A husband’ s definite yes is what she needed to hear
A husband’ s definite yes is what she needed to hear
Nurses the Silent Hands
Nurses the Silent Hands
by Prof. Khairulmaini Osman Salleh ( a former classmate of mine. His mother was an Assistant Nurse- Special Grade)
* In halls of healing, nurses grace their trade,
* Modern Nightingales with hearts so pure,
* With gentle hands, my mother’s care conveyed,
* In soothing words and firm resolve, secure.
* A friend from distant shores, her calling found,
* In Port Dickson’s embrace, she learned to heal,
* Her presence, solace in the pain unbound,
* A testament to her unyielding zeal.
* As age advances and frailty draws near,
* Their steadfast care becomes our guiding light,
* A world without them, fraught with doubt and fear,
* Their steadfast spirits keep the dark from sight.
* Let us extol their tireless, noble art,
* For nurses hold a special place in every heart.
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Parkinson’s disease: Three steps forwards and two steps back
Parkinson’s disease: Three steps forwards and two steps back
When I was a student, I met a male nurse walking a patient with Parkinson’s disease to the toilet.
“He is taking ages at the rate he is walking! It’s like taking three steps forward and two steps backward! I told him it would be faster for him to use a urinal on his bed!” Mr. Lee kept quiet at that remark. His mask-like face showed no expression. With a flexed body, he shuffled in a frustratingly slow, yet festinating gait. His thumb and forefinger rubbed in a pin-rolling tremor.
He never wet because he would request to go to the toilet earlier to avoid losing control of his bladder.
A senior walking pass, “Mr. Lee, I see you are walking and exercising. Very good, keep it up!”
Later the senior called a few of us aside, “be careful what you say! For a headmaster, to lose control over his movements can be a depressing condition. He may keep quiet, but he is sharp. He understood what you said! We need to treat patients with dignity and respect!”
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Not long ago, I met a male retired banker in a pottery class with me.
“I have Parkinson’s disease. That’s why I am here!” He was trying to slow down the progression of motor disability. And he was very creative and tidy in his pottery work!
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Research and management of people with Parkinson’s disease have improved a lot since.
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Fire drill… in darkness
Fire drill… in darkness
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It was a fire on a second floor ward. Most of the patients were either comatose or bedridden.
As figures emerged from the smoky darkness in the stairs, I watched the frightened, tearful, and dishevelled soot-in-hair and uniformed nurses and staff carrying each patient on a stretcher or tied to the arms of a chair.
It struck me that fire drills had never, never ever been done in total darkness! The drills were always carried out in brightly lit departments.
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“… According to the travel expert, it is essential to “always count the number of doors to the exit stairwell”, Cici said on a recent TikTok video.
This is in case there is a fire and “it is too dark or smoky” for hotel guests to see where the exits are.”…
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Have you ever participated in a fire drill with all the lights out?…in total darkness?
… something to think about!
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Blogging: I run my race
Blogging: I run my race
Blogging is like running
but running a race?
I paused, I sweated,
feet apart, panting,
and watching others
... forging ahead.
Jane Trombley wonders
about the paucity of
baby-boomer bloggers
and her generation's 'voice'.
A counselor opines
that blogging feeds wellness!
Is blogging a new way of coping
for some?
Of course,
many baby-boomer bloggers
have joined the run.
but, are they running
the same race,
the same pace,
for the same goals?
Quotes:
1. Baby Boomer Bloggers: Are you out there? - Jane Trombley
2. Blogging feeds wellness!- Beth Moore
3. "Coping through blogging..." - Petko D. et al.
Shh… why is everybody tip-toeing around here!
Shh… why is everybody tip-toeing around here!
Cos a baby is in the house!
*******
It was after-work
young papa opened the main door
and slowly closed it… clicking softly.
Mama glanced up at him
with a tiny, tired, and weary smile.
Cos, a baby is now in the house!
*******
Mama recalled a baby sleeping
in a basket next to a hawker’s stall
amidst the hustle and bustle
of the busy street
and market vendors
shouting their wares and goods.
*********
Each baby is being sensitive
or dulled by acclimatising
to each own environment.
So, who needs to be tip-toeing now?
Do you?
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My first night duty as a nurse
My first night duty as a nurse
One of the questions asked by an interviewer, a FMM nun was, ” … nurses have to do night duty. Do you think you can do it?”
Before my first night duty,
my sister gave me a ‘talisman‘.
“put inside your pocket,
but don’t go under
any clothes lines!
****
My seniors told me
timely ghost stories, including
a patient on hip-spica
who crawled all the way
to the nurses counter;
never forget to this day.
***
We even went to mortuary.
” … remember feet first.
Otherwise the head
will remember and
follow you back!”
***
There are three lights;
one on each shoulder,
and one on the forehead.
“Don’t look left or
right over your shoulder!”
They will be wiped off,…wisp!”
Comb your bangs up!
Keep your forehead clear (and shining brightly)!
****
The ward was so busy.
We had no time to
think about the hip-spica man,
or those lights!
I had been fortunate
to be able to sleep well
during the day- time.
****
Happy night duties!
****
This is the best compliment ( from Susan’comment below) I have ever had in blogging… see below.
I’m a little envious at the poetic way you shared this experience. Keep posting, you have incredible writing talent! Susan
Pottery – container with cover
Pottery – container with cover
*******
“The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Create it.” – P. Drucker & A. Lincoln
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English: when everybody is a ‘he’!
English: when everybody is a ‘he’!
When a child addresses everybody as a ‘he’, I wonder if there is a problem with high-frequency hearing loss. The tiny hair-like sensory hearing cells in your cochlea (inner ear) are damaged. There is a problem differentiating certain higher pitch consonants like s, h or f).
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When I hear not
I heard
but I haven’t heard.
Was it a ‘she’ or a ‘he’?
When I hear not
The ‘cat’ is beautiful,
or the ‘hat’ is beautiful?
And can one comb the [h]air?
When I hear not
The teacher’s explanation was simple.
Yet, I couldn’t understand.
Am I ‘stupid’ or ‘slow‘?
When I hear not
I love music
But I can’t get the lyrics.
It’s ‘distorted’ music!
When I hear not
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Hearing screening for babies and school children would have helped eliminate these falsely ‘lost and stupid’ kids in the world of sound.
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Words heal or wound
Words heal or wound
*********
it is OK
you did great
we are so proud of you!
we will help in your next exercise!
So comforting
so soothing, so reassuring!
Words heal!
she shut herself into her room
drowning in her musical world
cos music speaks, too!
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on the contrary
why are you so stupid?
Why aren’t you like your clever siblings?
We should never have had you
in the first place!
So scathing, so harsh
so cruel, so insensitive!
The boy left that night
roaming aimlessly,
and never came back since.
Regretingly
checking with police station every day
where has he gone to?
Words wound
his heart deeply
Where words fail, music speaks: “Where words fail, music speaks” is a quote by Hans Christian Andersen.
Listen to my duet Words with Kevin Yip.
Chen Song Ping 