Family Events and Remembering Rawa Roots

This week was pretty uneventful and coincided with a low point in my life. Nevertheless life goes on. Last week was different; full of activities surrounding family matters.

First, was the readmittance of my other half's brother-in-law (Pak Teh) into IJN HDU (high-dependency unit). He had his stitches opened after a week of the surgery. From what I heard, there was some bleeding and he was advised to be readmitted. My son, Ihsan from JB, in his last stay at home, was not able to visit Pak Teh at the hospital. So, he decided to come home again to visit Pak Teh at IJN on early Thursday morning. He reached Seremban sometime at 3 am in the morning after his work hours, so that he can go together with us to IJN after Fajr prayers. We went there so early just to beat the traffic congestion in KL and to get a parking space (comfortably) in IJN.

Because we have rushed off early in the morning, we forgotten to bring our face-masks. As we arrived in IJN, I rushed off to the MyNews store there to get a box of face masks. The first one that I bought was for kids and thus I had to buy another one for adults (they told me that I can't exchange for the adult ones).

I decided to put these on the table near the seats as we sat waiting for the visiting hours at 12 noon. Just did this simply if anyone would need them but of course nobody came to ask.

Here is a pic of my other half with her sister at the IJN cafe.

Here is Ihsan with Hitam at home. He didn't get to see Hitam before because Hitam was warded.

Just the weekend before, my other half and I went to Grand Beach Resort in Port Dickson for my other half's half-day seminar (on Saturday). Normally this will be counted as points for renewal of her APC (annual practicing certificate). Later she found out that there were no points given for it since it did not meet the necessary requirements.

The next day (Sunday) we were in Rembau for her friend (used to be her staff in the Rembau clinic) wedding invitation at Restoran Sungai Rembau. 

The weekend after the IJN's visit was also special for me, since all my sons came home. Here we are at a local mamak restaurant having our light dinner.

Last Sunday, we were also at Avant Court to meet my sister who just came back from Hajj. They organized a gathering which is also in conjunction with their 50th anniversary.

I was also told by my sister to meet a long lost distant relative in Tapah, Zulfahan. I don't think I have met him but here we are at the function.

I wasn't so sure how I am related to him but he brought up the name Lokman, son of Pak Deris, whom (the latter) I know during my childhood days, visiting his shop (Pak Deris') just meters away from the my grandfather's (Udin) place. Zulfahan told me not to forget my roots. I can only reason (for myself) that I was only in Tapah during brief visits with my mum and brothers and sisters. Not only I was largely absent in Tapah but for most parts of my life, I was not even at home (being in boarding school, and later abroad for my Bachelor and postgraduate studies). Even as I returned from UK (after my PhD), I was sent to Bintulu campus. Of course, the other reason is my low social skills and I do not mix around very well and always have kept only a small circle around me. In some way, I do feel that I betray my parents for not keeping close to our relatives and forget my Rawa roots (see also here). My observation is that we often assimilate and adopt cultures of our spouses. I will try to do my part to give some knowledge of Rawa to my sons.

Moving Away From Social Media

Social media is bad for me though I will not completely turn them off because I do get useful information from them. So, I had limited myself to read social media when I'm completely bored or during those times I find myself idling. For instance, I was at IJN yesterday to visit my other half's brother in law who was readmitted in HDU (high dependency unit). While waiting for the visiting hours, I found myself scrolling through posts and reacted to one 'dyon' post, which I thought was strange but later I thought that I did not really know the context in which the post is made and regretted I made a remark there. Social media has really made us reactionary, many times egoistic and even make personalities turn to the dark side. Here is a pic that I posted yesterday during the ait (more stories of the visit in forthcoming post).

