Yesterday was my Hijri birthday and I'm 65 according to the Hijri calendar, two years older than my 'Gregorian' age. S what did I do yesterday?
Well, my kids have chipped in part of their income to realise the idea that I go through some check-up for my heart conditions. The idea started with my other half arranged for her sister to take the advantage of a package at Pantai Hospital for a heart echo test costing around four hundred ringgit. Then why not I do the same? Thus, our trip happened and we arrived around 9am in the morning.
I was fasting then thinking there would be a blood test. As we discussed with the doctor (Dr. Baqlish), he enquired about my medical history and my family medical history and he suggested that I do angiogram CT scan instead. I looked at my other half then, she immediately agreed. Such test would cost a few thousand ringgit instead of few hundred ringgit. I was still fasting despite there will be no blood test and waited at the imaging diagnostic section. The first trial was unsuccessful because my heart was beating too fast. This is in part due to the slight pain sensation and the internal heating senssation when they injected in the dye. I have forgotten how it felt like and the sensation send my heart racing. Since the first imaging failed, they send me out to rest first and they gave me some medication to make my heart calm down. They did it twice, first, the medication taken orally when I was resting, and second, just before the second imaging takes place by injection. The imaging, I guess, went through.
We had to wait until after lunch before we get the results. Finally, the doctor call us to go to the imaging diagnostic unit again and see him there. He showed us the images and told us it was not aas clear as he wanted but it was enough to conclude some results. The one most concerning is that there is one blockage right at the main vein, in addition to many minor ones in the smaller veins. So there I was, not knowing how to react, but I was already thinking about stents. But the doctor immediately cancelled that thought as he pointed out that the blockage was at a junction of veins and if a procedure is carried out, it will be a complicated one. The cost to do such procedure at a prvate hospital would probably be almost twice that of my other half's procedure for CSF leak. Thus, the doctor was already having in mind, a referral letter to Institut Jantung Negara (IJN - National Heart Institute).
Well, that was my birthday present, knowing about my heart more than I used to before. I certainly hope my heart is in a 'better' place. The immediate action needed to be done, as the doctor remarked, is to continue with my plavix medication to ensure ease of blood flow. I will need to show this letter to the doctor in the university and get the doctor's support letter as I was told that a letter from a public hospital is needed for treatment in IJN. The rest? My thoughts are already clouded with many things in mind.
As we made our way home, I joked with my son is maybe I should now start a podcast called Tengking Muslim (with reference to the famous podcast The Thinking Muslim). It is perhaps my cynical response to the Islamophobe sphere. The world does not seem to be evolving into a better place with talks of land-grabbing expansionism in place, treating people of not their colour or creed as vermins. I have seen how many posts that try to demonise Muslims to an extent that I would like to abandon the social media. The small part of me with whatever little time I have left, need to make small moves Sometimes we joke about this (see this post), but on a serious note, one should not lose hope and have faith in the wisdom of Allah; the one piece of advice that I hope my children will learn.
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