any similarities?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any similarities between these three babies?? Perhaps their age difference makes it harder to compare.

VVIP whom I've met

Most of you would have heard of the Tan Sri Datuk Robert Phang's interrupted press conference when MCA youth chief, Datuk Wee Ka Siong's lawyer served the YB. with a gag order.
When I read about the incident earlier this year, it struck me as the name Robert Phang sounded very familiar.
Then I went through my name card folder, and I saw his name card which he gave me years ago.

 

Back then I was working in a clinic in Jalan Bukit Bintang, and I was attending to him. He was a Datuk back then. 

One of the perks of being a doctor in a government hospital is meeting VIPs or even celebrities. 

Out of all the VIPs that i've attended to, the one which I was most nervous was when I was asked to attend a medical call back in 2004, where DYMM Sultan Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail (Sultan of Perlis) was the Agung then, where he was coming back from his trip to Japan. I was chosen for a stand by call, where just in case if DYMM needs any medical attention, I would be the one attending him. I was granted access to the VVIP room, the reception hall which was elaborately decorated with crystal chandelier, artistically carved wooden seats for the DYMM, which I secretly sat on and asked the ambulance driver to take a photograph (hihi). He was welcomed by foreign dignitaries, ambassadors, Tun Abdullah( he was the prime minister back then). I was praying throughout the entire time the moment DYMM stepped out from his jet plane until the moment he stepped into his Mercedes. I prayed that nothing happens as if something goes wrong ,my name will forever be immortalized as the person who "harmed" the head of the nation! Yikes! 

Our ambulance had to follow his entourage all the way to his residence in Jalan Pahang, and boy, I was impressed as the entourage consist of 8-10 S class Mercedes traveling at 140-150kmph.  I later learned that it is a standard safety protocol to travel fast as if anyone who tails the Agung, he would be spotted as they need to travel at such speed.

Then while posted in Neurology ward, I had the privilege to have met Yasmin Yussuf, the former Miss Malaysia as she regularly accompanies her father to the Neurology outpatient for treatment. 

Then while doing my posting in Urology Department, i've attended to Dato Jalaluddin Hassan, the host of Malaysian's version of Who wants to be a millionaire. 

But while doing emergency and accident posting, that's when i meet with the most celebrities.

During the SARS scare, I've attended Hans Isaac, as he developed fever after a movie launch in Johor, where he encountered hundred of screaming female fans! He allegedly mentioned that a female fan kissed him on the cheek. Worried that he might have contracted SARS, he came for a check up. 

Anyone know who Ava Vanja is? She was once a member of an all girls singing group called Elite. 

(the following paragraph is purposely written as such to avoid being traced by google)

Back in 2004, she was involved with the sno of Cheif Mynister of Sarawka, Daot Seir Sulaimna Adbul Rahmna Tiab, who was the chairman of RBH Bank. She came to a & E department with a police report (it was a medicolegal case) for bruises she sustained when she shouted at him upon seeing him with another women. Out of rage, in public, he stepped out from his car, held on to her arms, and pushed her against the wall. While attending to her, I confirmed the validity of her statement as there were multiple bruises on both of her arms. 

The following 2 weeks I was interviewed by police inspectors, chief police, sergeants, for a report. Out of curiosity I  asked whether are they going to settle this matter in court. The police simply replied,"No, of course not."... as expected. 

Anyway, for those who finds this post boring, it's alright, as I feel rather bored myself. Nothing new and fresh to write about. 

Why Leonidas? What does it mean?