The following is a draft post I made more than two months ago about why I prefer not to go into social media too much. I hesitated to post this but here goes. I made a knee-jerk reaction to a post I was reading (I can't find that post anymore). It was about giving benefits to those who kept themselves healthy in response to those who are not but receiving medical benefits. It might sound logical but if one examine the argument in a larger context, it seems to assume that we are in complete control of everything. If one carried the argument further, will one say that the sick/diseased is rather undeserving of the benefits that they get because they can't keep themselves healthy (even genetically)? Maybe I say this with my own predicaments in mind; no one wants to be sick voluntarily. Actually, I have seen this kind of argument in many other places. For instance, once I have an acquaintance who speaks about being initiated on uplifting one's economic status. This may sound sensible. Just like before, if one carries this argument through, one could simply blame poor people for not doing enough. However, one should realise that not everything is within our control and every outcome (success or even failure) is by the grace of God, a confluence of right factors (not really at our own disposition). Opportunities do not come uniformly even if one attempts to impose as such. Throughout my life as an academic, I saw these too; with many of my efforts being unfruitful and even ridiculed.

This brings to the main thrust of this post: the knowledge that (we think) we possess. It's easy to think that the knowledge attained is purely a product of one's own efforts. In-built, in the Muslim psyche, knowledge comes with the Grace of God. Even when one has knowledge as such, the Muslim knows that it can be taken away easily. I have always mentioned this to my students: remember the moments that one simply forgets a Qur'anic ayat due to probably a deviation of utterance of a word or the moments that one forgets the raka'at of a prayer due to sway of one's attention. That's how easy it is. Even if we take a not-necessarily-Muslim viewpoint, we barely understand how our mind really works (many theories, of course). It is again the confluence of opportunities that helps us understand knowledge as we grow. It is thus disappointing to see students and colleagues become arrogant as they begin to accumulate knowledge. Much 'debate' online tend to demonstrate this and those who are on the receiving end of mockeries will quickly adopt fight or flight response (it is rarely 'want to know the truth' stance for whichever side). I will probably do the latter mainly because at this age, I would not want to waste my energy. Hence, I tend to be more quiet these days, ignoring most of the viral issues and focus only on things I know well and those I can really take effective action.

I say the above not to say that I'm wiser or cleverer or more religious. Far from it. I consider myself as an average person with plenty of ups and downs. I am neither an angel nor a satanic demon. The only thing that I can say is that I will always try to be a better person irrespective of the many failures and weaknesses. May Allah help me be the better person I want to be, away from fitnah and be granted husnul khatimah.

A Visit to IJN

During the weekend, we made a visit to IJN (the national centre for cardiovascular care) to visit my brother-in-law who had undergone an open heart surgery. But let me backtrack to a few days earlier. Last Wednesday, my son in JB, Ihsan, came home (his usual monthly visit). So by Friday, we had the whole family at home with my third son, Izhar, coming back from work in APU and my youngest being picked by my other half and Ihsan from UniKL. For me, having the whole family home is a special occasion. Normally, I would take the opportunity to have a group photo while everyone is here, but the kids say that we will do this at another time. Instead, we decided to have some special meals - my other half bought durian and I bought satay.

Back to my brother-in-law; he experienced problems sometime end of last year, where his blood pressure dropped quite low. After a few check-ups at public and private hospital, it was said that he is having heart valve disease. Further check-ups were made then at IJN and they scheduled a surgery sometime in July. He was warded on 15 July and was told that his surgery is due on 18 July. Here he is just hours before the surgery (with his wife, sister of my other half).

On the day of surgery, my other half and my eldest son went to IJN to show support, while I stayed at home to wait for Ihsan. Also, I had to send Hitam (our three-legged cat) to the clinic since there was an infection/swelling on the leg where he had his drip (after the amputation)

I was told that the surgery went on for six hours (remedying the valve problems and also blockages). After the surgery, he was sent to the ICU for post-surgery observation. On Saturday (20 July), he was then moved to the normal ward. So on Sunday, we (my other half, Izhar and myself) decided to pay him a visit.

When we were allowed in, he was seated on a chair for some physical breathing exercise. One could see the long stretch of stitches on his chest from the surgery. I can't imagine the suffering that he has gone through.

This was my first time visiting IJN and it looked impressive. As my youngest son can't stand too long (seats are limited in the ward), we went to its cafe (within the same block) to rest and waited for the others to go down. Thereafter we had lunch together at the main cafe which is situated at a different block.

