Back From Holiday

I have been back since Saturday, but I just didn't have the chance to write anything here. My holiday was good fun. The weather wasn't that great, however, there was one full sunny day and the others were kind of scatterred rain and sun.

Cornwall is a beautiful place. Loads of beaches, rocky cliffs, gardens, etc. Oh, I also ate the ever famous "Cornish Pasty" (a steak pie) and ice-creams (lots & lots). =) So I really enjoyed myself, and it was a very relaxing holiday.....slept alot....which is just what I needed to rejuvenate myself after a long week of on-calls.

I'll let the pictures taken during my holiday speak for themselves.

The Giant Head @ The Lost Gardens of Heligans

The Eden Project

A Garden of Yellow Lillies

A Field of Purple Lavender

Spiky Flowers @ The Eden Project

Land's End (yeap, this marks the end of the land in England on the world map)

Land's End

Young girl at the edge of the cliff

At Tintagel Castle

A Peek Through The Wall of Tintagel Castle

Me & My Cornish Pasty

Scarecrow decorating the road signs @ Cornwall

Cornwall Here I Come!

I'm going off on holiday!! =D

I will be off to the sandy beaches of Cornwall....hope the weather will be sunny...or even if it is cloudy, I do not mind, as long as it does not rain. I know the weather has been pretty awful lately...THE WETTEST SUMMER ever!

So will update once I'm back.

Hope everyone will have a good week!

Hmmpphh!

On call over this weekend...and was hoping to leave work on time yesterday, but failed.

Someone loss her consciousness...I personally think that she has a TIA. But anyway, it wasn't so much the fact that I had to stay on to help her...it was a nurse that kind of annoyed me.

While I was sorting out this lady, a received a page from a different ward about a patient who was admitted with diabetic ketoacidosis. She said that she didn't know why the patient was prescribed with 10% dextrose, instead of the normal 5% one. And the patient's blood sugar level was now 29! Honestly, I did not know the answer to that...All I know was that the ward has a DKA protocol and we should follow it. But yeap, there isn't any 10% dextrose instruction on the protocol. So I told her to look in the notes to find out the reason for that or try giving the acute medical receiving ward a ring (patient was transferred from that ward, they would probably have a better idea about what's been going on). Her answer was, "I'm too busy...I can't phone them. But I'm worried about this patient."

Right...let me try to understand her sentence. You are too busy to give them a call, but yet you're worried?! hmm...If you are worried, you would be able to put other things aside, and phone....I told her that I was busy trying to review this lady who has lost her consciousness but will look into the matter once I'm done. She said, "He can't wait that long."

WHAT?! So he can't wait, but you still refused to phone the ward to find out...GREAT! So I told her to stop the infusions at the moment till I go to her ward.

She's a total arsehole! She really frustrated me. Hmmpphh!

Hay Fever

I couldn't sleep all of Monday night....well, I'm telling a lie. I slept for a few hours, woke up, slept again, woke up...etc.

I think it is probably peak summer time. Therefore pollen is at the max level. My eyes were so itchy yesterday night...I sneezed a few times, and my nose felt quite itchy. When I woke up at about 8 am, my throat felt weird again...like as though I was going to have another sore throat. My eyes were still rather itchy, and slighly watery. I "ahchoo-ed" a few more times...and I decided that I had enough. I took one tab of clarityn. I felt better throughout the day, otherwise I doubt I could even concentrate while being on-call.

I really do not like Hay Fever!!!

Paint My Love - Michael Learns To Rock

One of my favourite songs!

A Lovely Weekend

I had a very relaxing weekend!!

On Friday after work:
- Spent 30 minutes on the treadmill
- Dinner with SzeL

Spent Saturday in Glasgow City:
- Watched Harry Potter
- Shopping
- Dinner at Pancho Villa (the mexican food wasn't that great)
- Had coffee and soaked up the sun at George's Square
- Karaoke session at home. SzeL & I were singing hits from Michael Learns to Rock because my parents told me that they attended the band's concert at Genting Highlands. MLTR reminded me of my childhood days when they were so popular!

And today:
- I woke up really early to catch the first train to Ayr with SzeL
- Had scone + butter + jam at a garden under the sun
- Picnic at the beach in Ayr with strawberries, ice cream, orange juice
- Shopping, Again!
- Dinner at a nice pub

Whilst having my shower, I realised that the skin at my upper left arm is red! Must be the sun... hehe...but I do not mind...I love getting a tan....because I will become so fair again, once autumn begins in just a few more weeks.

