MCO Entry #3

The complains and stories never cease to amaze me, let's go.

3rd Week of MCO

Extremely quiet with only few patients in sight, like I could literally count them off my fingers.                     Doctors suggested that it's a time for us to take a break and some self-reflecting. So here's what a little bit of mine: 

           My life is a like wasteland, a literal one. You know that I juggle two jobs, one a full-time paying job, another a freelancing job which doesn't pay much or bare minimum. I was keen to take up a friend's offer (He runs a bookshop) but at one point, I was extremely sick (this was two years back by the way). I got diagnosed with a severe case of pneumonia and ended up one week in the hospital for several antibiotics infusion. So the plan was out of the window. I also got another (recently new~) friend whom I've been supporting throughout MCO who runs an ice cream parlour. She's a soft spoken, gentle person from the several times I have frequented to her shop, which serves ice cream to die for, plus I like to write my stories there due to the warm and cozy atmosphere. She's usually on the lookout for part-timers and full-timers, but I'm unable to commit to the work due to having a demanding, full-time job so again, that plan is cross out.

I was, at this time during the MCO period, nearly in tears due to some pessimistic thoughts and how I was never going to make my freelancing job work, but I have close friends who checks up on me, both colleagues and friends who are in the non-medical field. A colleague suggested I take up yoga, emphasizing that it helps to clear your mind off things and makes you relax. During MCO period, gyms are considered a non-essential business so they are unable to open. Truth be told, I tried yoga many years back in a gym and I HATED it. The yoga instructor there forces you to bend, ignoring your pain as you overstrain. I immediately stopped going to that gym, and once I joined my current workplace and found out they have a Zumba class, I leaped on it immediately. I enjoyed it and was a regular until unfortunately, I injured both my ankle (during class and work) and knee (work-related), so again, beyond my control, I was forced to stop all aggressive sports for few years. 

          During the MCO period, I forced myself to keep my weight under control because honest to God, I have seen people posting in social media how they have gained weight due to unable to go to work, so they stayed at home and eat, rest, rinse and repeat. No, no, NO. I can't afford to gain weight because of my injuries. Doctor suggested I do some light exercise so I took up stationary cycling, which I liked, and once my injury became bearable, took up running on the treadmill. For those who say I'm trying to slim down, that's not the main reason. I took it up because I'm trying to keep myself fit during the pandemic and because, as I keep stressing out here, to avoid my injuries from getting worse. 

(After intervention treatment, some physio, a strict, balanced diet and some exercise on my part, my injuries aren't so bad anymore. I rarely felt the pain unless I put too much stress on my ankles and knee, or I overuse them by running too much, jumping or carrying heavy load. The physiotherapist heavily stressed that I could not carry patients ever again, support yes, but no more carrying to avoid further injuries and back pain, which thank God I do not have yet.) 

             Somehow, despite going through a hard time, I managed to complete a novella, despite having several doubts that I could finish it. At that time, I was reading lots of Stephen King, so you can probably imagine my state of mind. When I was done writing, I passed it to my friends for proof-reading as per usual, and this is what most of them said, "It's really dark." (Is that a bad thing? You decide)

                  One man came to see Doctor So-and-So. He was asked to get a Mantoux test (basically a skin test to test for tuberculosis). Few minutes later, he came to our counter and yelled and threw a tantrum. Confused, my colleague and I listened as he told his story:

• He has a son who is admitted in a government hospital due to TB. He was advised to get a Mantoux test to determine whether he has TB or not. (NOTE: If anyone in your family contacts TB, the whole family may even be asked to go for a Mantoux test depending on the doctor, it's not uncommon for us to even do up to TWENTY Mantoux in a row if the people are involved in -- like a tour group.)
• He came through ER with a referral letter, they referred him to the Doctor-on-call. 
• Doctor-on-call advised him to get the Mantoux test done. He went to pharmacy and cashier. Total bill ended up about roughly few figures (You do the maths), and he was NOT HAPPY. He came to us and yelled, "I already told your people down there, I only have few dollars left in my pocket! I have no more job due to the MCO! They sent me for blood tests, scans and now your doctor wants me to buy this medicine for a skin test? I refuse to pay!"
• Doctor already left the hospital so we got the assistant to call him. Explained the situation to him, he then said it's okay. Let's just waive all the bills. 
• Patient still wasn't happy. Refused to pay even a single cent for the other things like blood and diagnostic tests. Said he was going to go every department and tell them the same thing and left.    