The main purpose of this post is to explain why did I chose the name Leonidas and what does it mean, as the first time I told my parents, their reaction was,"What kind of name is that? I've never heard of such name before." Even both my sisters were baffled with the name.
Both my wife and i agree that we should chose names of much significance for our children. I knew a lot of people who was born without an Christian name but later in life, decides a name for themselves, as it was considered "cool" by many to have an English name. It is different in our case.
As I am Chinese illiterate while my wife isn't, so we agreed that I will chose and English name while she chose the Chinese name.
Three of our children have got their name registered in their birth certificates.
For my first daughter, Isabelle being a Spanish variant of Elizabeth in English means "devoted to God". 
Natalie, a name of French origin, means " born on Christmas", and no, she wasn't born on Christmas.
I have always thought of names with great significance, preferably a historical figure that their name is forever immortalized in the history of mankind.
For a boy, it has got to be a strong name, that is associated with boldness, bravery, and strength. My first choice was Alexander, as I thought of Alexander the Great. However, I reckoned that people would call him  Alex rather than Alexander which is a little difficult to pronounce for their grandparents, and great grandparents who are Chinese educated.
However, as I checked the history of King Alexander of Macedonia that he had a lover who was a man! Yikes!!!...
I continue to search the net for historical figures that is synonyms to bravery, strength, heart, leadership, and exotic. A name which isn't too English, like John, Mark, Peter,etc...
Yikes, these were the names of the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ! No offense to my Christian friends.
I stumbled upon the name Leonidas. Hmm... it sounds good, even in short,Leo sounds alright. It's exotic, and as I did more research of that name, I found out it is a Greek name, and of fantastic significance. Leo means lion. Leonidas means either "Son of Lion", or " brave as a Lion" in Greek. It belonged to King of Sparta, Leonidas II, who lead a small number of Spartan to defend against the Persian invaders lead by Xerxes I. Their battle also known as "Battle of Thermopylae" , considered by many as one of the most famous battles in history of mankind. In Greek mythology, King Leonidas is believed to be a descendant of Hercules, and it was documented that he tutored and disciplined Alexander the Great while he was still young, before Aristotle.

An artist impression of the Battle of Thermopylae where the Spartans lead by King Leonidas defended their land from the Persian invaders. 

Although the small number of Spartans lost in the battle against the mighty force of the Persians, which outnumbered them by thousands, King Leonidas is remembered for his bravery, leadership, strength, and never give up attitude, even upon realizing his life is at stake. 

Hence, I chose the name. 

So, to all who questioned the reason for this name and it's "funny and never heard of", I hope this post has answered your questions.

Leonidas's first night at home!

Any parent would agree that with a new baby in life, their lifestyle would definitely change. Mine is no exception. Despite hiring a "baby nanny" for 1 month, whom advised us to allow the baby to sleep with her so as to allow my wife to recuperate, we thought it would be better if the baby could sleep with us as it would be much easier for breast feeding. Boy, was i wrong!
Surprisingly, Natalie sensed the attention towards her was diverted. She was crying before bedtime, so much that it woke the baby up. It wasn't intended to. It's just that we had to attend to the younger ones first.
Leo was struggling the entire night. if he didn't sleep, both my wife and I couldn't sleep as well. We took turns to watch him. He persistently wanted to be breast fed(less than 2 hours in between feeds), probably due to lack of milk. Then after feeding, even after he burped, he have the tendency to regurgitate the content out. Though the pediatrician told us it is normal at this age as the muscle sphincter between the esophagus and the stomach hasn't fully developed yet.Hence the food have the tendency to regurgitate out. Even being told to be normal, but the sight of milk coming out from his nostrils freaked me out!
I tried tilting his sleeping position to a more reclining position, yet it didn't work. He seemed irritated. So, ended up having to cradle him. At one point, i actually fell asleep while cradling him!
I hardly slept yesterday night. By the time he settled down and slept, i gently placed him next to me, and slept for 2 straight hours. I woke up feeling groggy, allowed the nanny to take over, and went back to sleep.
Isabelle woke up early and came straight to our bedroom, enthusiastically asked for the whereabouts of her little brother! I simply answered her "hasn't is taking care of him" before passing the TV remote control and headphone to her and fell right back to sleep.
I woke up at 12pm!
Isabelle can't help adoring her newborn baby brother, always wanting to carry him!
You'll be a great sister, Isabelle.

