Our Rohani Idris 1956-2012

4-8-1956/21-10-2012

   My eldest sister & the second of my siblings (same mother, same father) had left us forever at the age of 56 years old (similar to her year of birth). Her name was Rohani Idris, somehow been written in Birth Certificate as Rahani Idris. She was involved in a very tragic car collision on night of 21 October 2012, along the Muadzam Highway near Felda Kratong. She was reported died on the spot. She was alone on way back to her home in Gemas after returned to our village in Bukit Kuang & managed her new restaurant (to be opened soon) in Gebeng. She was laid in peace at Bukit Kuang cemetery in the morning of 22 October. My wife, daughter & I just missed her funeral as we were late by an hour. I had no chance to give her my last kiss & respect. I just stayed for a while at her grave and send her my recital of doa and Al-Fatihah.

   She was a very caring sister who we ever had. Her cooking was tremendously finger-licking yummy. She did a lot especially to me.  I stayed with her family in Bukit Mertajam Railway Quarters while I was in Form Five in 1981. She always gave me good advice. I transferred to Bukit Mertajam High School from Sultan Ismail Secondary School, Kemaman due to some family misunderstandings back then. I had a lot of memorable moments with her. I will definitely miss her humour story.

   She had given a signal of her death but I just didn’t notice. She wished a Happy Birthday to me one month earlier than my real birthday. I told her that my birthday was on 25 May and not April. She even bought me a birthday present then. She also persuaded me to celebrate the recent Eidul Fitr and Eidul Adha with our siblings at her new house in Gebeng. If I could foresee this, I definitely fulfil her request.

   Her death is great loss not only to her husband & children but also to us as her siblings.  She was normally called by us as Zah (short form for Azizah, her unofficial name, given by one Malay traditional healer). Later, as we all grown up & have our own children, we called her Makwa.

  Makwa;  Stay calm over there. We will always send you our Al-Fatihah, Al-Quran recital and prayer.

  O Allah! Please kindly do accept our Makwa with Your Unlimited Forgiveness and shower her with Your Utmost Blessings. We love her so much but Your Great Love is much more than ours.

Long Time Illness

   Thursday 27 September, I have suffered again from my long time illness. This time, it was severely bad, lasting for four days. So, on the night of Sunday, I went for a medical treatment at Hospital USM. An examination was carried out on suspected part of my body, and a few millilitre of blood taken and sent for lab diagnostic tests. One of the lab reports shown that my haemoglobin level was tremendously dropped by half of a normal range. Then,  the on call surgeon was called for further action. After some discussion, I was later admitted into the  Surgical Ward. It was about 10.00 p.m. then.

   In the ward, I have been observed very well by  very dedicated staff. Later, the doctors decided to perform a rubber banding on me. I was at first, quite reluctant to undergo this procedure. After a few thinking & some small discussion with the doctors, staff nurses, my big brother; I agreed to rubber banding. The procedure was performed at noon on 1 October and it was successfully done. Kudos to the team!  Somehow, it was a very painful indeed.  Two pints of blood were then transfused into my body to replace the great lost of blood that I suffered for the last four days.

   I was finally been discharged after the medical team which taking care of me fully satisfied with my physical & medical conditions. But that was not a stop! I have been given the appointment for a follow up examination which is Sigmoidoscopy on 18 October. The medical team just want to confirm that the bleeding was not from other part of my intestine. O my God!

 O Allah! Please give me strength to face whatever the examination finding would be. I pray for it neither a very serious medical illness nor some terminal diseases.

English...

   English lesson must be strictly taught in English language. No other language but only English. The system itself must be improvised & upgraded. Do not misuse other subjects in  order to enhance the standard of English among our school pupil/student. The teachers themselves must be given  competent and intensive course to teach this English subject. Ensure all the teachers involved are really can converse and write in English with a high standard level. Do not just simply put non-English-optional teachers to handle the class. The times allocated for English class should be increased as well.

We....

   We have been given a brain and mind. We must make full use of both. Use them wisely but never abuse them. Unlike an animal, we not only have brain but mind too. We should use our mind to create a useful environment for our life. If we should compete among us, do it rightly & fairly. We must also conserve this world for our own & next generations. We must not simply deny the right of the animals & other creatures too. They are also a part of us, sharing this only earth that we temporarily own. Do not simply throw away our daily home-made waste, make an opening burning etc....