=) It was a lovely weekend! Now I do not feel like going to work...but oh well....tomorrow is a bank holiday but I'm on-call ...so here's hoping that most of the population is away on holiday in a different country.....which means less admission to the hospital! =P (yeah, right!)

Adabracadabra!

That was how quick Sirius was killed in the latest Harry Potter movie, The Order of The Phoenix. I thought that he was killed too easily by just a wave of the wand and the word, "Adabracadabra!"

But, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire film. I felt that the movie was darker than the previous ones, which really made it far more exciting to watch. I loved the way the movie creators projected the character Dolores Umbridge....She was extremely pink! Helena Bonham Carter played her role really well!

Oh...yes....and the much talked about snogging scene. hehe...It was nothing! Just an innocent kiss under the mistletoe...keke. I guess it gave the movie a wee bit of a "oomph" eh?

*Eeeksss...he is back again!

Remember my previous post about being chased out of the ward by a patient who was violent? If you don't, please visit http://sawling.blogspot.com/2007/05/scariest-moment.html

Anyway, I went to work this morning and saw a familiar name on the board. I went over to the room to see if it was really who I thought it was....and OMG! It was HIM!!

He's back again in the hospital with ...yeap...alcohol related illness....

eekks...really scary to see hime again...he just looks just the same as before. Scary.

Deaths and more deaths....

Although the medical receiving unit is not as busy as during the winter months, I have seen so many deaths recently. And the main underlying cause of their death was alcohol.

Alcohol taken in moderate amounts is fine...but too much, can damage your liver. People with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) hold the season ticket into the hospital. We spent so much money and effort treating them, but they do not appreciate us. Once discharged, they are back to their drinking habits again. And the whole vicious cycle begins.

Just over the past 3 weeks, about more than 5 deaths have been due to ALD. One guy in particular was a frequent flyer into the hospital. He was admitted with haematemesis.....Again. He was so popular amongst us doctors that almost everyone in medicine knew who he was. Bleeding varices was his main problem. He got them banded in every single hospital admission, and once he got better, he insisted to sign himself out of the hospital. However, this time, he said that he does not want anything done to treat his condition. He died within 24 hours. He was only in his 30s. I guess he was tired of his illness.

It is a shame that those with ALD die that a very young age. For example, 3 women died recently, and all of them are between age 30-35, with children at home!! Shocking! I know it is pretty easy for me to say, "Stop drinking." But the thought that these people drink like there is no tomorrow without even considering about their children really disturbs me. Oh well, who am I to judge them eh?

Superb Tennis

Ahh..what a nice way to spend a Sunday in front of the telly.

It was a nail biting Wimbledon men singles final match today. I am so glad that I watched it. Nadal put up a fantastic fight against Fedex. I got the nerves when I watched them play....can't imagine if I were the player....I would probably die of anxiety! (erm...mind you, I can't even play tennis! I would be picking up the ball more than anything else!)

Glad I wasn't working over the weekend! tee hee hee....oooh....I can't wait till the next Wimbledon match 12 months later! =)

Giggling All The Way

Shrek 3 is great! I just watched it today...and I practically laughed throughout the entire movie.

You know, some movies that have sequels become boring. For example, Pirates of The Carribbean 3 really put me to sleep. But Shrek The Third...was simply amazing!

I love the cute donkey-dragon babies, ogre babies, puss in boots....hehe...highly recommended if anyone has not watched it yet.

Sniffly Snuffly

aaaa....aaaAAAa......AAAHhhhhCCCCCHHHHHhhhoooooooo


aaaaaaAAAAAHHHHCCCCHHHhhhooooooo


AAAAACCCCChhhhhhhooooooo


*sniff *sniff *sniff

Woke up this morning with THE most painful sorethroat I have ever had. It was so painful to even swallow some water. But I did it anyway, to try to soothe the throat.

Not too long after that, this sore throat changed into a runny nose. I was sneezing all day, my eyes were very watery, my nose was super duper itchy. I was feeling cold, but was sweating at the same time. The day was AWFUL!

=( I came home and had a very warm shower. It did not relieve my nose. I had a hot bowl of soup, and that seemed to have cleared up my nose.....but not for long.

AaHHHhcCchhhooo....