D-Day my son was born

 

Today 24.2.2010 marks a historical moment in my family. It is the birth day of my son.
 My wife was actually scheduled to be induced on the 25th, but since she has been experiencing regular contractions, her Obstetrician decided that we shouldn't wait any longer.
It was a feelings of anticipation, excitement, worries, edgy, happy, and nervous all mixed into one. A feeling every new father to be feels. As i had mentioned earlier, though this is my third child, it never felt like it. It feels like its my first.
This morning, I woke up at about 6.30am, and was unable to sleep since. There I was, laying on the bed,with million of thoughts running through my head. Got ready and washed up. Isabelle came into our room and wanted to sleep with us. There are times when I feel pity for her as she is sleeping on her own right now, and I know how much she wanted to sleep with us.
Before leaving the room, we tugged Isabelle next to Natalie, gave her a gentle peck on her forehead,  gesture of saying goodbye without waking her up. We thought it would be a good idea to have a proper breakfast as once my wife goes into active labour, she wouldn't be allowed to consume anything!

I looked at my wrist watch which showed 7.49am. We were a little early actually. So since it's going to be a long day for my wife,  thought it would be nice to have a decent breakfast, at Papparich. 

It's the latest "happening" cafe within Bandar Sri Damansara. Its a chain of franchise F & B cafe similar to Uncle Lim's, Old Town Kopitiam, White Coffee, Kluang Station, etc...

 

Indeed, no doubt it has the warmth, cozy, and comfortable ambiance, however, my first love will always be Starbucks! Yes,after spending around 45 minutes of gastronomic indulgence, we actually stopped by Starbucks in Sunway Pyramid while on the way to the Hospital in Sunway Medical Centre. 

For once, instead of my regular triple espresso, thought it would be nice to be different once in a while.So, I ordered Chai latte, Venti size.

 Chai is actually a Hindi word for Tea. haha... My Indian friends use to be impressed with a Hindi speaking Chinese..."Apne kyar chai pene chal ta he?" (in Hindi it translates to "do you want to join me for tea?"..

Haha... it would be insane to actually stop by Starbucks when I am supposed to send my wife for delivery. Actually, anticipating a long waiting period while in labour, thought I'll stop by Maxis centre in Sunway Pyramid to upgrade my old USB modem which doesn't work with Window 7. Thought of updating my blog while waiting for the arrival of the baby.

However, I got my priorities straight, despite able to go online, I decided not to surf the net, instead, to be by my wife's side, accompanying her throughout the entire time, to give her moral support to face the lingering spastic pain of labour that comes on and off. 

We were ushered into the same labour room when my wife gave birth to Isabelle and Natalie. But with a difference now. Noticed the three prohibited things to do sign pasted on the wall, which says, no photography, no videotaping, no hand phone. Despite of the new rule, who doesn't want to document historical moments as the birth of their children?

Placed just right next to the mother's bed is the baby's bed which is equipped with an overhead heater, where the newborn are cleaned, and excess liqua is sucked from the baby's nose and throat. 

Before induction of labour was commenced, an intravenous line was set and the anesthesiologist was called to set up the epidural anesthesia.

As anticipated, setting a line on my wife would pose a challenge to any paramedics, nurses, or even doctors.
The anesthesiologist failed to insert a large bore branula into my wife's fine vein, which resulted with a subcutaneous heamatoma. (blood clot under the skin)
The second attempt was a success.
In epidural anesthesia, the anesthetic is injected or rather infused into the space where the spinal cord is between the 4th and 5th lumbar vertebrae.

 

A large bore branula through which the IV fluids are infused into my wife.It was meant to hydrate my wife since she wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything once in active labour. 

To get the labour going into full speed, the Obstetrician broke the "water bag" to allow the inconsistent but persistent contraction of the uterus to be more "active". 

While a chemical called Pitocin which stimulates the uterus to contract was infused into my wife,the epidural is also being administered in a controlled manner by an infusion pump. 

With every contraction, the baby's heartbeat slows down. Hence, a CTG is placed to detect any abnormal or prolonged bradycardia( slowing down) of heart beat that possibly leads to fetal distress. According to the CTG, the baby was fine. 

It felt like hours had passed. No, wonder, it was already 2pm. With the pitocin being infused, it should hasten up the labour and speed up the delivery. 

Upon seeing no effect that took place, at the initial rate of infusion, the staff nurse increased the speed by 3 fold. 

