The Balik Kampung trip: Part 2

First the good news, alhamdullilah my dad was discharged from hospital yesterday.

Now back to the Balik Kampung trip.

The second half of my stay at home was mostly spent at the hospital ward with my dad. I have to say i now have a renewed perspective of the quality of care at government hospitals. Its been a while since any of my parents been warded at the GH. A few years in fact. The night of the emergency, it was mom's call to take Dad to the GH rather than the private hospital he goes for his regular medication. It was a good call i think. Any respiratory problems need immediate attention which the GH is well and ready even at that ungodly hour. At the private hospital, at least this particular one...the ER is not as busy at night and early mornings, and probably has a locum/junior doctor on standby. The physician will be asleep at home on call, and it will take at least half an hour if you are lucky for him to get there.

The ward dad was placed in the first 3 days of his stay had at least one doctor and 5 nurses working around the clock on 2 shifts. Since this is a male ward, they even have male nurses around. Gone are the days of rude, fierce loud nurses, or previously called 'misi'....now the nurses are pretty young ladies, and pleasant young man who are well trained, knowledgeable and have the best bedside manners i've seen in a while.

The doctors took their time with each patient, despite the long hours..there were about 30 patients in the entire ward i noticed...with more wheeled in from the ER nite and day. I counted...dad had doctors checking on him 2-3 times a day, with at least one visit by a specialist.

There was this one night, dad had a really bad attack about 2am, both my brothers were with him.....dad refused to get on the bed and wanted to sit on the chair. (Ward is cramped, each bed gets a plastic chair each). The doctor practically kneeled on the floor the entire time giving treatment, my bros sd it took quite long.

And looking around the ward, there's all sorts of people with all sorts of sickness. The taxi driver besides my dad's bed who has refused food for the last 4 months, the popeye-uncle whose bed ridden and forever making scary sounds, the snake-bitten teenager, the lonely Kalimuthu with yellow fever, the sweet pakcik Ibrahim whose sugar level passed way above any meter reading available.....

Except for Kalimuthu, one thing they all had going for them is family. A wife, a son or daughter....friends drop by during visiting hours...but those who stay with you while you ache, who change you when you are wet, who feed you when you can hardly lift your arms are your flesh and blood. And when it all become too unbearable, you whim and cry and ask for God.

It got me thinking and reflecting, at the end of the day, all these things we strive for on a daily basis will come to that.