Life at HUKM

Aku dimasukkan ke HUKM the same day I was discharged from Pusrawi. Actually the doctors said that if I want , I can go home for a day first, then go to HUKM the next day. But E-Ya enterfrem kata takyah waste time after all there's nothing to do at home. So off we went to HUKM in my brother's car. Along with us were E-Ya's parents but they're in their own car.

I checked in at the Gynae emergency counter but biasalah have to wait my name to be called for my blood sample to be taken. Time tu pulak sakit perut aku dah datang balik so immediately I took my pain killers. With all the preliminary procedures settled I was then wheeled to the ward by a nurse, my entourage with me.

HUKM ni tak macam Pusrawi atau even HKL. Here they don't have ward classes. What they have are open wards. So eventho by standard of my salary, I am eligible to be in first class ward, I'm still to be put here. Nevertheless the ward was comfortable and the beds were quite distant from one another. I was placed at bed 28, ist floor, ward Berlian, under Prof Hatta. Actually kalau nak bilik sorang-sorang ada tp kat Level 7, clinic pakar dia, tp ada nurse yg bgtau org sakit macam aku lebih baik kat open ward sbb kalau apa-apa emergency berlaku nurses tahu. Lgpun layanannya lebih kurang sama je kata nurse tp bayarannya huiii, mngalahkan hotel 5 bintang. Satu malam dekat RM 250. Since akupun tak tahu berapa lama aku di HUKM ni, baik tak yahlah fikir aku. Dahlah kat Pusrawi aku kopak RM 13K utk duduk selama 11 hari. Nanti tak de pulak simpanan utk emergency lain.

Ni lg satu routine masa di HUKM, (as well as Pusrawi). I recalled going thru this not less than 20 times throughout my stay at both hospitals. Kadang-kadang sampai lebam-lebam lengan dan tangan dibuatnya trying to find the 'perfect' vein to draw out my blood ...

Cara plaster di tampal mengingatkan aku kat citer Madu Tiga P. Ramlee. Alahh muka dia kena tampal masa nak klentong bini dia tu lah...

Cuma satulah, di HUKM visiting hours dia strict sikit and tak boleh ada org menunggu patient. Si E-Ya punyalah hot because dia dah minta permission utk tunggu aku the first night, and dibenarkanpun. Tp ada sorang nursetu punya kerek sound dan perli-perli kat dia' "Tak payah tunggu, kita org ada. Lgpun org yg ditunggu bukanlah terlantarpun!". Ada sorang nurse tu pulak lg mulut laser. Nurse lain OK dah bgpun slip permission pd E-Ya utk tunggu aku mlm tu sbb E-Ya dah explain condition aku, tp nurse tu tiba-tiba menyampuk, "Alah kat sini melambak org sakit cancer"

Sakit hati dengarkan? Yelah tak jd kat batang hidung dia atau family dia, senanglah dia ckp mcm gitu. Memanglah aku tak terlantar, tp adakalanya pandangan aku gelap dan jlnpun kena slow. So aku mmg harap pd E-Ya utk tolong pimpin aku ke toilet ke, atau nak minum air dsbnya. E-Ya kata kalau ikut hati nak sound je kt nurse tu to be more sensitive. Tp aku ckp jgn... Aku kata, "Nanti bila dia org nak inject Acik di injectnyer mcm inject lembu, lg naya...." So E-Yapun buat bodo je, dia bentang comforter dia dan tidur atas lantai tepi katil aku. Pas tu dia tutup muka dia dan ZZZZZzzzz.

First day aku kat HUKM nothing much happened. As this hospital is a learning hospital, jd doktornya bertukar-tukar. Jap kang sorang doktor dah dtg, nanti a few minutes plak doktor lain pulak yg datang. Baik doktor yg bertugas, mahupun houseman atau yg tgh blajar. But they all asked the same question berulang-ulang kali sampai aku dah naik fed up. Ada at one point aku ingat aku ada jwb macam ni lebih kurang kat sorang doktor pelatih tu. Aku ckp, "Boleh refer balik kat notes awak tak, rasanya saya dah jwb soalan ini tadi".

Actually the first day itself aku dah di arahkan oleh Prof Hatta utk gi buat FNAC bengkak di leher aku, tp semua doctors yg baca report aku boleh ter"miss". Bila dia org realized hari dah malam, clinic buat FNAC dah tutup. So the next day when Prof Hatta came and noticed that I have yet to do the test, dia bengang je... Lepastu barulah Dr. yg brtugas kelam kabut telefon clinic FNAC buat appointment utk aku pd hari tu jugak.

Sementara menunggu giliran aku utk FNAC, aku sempat berkenalan dgn dua org pompuan yg pada mulanya aku tengok muka tension aje. The first lady sat beside me muka dia blank stare ke depan je. Yg no dua pulak kept pacing the sidewalk of the clinic. Dia juga bengang sbb every tong sampah yg dia try pijak handle di bwh, tak mau spring terbuka lidnya. Macam-macam perangai org aku tngok. Students medical UKM pulak punyalah ramai menebeng di situ. Macam ada pesta ...

Dipendikkan citer, actually the two ladies were also teachers. They are there to do FNAC on their breasts. Both of them were stunned to hear that I was already diagnosed with cancer and dah stage 3 plak tu. Aku kata kat dia org kalau leher aku nipun confirm cancerous maknanya aku stage 4. They asked me how can I be so relaxed relating all these to them, sedangkan yg dia org baru nak buat test dah risau. Well I said, " I believe there's a hikmah behind it. I will fight this cancer all the way. I am not going to give up. No point pun nak give up. Live life to the fullest". Last but not least aku ckp, "After all with this cancer, I'm eligible for at least a two year leave with full pay. Sapa nak bagi, so I might as well enjoy it". Haa ... mcm gitulah aku ckp kat dia org. Dia org mesti ingat aku tak betul ...

Aku time tu duduk mcm bagus atas kerusi roda. Dlm perjalanan nak ke kliniktu, aku rasa mcm org famous je sbb punyalah ramai org memandang. Yelah mana taknya, mesti aku kelihatan teruk sbb aku kurus sgt, muka pulak dah sikit cengkung. Mesti dia org ingat hee... pompuan ni apa kena agakya smpai boleh jd mcm tu... Hal "kurus" aku ni actually dah menjd favourite question doktor, baik semasa di Pusrawi mahupun di HUKM ni. Semua tanya kenapa aku kurus sngt. Aku ni actually mmg dah sedia kurus. Weight aku tak pernah naik-naik dari masa aku Form 3 sampailah sekarang. It has always been in the range of 40-44 kg, and with a height of 165 cm, dah pastilah aku ni nampak mcm lidi. W/pun aku makan banyak tp agaknya metabolic rate aku tinggi jd semua fat atau carbohydrate yg aku sental tak bertukarpun jd lemak dlm badan. Doktor-doktortu bukan apa. Dia org ingat aku jd kurus mcm tu sbb cancer. Aku sampai offer kat doktor kalau dia org nak tngok gambar aku dolu-dolu utk buktikan yg aku mmg dah sedia kurus.

Selesai buat FNAC aku ditolak balik ke ward dan memandangkan keputusan ujian mengambil masa beberapa hari utk diketahui akupun minta doktor kebenaran utk balik ke rumah. I miss my home... aku dah lebih dua minggu tak balik umah... Nasib baik doktor kata Ok, lalu akupun dptlah percutian 3 hari 4 mlm di rumah. Yeah ... suka tak terkata ....! Sempat aku joget lg smpai E-Ya kata "Bertebiat ke apa Acik ni..."