Awatif

   She is my youngest child, out of three. She is so special to me. Sakinatul Awatif is her lovely name.  She is very nice daughter. Now, she has growing up, to be in Form Three.  Our Awatif will be sitting for her PMR (Lower Secondary Assessment) exam this year. So far, she is just doing an average in her school examinations. I really hope that she can speed up her performance & do us a proud in her coming PMR.

Arfan 2012

Our only son, Abdullah Syahiran Arfan has got the offer to pursue a study at National Youth Skill Training Institute (Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara)  in Bachok, Kelantan.  2nd July, he went there for registration as a trainee. I do hope that everything goes smoothly for him there. Best of Luck, my dear son…

Public School Exam

   Nowadays, so many pupils/students score straight A’s in public school examination unlike in the past years. Is this really showed that our boys/girls are clever enough & deserve for that or is this just  a manipulation of the marking scheme? During my school days, the passing mark for any paper/subject was about 50%. It was very hard to see the boys/girls scored straight A’s.

   Private tuition classes, is it due to these? The teachers & schools are competing  among themselves to achieve a higher number of straight A’s achievers. They are doing this without thinking of a nature development of the pupils/students. The good pupils/students are not necessarily must be very high achievers. They must be taught to be excelling in both, academically and spiritually. Some of them are just memorise whatever they have learnt in the classrooms without being able to elaborate further on certain issues/questions. We have seen some of these great boys/girls did not get good results while they were in the university. They only graduated with a just borderline CGPA.  They cannot even think….

Thyroid - Diseases & Treatment

   Thyroid gland secretes the major hormones T3 (triiodothyronine) & T4 (thyroxine) which are  very important in our body metabolisms (stimulates a conversion process of oxygen & nutrients into energy). Iodine is vital for the normal function of the thyroid gland.

   The common diseases related to the thyroid gland are:

1. Hypothyroidism: underactive thyroid gland.

2. Hyperthyroidism: overactive thyroid gland.

3. Thyrotoxicosis: excess production of thyroid hormones.

4. Thyroid storm: life threatening due to excessive thyroid hormones.

5. Thyroid cancer: an abnormal growth rate of thyroid cell/tissue.

   When the thyroid is overactive (hyperthyroidism) or develops cancer, radioactive I-131 is given for killing thyroid cells.  Iodine is trapped & organified by only thyroid cells with just small amount goes into gastrointestinal & urinary system.

   Normally, a treatment for hyperthyroidism & thyroid cancer is either by one or combination of these; drug medication, surgery (thyroidectomy) & radioiodine ablation. Not even a single surgeon can claim he/she could perform a real full thyroidectomy. There will be some remnant tissue left. This remnant tissue must be treated (ablated) using I-131 (75-150mCi/g of thyroid). A normal dose (activity) for hyperthyroidism is <30 mCi while for thyroid cancer is 30-200 mCi.

   Any thyroid medication must be stopped (carbimazole: 7 days/thyroxine: 4 weeks) prior to scanning/treatment. Patient must fast at least for 4 hours before the procedure in order to enhance the absorption of I-131. Fasting can also prevent patient from vomiting (& thus reduce a possibility of I-131 contamination).

   Prior to I-131 scanning/therapy,  patient must not take any iodine-containing foods such as vitamins containing iodine, iodized salt, sea fish & shellfish, seafood, canned fruits/vegetables, tea  & lemonade.

   A few days after receiving I-131, patient normally tends to have one or all of these:

a.    neck tenderness.

b.    dry mouth.

c.    nausea, sore throat, & vomiting.

d.    salivary glands may swell. 

   Breast-feeding or fathering children is strictly must be stopped for 6 months after I-131 treatment. This treatment is also not recommended for a pregnant or nursing woman & pregnancy should be delayed for at least 6-12 months after receiving treatment. It can affect fertility in men too.

Our Syahiran

   Abdullah Syahiran Arfan is our second child & the only our living son. His SPM result (sat in 2011) was just average. Indeed, he was among the clever pupil during his primary school days. However, when he was in secondary school & living in a school hostel, he has changed a little bit. Maybe the school environment contributed to this change. He is now waiting for pursuing his study in polytechnic & other skill learning institutions. Hopefully, our only son will get a place in a polytechnic for his brighter future ahead….