Time....

passed....

by.....

really .....

slow... and by then, even though my wife's uterine rate contraction picked up, but since morning till now, even with Pitocin infusion, we anticipated that she would probably deliver at night. At least that was what i told my wife, but just right about 10 minutes after telling my wife that... she started having prolonged pain and contraction.
I mentioned that to the staff nurse, and she proceeded to to a pelvic examination. A sudden panic look on her face can only mean one thing! The baby is coming out!!!
20 minutes later.....

 

Little Leonidas was born. 

He weighs a healthy 3.35kg/7.4 pounds. Out of the three children, Leonidas is the heaviest. His two sister did not exceed 3kg during birth. 

I was really proud of my two daughters as there wasn't any signs of sibling rivalry. Both Isabelle and Natalie kissed Leonidas upon seeing him for the very first time. 

Natalie can't help by wanted to carry Leo badly!

I thanked God for an uneventful labour and safety of both mother and baby. I am certainly blessed with a wonderful gift. 

Though a newborn can't see clearly, nor unable to express love verbally, I certainly could feel a connection with Leo each time he opens his eyes.

 

A look that  says, "Daddy!"

I am a proud father of three lovely children now. I am especially proud to see Isabelle's natural sisterly love towards Leonidas, which she aptly described her little brother's arrival as "a dream come true."....

A quick summary of what happened since my last post....

 Ok, friends, first of all, I'm feeling a little jittery, and experiencing palpitation as i a typing this down. My wife has been having frequent contractions since yesterday, and for the past several days I've been sleeping with one eye open. We called up our Obstetrician just several hours ago, and he advised us if she doesn't go into labour by tonight, she should be brought to the hospital by tomorrow to induce labour as frequent contractions isn't good for the baby as each contraction would temporarily restrict the blood flow to the baby. Boy, I am nervous, sweaty, edgy, the same feeling that i had during the birth of Isabelle and Natalie.
So, I won't be updating my blog for the next couple of days.
Ah yes, I received this SMS this morning.

 

My ex secondary classmate who works closely to YB Elizabeth Wong, once made an appointment to bring her "boss" to see me for chronic backache. But they kept on postponing their appointed date as her "boss" was busy with her work. Eventually, one fine day I casually sent her a SMS asking who is her "boss" out of curiosity as I knew my classmate is an active member of PKR, and her husband is the Editor of Chinese version of Malaysiakini. It stunned me for a while when she told me it was Eli Wong. Coincidentally that was the time when her "sensational" photo was published and all the spotlight was on her. It must have been a terribly difficult moment for her. Sincerely, I felt this is a dirty, and a foul method of political assassination. Personal matters aside, why must this be brought up to the public? Malaysian politics stinks!

For those who read my previous posting on my the incident where my uncle suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burn, until today, only his youngest sister from Singapore, one of his close friend, my father in law, brother in law, and myself visited him. Non of the rest of his brothers or sisters visited him, with the excuse of "pantang" to go to hospital. 

 

Poor fella, the injured himself while cooking for the family during the first day of Chinese New Year, and of all these years, its only now that i got to know that in every auspicious days in the Chinese Lunar calendar, he is the person who buys, cooks, wash, and cleans the pots,pans, and plates.All of these were done alone, without the help of any of the siblings.

As I visit him regularly, he shared with me his frustrations, sadness, and disappointments with the siblings. If I knew this earlier, I wouldn't have even attended any of the dinners during these Chinese auspicious days. I would have boycotted them. 

 

I understand that i shouldn't be involved in their family matters, but I can't help feeling angry and pissed at these aunts who refused to even send him to the hospital as they were superstitious to the extent of avoid going near to a hospital. This is plain stupidity. For readers of this post who is directly or indirectly related to this uncle of mine, sorry if I have offended you, but the fact is, the aunties are so superstitious that neglected my uncle's well being is simply unforgivable. Your ancestors who is no longer around would probably give you people a tight slap if they are still alive. 

 

This is the portion of the back where he suffered 3rd degree burn, where the entire thickness of skin is gone, exposing the flesh underneath the dressing. Even with such a padded and thick dressing, the wound was moist that it's stain can be clearly seen in this photo. 

