Watching silently on a wonderful Wednesday
Silently watching,
the wise owl is listening.
It’s observing you!
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Its eyes bore deeply,
into your innermost you.
Shh, not a word, please!
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Watching silently on a wonderful Wednesday
A visually impaired ostomate with ‘imported stoma bags’
A visually impaired ostomate with ‘imported stoma bags’
Anecdote 2 – Mr. Wong
Nurse Chen was on her first night of the night shift duty in an active male surgical ward. Mr. Wong, a seventy-year-old ostomate, appeared at the door way of the injection room, “Nurse Chen, my bag leaks again. This is the fourth bag I changed today!”
Nurse Chen said, “alright, clean up now. Call me when you are ready.”
Nurse Chen found that the stoma was constructed ‘flushed’ or ‘not protruding’. On top of that, the old man was visually impaired. The stoma was placed low on his abdomen or ‘tummy’ where he could not see it. Nurse Chen got him to wear his thick spectacles. She placed a mirror near the sink so that he could see his stoma. It took about ten minutes to guide him to apply the bag correctly.
“I see you have a good-quality bag here; a pink opaque bag… even with an odor-filter! We don’t have this type of bags in our hospital. You are very lucky.”
“Yes, my son is very filial. He imported them from the UK.”
One morning before the staff came on duty, Mr. Wong came to the counter where Nurse Chen was writing her reports. “This is the third night I slept well without a plastic sheet on my bed. I had been doing this for the last four months to prevent accidental soiling on the bed linens! I know how to apply the bag correctly now. Thank you very much!”
He took a few steps backward and bowed ninety degrees, like how the Japanese people would do!
Lovely Freezing Wednesday
Lovely Freezing Wednesday
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Living in an all year round summer country, snow is
… a novelty!
See the smooth icy toppings on all structures it laid upon!
Such a beautiful sight!
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Quotes:
- “To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake, it is necessary to stand out in the cold,”- Aristotle
- “The snow was endless, a heavy blanket on the outdoors; it had a way about it. A beauty. But I knew that, like many things, beauty could be deceiving.”― Cambria Hebert, Whiteout
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Pantun Kanser Payudara
Pantun Kanser Payudara (A poem on cancer breast – revised)
‘A Woman First‘ is pleased to welcome a guest writer. He is Dato’ Dr. Ziaudin Ahamed Bin Abdul Kareem, an advocate for Quality of Life. ‘Pantun Kanser Payudara’ means a poetry about breast cancer.
‘A Woman First‘ dengan berbesar hati menyambut penulis undangan. Beliau ialah Dato ’Dr. Ziaudin Ahamed Bin Abdul Kareem, seorang Pengamal Perubatan Paliatif.
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“女人优先”很高兴欢迎特邀作家。他是拿督的Ziaudin Ahamed Bin Abdul Kareem博士，生活质量的倡导者。 “ Pantun Kanser Payudara”是一首关于乳腺癌的诗。
The above poem can be summarised as /Puisi di atas dapat diringkaskan sebagai:/以上诗可概括为
Death: a solace and comfort because God loves him more
Death: a solace and comfort because God loves him more
When I was a young nurse in ER, a young motor vehicle accident victim died. His parents and siblings cried. A Muslim nurse consoled them and said, ” don’t cry. God loves him more!”
“No! How can you stop them from crying?”
Different cultures approach death differently. To them, it’s a solace and comfort to know that he will be in a better place!
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Quote:-
I hold the view that death is rather like changing one’s clothes when they are torn and old. It is not an end in itself. Yet death is unpredictable-you do not know when and how it will take place.- Dalai Lama
A girl calls and asks, “Does it hurt very much to die?””Well, sweetheart,” I tell her, “yes, but it hurts a lot more to keep living.- Chuck Palahniuk, Survivor
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All I am I owe to my mother
All I am I owe to my mother ( Poem)
I read my first book,
got my first caning from mum.
But I owed her most!
All I am today
with her love and discipline,
owed in love, in strength.
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For some, father is the significant figure that forms one’s character and guides one’s life. For some, mother is the hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world!
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Quotes from two presidents
- “All I am I owe to my mother.” – George Washington
2. “All that I am, or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” – Abraham Lincoln
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Blogging: A Thousand Apologies!
Blogging: A Thousand Apologies!
Did I unfollow this site? How come they are not in my reader? Or are my thumb and finger too big for the tiny fonts on my mobile that I accidentally deleted it?🙏🙏🙏
“oh, this one? Yes, I did because they were too many f***words (nearly eight on one page!) in his write-ups for my liking!”🙅🙅🙅 At times he writes intelligently, though! 😐
I haven’t heard from this site for some time now. Is her dementia mother or her child with mental disorder taking up her time? 🤔🤔🤔
Many writers are in or nearly in their golden years, including me. When I don’t hear from some of them, I wonder if they are well or not?”☹️☹️☹️
Still writing and reading are good to keep one’s remaining brain cells active!
This lady below looks sweet in this pose. If you remember her in a previous daring pose!
Waiting at a corner of the room
Waiting at a corner of the room (a Senryū) Go, go look after your siblings and the cafe Pa's waiting for me. This Senryū is about a mother telling her children to go home. She reminded them to look after their younger siblings and their coffee shop. This lady pointed to her late husband waiting at a corner of the ICU room.
Quotes:
- “Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.” – Buddha
- “No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet, death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it, and that is how it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It’s life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.” – Steve Jobs
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Postscript: She is up there now…
This is a postscript to “A Penny For Your Thought?”
Postscript: She is up there now…
Wen Li was such a perceptive little being!
If one thinks, talking to children about birds and bees would be difficult, this one about ‘living and dying’ is another challenging one!
“My mother never taught me about this, nor did my school!” Li Na thought to herself.
Perhaps, that’s why stories always had it this way, “… she has gone to heaven, and angels are looking after her now. Look at the stars! She is up there now, twinkling from above!
She is now an angel. Put your hands together, and say hello!”
Wen Li closed her eyes and her hands together, “May you be happy up there!”
Travelling and Windsurfing
Travelling and Windsurfing
by Toh H L
When I was younger,
I windsurfed 3 times a week.
It was excessive,
but the hope was to reduce the appetite.
About 8 years ago,
I bought a new surfboard,
the urge is still there,
the mind is willingly,
but, alas, the body is uncooperative!
I still retain the hobbies of travelling,
hiking and a bit of mountain climbing.
These activities not only exercise
the body but the mind as well.
Planning a travel itinerary,
requires a lot of brain effort.
Somehow, these hobbies releases
the happiness hormones, ie dopamine, endorphines, serotonin and oxytocin.
It’s a bit addictive, but we are
merely triggering and tickling its release
to feel what Louis Armstrong sung….
“What a wonderful world.”
by Toh H L
Chen Song Ping 