TOP 10 REASONS FOR EMERGENCY LEAVE

1. Maid ran away
2. Train new maid
3. New maid ran away
4. Kad ATM patah, need to go to bank
5. Grandmother died (for the third time this year)
6. Ran over a cat, need to send car to carwash (to remove evidence)
7. Tap burst, house flooded
8. Kad ATM baru sudah ready, need to go to bank again
9. Car window jammed, can't wind up
10. Maid came back, pregnant

Some are genuine, some are not. Obviously some are made up by me.

No. 6 happened to me last year...I ran over a cat in front of the Emergency Department on my way to work on a Saturday (passive call). But I sent my car to the carwash only after I have finished my ward rounds. It took me a week to recover from the trauma of killing a cat in this manner.

No. 9 also happened to me on new year's eve of 2008. It was early in the morning when I had just arrived at the hospital gate. I did not take emergency leave but sent my car to the workshop for repair & then came back to work as usual. That was definitely a reminder that my "milo tin" (kancil) is getting old & need to be replaced in the near future...

ROLE REVERSAL - AHHHCHOOO

I have had allergic rhinitis for as long as I can remember, usually triggered by

• Dust


• Pollen


• Cold


• Hot/ stuffy environment

Most of the time, the symptoms are short-lived. But it has recently gotten worse, partly due to stress at work & partly due to my neighbour who smokes like a chimney.

There are 4 areas at my workplace that I cannot stand:

• Ward (too hot)


• Clinic (dusty air-cond)


• Radiotherapy planning room (too cold)


• Oncall room (dusty air-cond again)

That will be like.....my entire department! Prevention is better than cure, but I can't be not going to work, right?

Went to see the ENT specialist & had scope done (ahhhchooo). I dread having any foreign body in my airways as it will always trigger a reaction. I still remember sneezing whole day after having nasal swabs taken from both my nostrils before my trainee internship (final year) in Waikato Hospital in New Zealand. I had no choice as it was compulsory for all final year students.

Anyway, I am now being diagnosed as having severe allergic rhinitis associated with severe bilateral turbinate hypertrophy (the ENT doc calls it "kissing turbinates"). The pic shows only 1 of the enlarged turbinates.

The symptoms are better with nasal steroid spray & anti-histamine, but the turbinates are still "kissing" each other. To put it crudely, it's like having 2 marbles stucked in the nose :p

I have been advised to have the "marbles" removed for long term relief.

MERDEKA FOR NOW

I'm finally out of the "south pole" after 6 gruelling months. Will be putting up a few delayed posts.