 

The partial thickness burn (2nd degree) involving the entire left upper limb. Imagine for the first 1 week, he needs to change his dressing on a daily, and prior to that, the staff nurse needs to brush the exposed flesh to remove the slough (infected tissue+discharge). The agonizing pain is indescribable according to him. He need to sit in this stainless steel bathtub while the nurses scrubbed his exposed flesh. 

 

He is injected with morphine twice daily to reduce the pain. While it reduces the pain, he experiences the side effect of morphine, unpleasant dreams or even nightmares. 

During that particular day, he accidentally slipped and fell while carrying a wok filled with boiling water. The incident happened at about 10.15am, while no one in the house wanted to take him to see a doctor( they thought Chinese New Year being an auspicious day they shouldn't visit places like clinics) a neighbour was kind enough to take him to the nearest clinic. Even that, that inexperienced doctor prescribed the wrong medication, and did not send him to the hospital. He prescribed Ponstan 250mg!!!

From left to right. Voltaren 25mg, Voltaren 50mg, Ponstan 250mg,Indomethacin 25mg, Synflex 550mg. Of all these painkillers available (ponstan 250mg-the middle one- is the mildest) There are other painkillers which is not illustrated here. 

The doctor gave my uncle the mildest painkiller, which did not alleviate the pain at all! He sat and endured the pain for nearly 12 hours when I saw him. I was perpetually shocked at his condition, and anger rose within me when he lifted his shirt to show me his wound. No bloody one even bothered to ask him how he was feeling, how was the pain, or even what happened? For 12 hours, the siblings told me the wrong story on the nature of the accident. It was only upon reaching Selayang General Hospital where I got to know what actually transpired. I rationalized that since they couldn't tell me the right story, means that nobody even asked him what actually happened! i was made. How can anyone be so selfish? How can anyone be so ignorant? It's their own brother!And these happened while my uncle was cooking for them! So, immediately I did a dressing for him, before deciding to send him to the hospital. When a cousin of mine was asked to accompany me to bring him to the hospital, his mother actually told him not to tag along as it was Chinese New Year, and he shouldn't go to a hospital, with the stupidest reason that he will bring home  some "evil spirit" or " bad omen" along. What full of shit!  And to make matters worse, this particular auntie who prevented his son from accompanying me told the other siblings not to pay for the hospital bill, that my uncle should settle on his own!!! I could  swing a bat to her face when i heard that! Doesn't she realize it was her own brother that sustained the injury while preparing the food for them? 

It was hypocritical to be pious and performing various rituals towards deities when you don't even give a damn about your own flesh and blood. Hypocrites!!!!

Until today, non of them visited him. My cousin who owns his own company, a university graduate who earns a 5 figure salary who bought a RM80k Toyota Innova for these aunties to drive around, and a RM400k BMW X3 for himself, a person with unquestionable intelligence ACTUALLY obeyed his mother unreasonable (that "stupid aunt" of mine) excuses. IF they are so damn superstitious, the least they can do is just give me a call earlier during the day so I could have a look at him. But no. No one bothered to call. Has she ever thought if the same thing were to happen to her, wouldn't she want someone to visit her? This incident  revealed their true colour which will forever change my perception towards them.

I am ashamed to be related to them. This post revealed the dark side of my family, but its just that i kept it inside of me and each time whenever I see them, I get this urge to tell them off. 

To make things worse, my aunt who came to me last June after developed jaundice for 2 weeks in which its symptoms of tea coloured urine with clay coloured stool which suggestive of jaundice of post hepatic in nature, with cancer of pancreas at the top of my differential diagnosis, whom was then confirmed to have cancer under follow up in Hospital Selayang Hospital developed cholecystitis.(infection of the gall bladder) .

  From a hefty framed lady, now is just 1/3 of her original size within 8 months. I was perpetually shocked when i saw her a few days ago. Now she is warded in Selayang Hospital. 

 

She was so dehydrated, exhausted, and tired looking.She even seemed breathless while speaking. While sitting next to her,i noticed her once caring, gentle, and cheerful character now speaks monotonously, her empty stare with weary eyes unmistakably suggestive of a sense of hopelessness and depression, that she knew her days are numbered.Life seemed unfair at times, when once before being diagnosed of cancer, she was cheerful, always smiling, light spirited. She exudes a kind of soothing, warm, and loving feeling that is contagious. You feel good just by being with her. Life is really unfair. 

