'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.

Falling

I was the last (together with my youngest son) in the family to get infected with virus since the last few days. I'm getting better now and was left with some bad cough; took pain killers before for my back. So yesterday, I excused myself from Friday prayers so that I don't spread the disease. But instead of resting, we received a phone call from our youngest son that he fell down the stairs in UniKL-MFI (around 12.30 noon) and he could not properly stand. He was sent to An-Nur Hospital by one of the staff (thank you). We waited for the update from the staff and later he called and said that our son had a fracture in the navicular bone. After receiving the call, we rushed off to fetch him at his room. We were already planning to fetch him before that for the weekend but now he will have the whole week stay at home before a follow-up set up at the nearest hospital in Seremban.

On meeting him, we asked him what had happened. He said he was carrying a box of folders (don't know how heavy) down the stairs but somehow he had not placed his foot on the steps and fell forward around five to eight flight of steps downwards. Luckily, the box he was carrying cushioned his fall for otherwise the injury might be worse (thankful that did not happen). I will be dishonest if I say I'm not feeling sore for the whole matter but I accept this as fate. The hospital bill itself costs more than RM500 (for the X-ray, backslab and medication) and later had to fork out around RM400 for a wheelchair, bought after arriving in Seremban (I do need to find a job after all these extra expenses).

I do really pity him after all the injuries he had to go through (see this post and this post). One thing I do admire about him is his patience and cheerfulness despite all these injuries. Here is a photo of him arriving home.

and here is today's photo in his room when we bought him lunch (bought from RM3 stall).

Trip to Putrajaya and Watermelon Still

Have paused my posting much due to we had viral fever in the house (even had one earlier draft post has yet to be uploaded). Initially my sons (eldest and third) and my other half was having flu and fever and I was somehow spared from it. They took medication and are still having residual symptoms. At the time, we were planning to go to Putrajaya to accompany our son for an interview on Monday. Booked ourselves a room at Everly Hotel, the hotel that brought us memories of the late Prof. Twareque Ali. My other half and I still remembered rushing off to the hotel when we heard of his departure. Nothing much has changed since then (I think). On trying to find a place to stay, I also found out that Putrajaya Pullman Hotel had already closed in 2019. Memories there too.

We went to Everly on Sunday afternoon (five of us but only three of us stayed at the hotel). Here are some photos.

While we were there, my third son took us to Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque and thereafter to Alamanda to get some dinner.

My son's interview was on Monday morning and once his interview is over, we went back to Seremban. By this time, I develop some viral fever symptoms, particularly attacking joints and my back. Hence I rested most of this week.

Finally, I am still following the gen0cide in Ghazza despite my 'silence'. Occasionally I shared horrifying news in the social media. In any case, most people are aware of what is going on, even if some wished to ignore it (and of course this includes the colonialists). May Allah grant justice for the oppressed.

Doa Selamat Event of Safe Trip for Hajj

Last Friday, we picked up our youngest son from UniKL-MFI so that he can join us for an event on Sunday. Given that he does not have friends of the same age at his work place, the weekend will be better spent with us.

The event on Sunday was for Majlis Doa Selamat for my sister and her husband to go for Hajj in the coming week. In a way, this is also like a family Eid gathering (even though that Shawwal had ended just a few days earlier). I was happy to be able to see my brothers and sisters as well as their families and relatives. Here are some photos.

I was a bit down (some things do not quite go our way recently) and was a bit unwell as well at the time and did not strike too much conversation. Nevertheless was happy to see everyone. There were some discussions on some projects for which I'm pretty open to the idea. In any case, for my sister and brother-in-law, I wish them a safe trip to and fro to the Holy Land and may Allah ease their way there and grant them a mabrur Hajj.