There goes my nose again. I'm going to sleep now...and maybe swallow an antihistamine to reduce the itchiness. My eyes are so watery...I could hardly keep them open. So good nite ppl.

Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head

Raindrops keep falling on my head
But that doesnt mean my eyes will soon be turnin red
Cryings not for me
Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin
Because I'm free
Nothings worrying me.


The summer is so SOOO WET!? When I go to work, raindrops fall on my head, and when I walk back home from work, raindrops fall again. Raindrops KEEP falling on my head!!!

It is already July, and half the summer is gone. I have not seen the bright sunshine for ages....this is not summer...the weather seems to resemble autumn (although the temperature is definitely warmer).

The lyrics above is correct. I can never stop the rain by complaining. hmm...I'm not too sure about the "because I'm free and nothings worrying me" part. Heck, I am a busy woman....and yes....plenty things are worrying me.

hmm...for eg, I'm worried that I'll be blown into bits while riding on the subway/train. I'm worried that I won't be able to pass my practical driving test. I'm worried that I would not be able to treat kids when I start my paediatric rotation next month. I'm worried that I won't be able to wake up tomorrow morning on time (shh...did i mention that I slept in on Monday?! but I was safe...was only 5 mins late...keke) Oh boy....there are plenty things to worry about!

Right. Please forgive me for this totally random blogging.

I am in Love

Yes! I have fallen in love.

It's been a long time since I've felt like this. He is super hot.

I couldn't take my eyes of him.

His smile just melts my heart. His eyes are beautiful. As I watched him, I just wished I could give him a big huggie.

Oh...I have fallen in love....

...fallen so deep in love....

with Jude Law! =P


keke.....I know this sounds really daft. But Jude Law has always been my favourite actor.... and after having watched him in "The Holiday" just now on DVD, this fact still stands.

Another Day

It's my 6th day of being on-call today...very night when I reach home about midnite, I feel very hungry. I would eat something and then fall alseep in front of the telly. Simply knackered. Unsurprisingly, it has been busy....and I have reached the stage where I really could not be bothered to do anything...but I got no choice. Every morning when I wake up, I would tell myself, "It's just another day." To make matters worse, its Wimbledon time...and I wish I could stay at home and watch Federer or Rafael play tennis.....but nope....have to go to work! Sigh....hope the weekend will be peaceful for me.

I Wonder

The whole event yesterday magnified. Luckily I did explain to my senior what happened last night, because at 9.30 am today, the bloody SHO called up my senior to complain. She complained that there wasn't any medical review for many days. Apparently, medics were supposed to review the patient daily. But heck, we are no psychic....we wouldn't know that you wanted the review daily unless you tell us so. Everyone agree?

To make matters worse, the plastics consultant phoned my senior to ask what the hell was going on. Anyhow, my SHO was right, if they want to be anal about everything, let them be. As professionals, we need to be as polite as we can...and that would make them ashamed of themselves.

I couldn't help but also feel that the whole thing must have been sparked by me. I wondered whether I did the wrong thing. I wondered whether if I had been more polite to her the whole event would not be as complicated as it is now. I wonder.

And So I Cried

Have any of you felt so angry that you cried? Well, I ended up in tears today after work.

At about 5.30pm, I was still in my own ward trying to sort out an ascitic tap and pleural aspiration, when a SHO from plastics phoned the ward. She asked to speak to one of the medical staff. So, I answered the call. The SHO asked me to review one of the patients in her ward who was going for a skin graft tomorrow. I told her that all my seniors have left the building (it is already 5.30pm!). She insisted that someone needs to see the patient to decide whether or not this patient is medically fit enough for his skin graft, and whether or not he requires a blood transfusion. The patient was last seen 2 days ago by my consultant.

As far as I know, I have only met this patient once, because he was transferred to plastics for management of his skin infection the following day. I do not know what has been happening to him after that. I am aware that this patient is being cared by both the plastics and medical team.

I informed the SHO that I am only the junior house officer and if she wanted a senior review, she would need to page the on-call medical SHO. She cheekily said, "You have to page the SHO, because I do not know this patient that well." hmm....excuse me? Aren't you the person who is going to perform the surgery on this patient? "Well, to be honest, I do not know him very well either. I have only met him once, and I do not know of his progress thus far," I answered. Again, she insisted that I should page the on-call SHO to review the patient. "Right ok," was my answer.