Why would a gentle soul like her have to suffer mentally, psychologically, and physically? The only consolation she has at the moment is seeing her 3 daughters and my uncle who always tries to cheer her up, and always show her that she is not alone, that her family will stand by her side to support her for the rest of her limited time left. She felt loved. She is loved. 

Just yesterday, after closing my clinic at 7pm, i immediately drove to Selayang Hospital to visit her. Seeing her frail body disheartened me. Despite of her condition, she still managed to smile effortlessly. The light within her hasn't dimmed a bit. She is more concerned with her daughter's day to day matter than herself. She is a good example of a selfless, unlimited, natural, instinctive motherly love despite her weakened body. Her physique may have wasted away, but her spirit and love remains steadfast. She will always be in my prayers. I know our Heavenly Father sees her gentle spirit, perhaps for some reason, God wants her to be united with Him much earlier, to be free from the cruel and harshness of life. Who knows? We see only the present, and assume the future, but God sees the past, present, and the future. 

Wedding at Westin Hotel

My family attended my cousin's wedding last Saturday held at Westin Hotel Grand Ballroom. The wedding dinner was attended by a number of VVIPs as my cousin's husband is Royal Selangor Pewter's marketing general manager. Just google "Selangor Pewter marketing general manager" and you'll find out who he is. Some of the VIPs who attended the dinner were Tun Abdullah's daughter, Nori Abdullah and her well known husband, Khairy Jamaluddin. Apparently my cousin and Nori were childhood friends.

We received the wedding invitation weeks ago. It was actually our first time to receive an invitation to a wedding dinner with dress code, as well as citing the colour of clothes of which we have to adhere to.
Its a good thing actually, as i went shopping with my wife a few days before the dinner for a new shirt since the last time i bought any was a few years ago. It's high time to get more working shirt, Chee Hung!!..
I was all dressed up, wearing long sleeves with a maroon tie, which my dad thought it was unnecessary. But boy, awkward is an understatement the moment we arrived. Seeing everyone was so formally dressed up! The ladies were looking elegant with their evening dinner gowns, while the man were wearing suits!

This photo is taken just outside of the Grand Ballroom. Family and friends aside, the other guest consisted of Dato Seri's, Tan Sri's, and Datuks!
I would have guessed it as my cousin's husband runs a family business which is well known in Malaysia, Royal Selangor Pewter.
Yes, I've attended many wedding dinner before, but not as elaborated as this one! Everything was well planned, as my cousin works as a wedding planner. (come to think of it, I wonder why didn't i ask for my cousin's help for MY wedding..) hmmm....

The hotel is exquisitely decorated with contemporary decorations, with well placed lamps and plants, creating a Zen like ambient.

 

There were at least 3-4 plasma TV on every wall. Some of the guest actually came out from the Ballroom to watch a football match. 

The atrium right outside the Grand Ballroom is well decorated. 

The moment we entered the ballroom, I was awed with the elaborated decorations and well placed lighting.

My cousin really went all out on the decorations. The candlelight surrounded by pink roses placed at the centre of every table creates a warm, soothing, and romantic atmosphere.

Throughout the dinner, we were entertained with video clips of the tea ceremony, slide shows, live band performance,etc...

Red wine was served to everyone. What else can I say, red wine, pink roses, white candles, and fine dining. Ahhh.... Its certainly a night to remember for my cousin.

 

 

The only little deficit in an otherwise perfect wedding dinner it their European style fine dinner. The food was served in small portions, you know, the kind of food you see in fancy restaurants where presentation is of utmost importance.  No doubt the food tasted great, but i doubt it satisfied Chinese gastronomic demands!..

That's my cousins with their partner.

Well, overall, I think the dinner was good, the guest were well entertained, the decor was classy... to be frank, a little too classy in my standard. :P

 

Well, Shen, congratulations on your wedding. May your new phase of life be filled with  blessings,health, and prosperity. 

Thank God, one "Ang Pow" less to give out next year. I am looking forward for another 2 of my cousin's wedding this coming October.