlier, it was my last duty for INSPEM.
Before entering the hall, met Dr. Nurisya who was also part of the academic procession.
While on stage, I remembered, I was taking cough drops one after another to prevent me from coughing badly. Watched Zurita (my M.Sc. student) and Ihsan took their scrolls.
It seemed way too long till the convocation session ended. I was feeling really unwell then. We manage to get a few pics before I decided to leave.
As I walked back to the office with my other half, suddenly I found myself short of breath and could not move further. My other half sought INSPEM driver Fiezul's help to fetch me and then the spontaneous suggestion that I'll be brought to UPM Medical Centre. Over there, fearing I was experiencing a heart attack, I was rushed to Serdang hospital. At the time, I asked my wife to message Prof. Kuru to inform him of the situation. At the hospital, I was given morphine to relieve me of any pain and that totally knocked me out. When I was conscious, I couldn't barely stand. I fell twice in the toilet unaided. The emergency room was full to the brim and I saw patients bedded along corridors. There were just too many patients for the staff to heed my call for help. I was in the emergency room all the while until the next day when the specialist doctor told me my heart seems fine and I'm probably having problems due to the infection. He told me it was best for me to rest at home since there weren't any beds or wards available for me, to which we agree to do so.
Even as I arrived home, I was all groggy and could not stand up without losing balance. So much of the day, I was just resting in bed. It is certainly something that I wish I will not experience again. Physically, I'm still weak coupled with my back pain. I have taken a few more days leave for me to grow stronger. My sons all got infected and had fever right after we got home, showing aggressiveness of the viral infection. I had to discourage my students from visiting me at home so that they won't get infected. Luckily, my other half was spared from the infection thus far.
Finally I add another two pics from UPM that had my son in them and another two pics from Zurita.
No comments:
Post a Comment