Hijri 1446

Last weekend, we have entered the new Hijri year, 1446. Not much has changed. I'm still at home, waiting for any opportunity to work to better my livelihood. Otherwise, I will simply wait for the  increase in pension pay at the end of the year.

Perhaps one major change that occurs for the family is the arrival of Hitam, Here he is with an undone bandage coming towards us for food.

The bandage was meant to cover his stitches, so that he doesn't lick and bite them open. Being a stray cat, he is probably more used to leftovers. Here he is eating roti canai.

We experimented a little with what food he is suitable with. He quickly becomes the darling of the family.

The other change is that our youngest son, who fell down the stairs in UniKL, has now removed his crutch and is able to walk with a slight limp. Before about a week ago, we had been sending him to work and fetching him back home each weekday. Due to some personal matters, he has now stayed back in college. Hopefully he can get food easily during the night.

We would normally fetch him back on Friday to spend the weekend with us. This weekend however, he decided to stay back to meet some friends.

I'm still following Faouzia who has entered The Singer 2024 competition in China; looking forward to Fridays where new episodes appear. She has yet to drop out from the top three. She has even sang in Mandarin for the contest. There are still two episodes left for the competition. I hope she get the recognition she deserves, whatever the competition outcomes are.

'Eidul Adha 1445 and Hitam

It has been a week past 'Eidul-Adha which falls on Monday, 17 June. This week saw the whole of my family together. My third son came back on the Saturday and my second son on the Sunday. This time round, we did not go anywhere and stayed at home. So on the day of 'Eid, we took our group photos after the Eid prayers.

We had our simple breakfast of rendang, kari ayam, nasi himpit and peanur sauce.

At noon after Dzuhr, we entertained the request of one of my son to see a Malay comedy movie at the cinema which is supposedly to be based on a true story of a religious preacher. I must say, it is not my kind of movie but it is 'Eid and we wanted just to enjoy the day as we go along. We had a late lunch at Coffee & Dreams, S2, which is a halal eatery. The food was good; they don't serve beef dishes (only chicken  and seafood dishes - I can't take chicken or seafood) but luckily they have vegetarian dishes.

The next day, my youngest son had to go to work after over three weeks of medical leave. He will be using crutches and wear only sandals to work.

From now on, we will be sending him to work early in the morning and then picked him up again at 5pm. This is mainly due to that he can have dinner easily (a bit inconvenient for him to move around at night). 

With most shops closed just after 'Eid, we decided to try out Omak Sey restaurant (was said to have went viralled) for our lunch.

The food was delicious but unfortunately it was too expensive for us. The meal for four (with only two dishes shown above) costs about the same with the meal for the whole family (six of us) at Coffee and Dreams. The restaurant is perhaps be better placed at luxury residences where the people can really afford such meals.

The next part of the post may have pics and videos that are not too pleasant.

To update on the kitten that had severely injured leg posted before, the amputation actually was done two days after we sent it to the clinic in order for the kitten to regain strength after losing too much blood. After the surgery, we were told that its heart stopped for a while and the vet had to do CPR on it. Here is the kitten after the surgery

Here is the pic of the severed leg.

Here is another video when he is still at the clinic.

We will be taking the kitten as a new member of the family and we called him Hitam, a name that was given spontaneously to the vet due to its colour. We have now brought him home but we have to keep him in a cage so that his wounds (stitches) will heal properly. We have yet to toilet train him properly (previously he roamed free in the backyard) and thus additional chores.

Currently, he seems to be having diarrhea. We tried changing food to see if it stops but not very successful. We hope to send him to the vet perhaps tomorrow.

Amputated

Warning: Readers, please be advised that there will be pictures of a wounded kitten in this post. If you can't stomach it, please do not proceed. I, myself, can't bear to see it up close.