2 hours later.....after I have sorted my ward out, I decided that it is not appropriate to contact the medical SHO on-call, as he totally does not know the patient...and by right, it should be my seniors that review the patient. So I thought I would just pop up into the ward to find out what the main issues were with the patient and if possible, try to sort them out.

At the ward, I looked into the patients notes and found that someone has spoken to the medical SHO about the patient, and a plan was in place. The patient was to get his 2 units of blood transfusion. So I told the nurses that they should proceed with the plan. And just as I was about to leave, the telephone in the ward rang, and it was the plastics SHO on the phone. She asked to speak to me.

"Right, first I was told this patient was for a transfusion. Then, someone told me that patient is NOT for a transfusion, and now you're telling me that patient should get the transfusion. So which one is it?" said the SHO.

"I do not see anywhere in the notes that stated that patient is not for a transfusion...so it would be wise to follow what the medical SHO has written down, ie, to transfuse."

"Right ok. You medical people always see the patient and do not do anything for them."

"If you are not happy with our treatment, please speak to the consultant about it."

"Now, can you crossmatch this patient then?"

"Err...no."

"Well, this patient has joint care and I am NOT your house officer. You do not need to ask the nurses to phone me up and ask me to crossmatch the patient."

"Neither am I your house officer. I never did ask the nurses to contact you about that. They did it themselves.."

"Fine. But I am totally swamped...so busy. You have to crossmatch the patient. You medics just leave everything for us to do."

"But the patient is in your own ward?! You wanted to know whether you can transfuse him...and I said ok. And now you want me to send a crossmatch sample?"

The SHO kept ranting away about how taking the blood sample is my job and releasing her anger at me. She was bloody rude. You know, she is on-call...and I am not. Why do I have to do her jobs?!

At the end, I know I was losing the battle, and I just said, "Fine ok," and slammed the phone down even before she could say anything further. I told myself to take a deep breathe and just take the blood sample at 7.45 pm!

After that, I left the ward....and mumbled to myself, "Fucking bitch." I felt so angry at the way she spoke to me, trying to sound all high n mighty and so bloody cheeky!!! I was very angry until I cried. It wasn't so much that she was being rude to me...it was more of the fact that she was just being so unfair.

Favourite Food

I've been sleeping all night long...had a splitting headache all day yesterday. It was awful. Dunno why...but I will blame the warm weather mixed with chilly spells as the culprit. Lucky that the headache is away now.

Anyway, yes, favourite food. I would say my ALL time favourite would be the one and only nasi lemak. =) The simpler the nasi lemak, the more delicious it is. I do not mind eating just the sambal and the nasi...yum yum. Crazy eh?

I know I can prepare this dish myself, but I can never make the sambal like the ones sold at the market back home.....sigh (makes think about the delicious spicy nasi lemak that mum usually buys from the market at home!). I remembered the last time I went home, which was during CNY, all I ever ate nearly every morning was, yeap, nasi lemak! hehe. (Think my arteries are probably 50% blocked after that trip!)

hmm...besides nasi lemak, I do enjoy asam laksa, maggi mee goreng (especially the one at Steven's Corner) and dim sum. =) Now, I am REALLY homesick.

Michael Buble - Home

All of a sudden....I feel very homesick and feel like going home....hence the song. Enjoy people!

A Big THANK YOU & HUGS

Thank you all my dear friends for your birthday wishes.
Those of you who called from Singapore/Malaysia....I am thrilled & happy to have received your calls today.

Thank you to Laura & George, for the lovely dinner tonight.

Thank you all for the presents. I really loved them all.

Thank you to my nurses and fellow colleagues at the hospital for your warm wishes.

I had an amazing day. I couldn't help smiling all day. I felt really blessed and lucky to have known people like all of you out there.

Believe it or not, my patients bought me a birthday present today! It was a box of celebration chocolates and a birthday card....aww....it was really sweet of the 3 of you.Thank you.

Thank you. CK for the cocktail shaker....will try to practise my cocktail making skills! =)

Thank you Green Pea for the lovely present...I do like it alot. In fact, I have put it on for 2 days dy. hehe.

Thank you. Helen for the birthday balloons that you put up on my door today....I am really surprised to see them when I came home!

Thank you SzeLeng & GeakPoh for the lovely dinner last week, and the wonderful presents as well.

Whoever I have missed out, you know who you are, and I thank you once again.

A quarter of a century old....what the heck. Life only just started. =D

A BIIIGGG HUG for all of you! Cheers!!