My family love cats. All our cats are indoors and are never let loose outside. Being so, there are things to be tolerated. All of our cats are toilet trained; only one cat, Boboi, seems to be choosey and will only use the litter box if it is already been cleaned. Another one cat Meli (the cat we brought from Gambang Resort - we did ask for permission to bring her home after she strayed into our room's balcony) may also make a mess when she undergo seizure. So usually when we are away for some period, we would send this two to a cat hotel.

Today, while my eldest son are collecting clothes after drying them in the backyard, a kitten came running towards with an injured foot. My son saw that it was really bad, probably have been injured for days since larvae are crawling out from the injured foot. My son informed my other half and they decided to send it to the clinic almost immediately. I think it is one of the kittens that usually appear when we are in the backyard and we don't know if they belong to anybody. Occasionally, we put some food in a plastic container near our door so that they don't go hungry.

I asked my son to take photos of the injured kitten (so be warned)

After arriving at the clinic, the vet told them that its foot had to be amputated. The amputation costs RM480. There will be further expenses after its warded with all the medication and food. We have asked the neighbourhood if it belongs to anyone but no one said it is theirs. We probably will adopt the kitten and we hope that it will recover well.

Cruel world.

Follow-Up Varia

Have been quiet here. With all the suffering and evil in the world, the way that some people (usually the powerful and rich) looking down on others and the way people brag about what they know (seemingly ego boosting exercise), I don't really want to write anything. So spent part of my time listening to talks online and to the talented Faouzia who participated in The Singer 2024 competition in China (was surprised that she did). Yes, I still have interest in music as a creativity outlet and a musician wannabe (though my other half said I should concentrate on my next life). Just to mention that I still keep one draft post talking about my reaction to a post in social media; maybe it won see the light of day (let's see).

Updating on my youngest son: about two weeks ago, he went for a follow-up in Columbia Hospital in Seremban, a week after he was x-rayed in Bangi. There, the doctor recommended to take a CT-scan of his foot, to know details of his injury.

It was concluded that there was no real fracture (earlier x-ray was unclear) but the injury was probably torn ligament. The doctor did recommend surgery but we don't have the money and insurance. My other half being a doctor herself and who had a similar injury before, said that it will heal but it will take a longer time without the surgery. While still being sore about the whole incident, there was a slight relief for it was not a bone fracture. In any case, I had to fork out another RM800+ for this visit. He was given another two-week medical leave and he had to go for physio sessions in the coming weeks. Knowing that it was not a fracture, we bought him an ankle guard for better healing and a crutch for better mobility around the house. We will keep the wheel chair this time (may be for my old age); previously we had another wheel chair last time for my late mum but we have donated it to someone.

The first physio session was on Monday (a public holiday) and got a surprise that the bill for the physio session is nearly RM250. If I remembered correctly the last time, it was only about RM100+. At the time, I was thinking probably it was the extra charges during a public holiday. The second session was on the following Wednesday (a working day) but it still costs about RM220+. So we probably will skip his third physio session this week. He is healing but he still fears to put his body weight on the left injured foot. His medical leave will also end this week and we may have to send him to work this Friday (I hope he will be excused though since the following Monday is Eid).

Last week, my other half informed me that the Senawang clinic where she did occasional locum will be closed. This has been happening quite a lot these days as clinic business become expensive and very competitive with new younger doctors leaving the public service. The government has decided to put a stop to this by putting the condition that doctors who are opening up a clinic should be at least 40 years of age. 

We still keep ourselves busy at home and I still do my own scientific reading. The photos below show us putting up a net near our balcony, so that our cats will not be able to go out. It will also save us air-conditioning expenses given that we can now open the balcony sliding door in the morning or in the evening to let cool air in.

The two cats that are usually in our room are Kiki (left) and Fifi (right).

I'm looking forward to the coming Eid-ul Adha with my sons coming back home and will have the full family back. Less frequent home is Ihsan who works in JB.

Yesterday, we made a quick visit to my nephew's place who suddenly got the news that he will be going for Hajj together with his wife (lucky them). My sister-in-law (his mum, married to my late brother Zainal Abidin) will be staying at his place while they are gone.