You can use your imagination for the conclusion for this story. I'm sorry, I know our government friends are busy fighting COVID, hence why now government hospitals are now congested and a scary place to be, but when you really don't have much funds left, sometimes, you really just need to go to government hospital to get yourself treated. 

                   One lady brought her mother to the hospital during closing hours, as in we are already picking up our bags and about to leave. Here is her story:

• They came in the morning to consult doctor. Doctor said remove catheter and monitor urine output. They left.
• According to the daughter, she had planned to come around 3, but she said since in the website, it says clinics are open till 5.30pm, it means doctor will still be in.
• She didn't call, just came and asked us to insert a catheter for her mom. 
• None of us attended this patient, and as per policy, we need the patient's file and doctor's permission to proceed any intervention procedure. Since it's already after working hours, everywhere is closed, we advised her politely to please go to ER, where there are medical officers who will be able to attend to her mother and contact the doctor. 
• The daughter's face immediately changed. "You're all horrible. Stupid service. I came because I expect to see the doctor and my mother to be attended to. Horrible service. I'm going to tell all my friends never to come here. Horrible service."

Again, you can use your imagination for the conclusion here. Look, everywhere is already closed. And let's just say -- we insert a catheter for your mother without the doctor's orders, without knowing what is her size. We could be charged for negligence, irresponsibility, and the most worrying part, INFECTION TO THE PATIENT. Any intervention procedure, whether it's needle, knife, inserting a catheter, you risk giving the patient infection. This is why you need the patient's file and doctor's orders. You do NOT take matters into your own hands!!!  

                       Regarding the self-reflection, at times I feel like screaming at the amount complains we get from impossible patients. Do I hate my job? I'll be honest here, if I hated my job, I would've left a long time ago. The fact that I'm still working as a nurse means I still love my job, despite the ugly, nasty side of it. As a friend of mine once said, "The hellish part comes with the package, deal with it." Of course it's not all hell, everything is also balanced out with good things. And if I haven't chosen this field, I wouldn't have met my awesome colleagues and doctors, let alone know how to write a crime fiction novel with a medical professional as the protagonist. 

MCO Entry #2

Author's note: I hesitated to publish this, because let me tell you. It brought out the worse  several levels of ridiculousness in people, and because it was a quiet period, I accumulated most of my thoughts, and due to some personal matters, I was severely delayed, not to mention having other works in progress. If I sounded a little off, I deeply apologize.

2nd Week of MCO
Place was quiet again. Came to work early because I was on early duty. Was trying to get the PC working so I was crouching on the floor fiddling with the equipment. Heard someone shouting from a distance. Looked around, didn't see anyone.
        Shouting went on. Turned to my left. Saw one lady shouting and pointing at me from a link bridge to the other end. "Yes, you!"
         Confused, and stuck with the fiddling, I went, "Yes?" Didn't shout. I'm not the type who shouts, but my voice managed to carry.
         "I'm looking for Dr So-and-So. Do you know where he is?" Yes, she's shouting from the other end. Thank God there were only one or two people at that time, so everyone was staring at her.
         Oh for the love of --
         "Go straight and turn right."
         "WHAT?!" (She stood at the bridge, refusing to budge)
         "I said, go straight and turn right." This time I made the gesture with my fingers.
         I'm going to let out my rant here. Social distancing by the government is 1 meter, NOT A WHOLE BRIDGE! (Ridiculousness level: 1)
       
Work started like normal. Was so engrossed in paperwork that I didn't realize someone was directly speaking into my ear. "Hey. I'm looking for Dr So-and-So. Can you tell me how to get there?"
          This irks me. Now see, I don't mind directing you where to go, but you could just say excuse me, not go directly to my ear. SOCIAL DISTANCING PEOPLE! The least you could do is say, "Excuse me" to get my attention. (Ridiculousness level: 2)
           Received a complaint from a co-worker who was overly paranoid. Refused to touch the doorknobs or equipment. Insisted on someone to open the door for them like a butler, said the doorknobs and equipment were contaminated. (Ridiculousness level: 3) What did my lecturer teach us in college, besides my parents --
            "Before and after you touch something, wash your hands."
            I'll make things easy for you. Every time you touch something, wash your hands. Simple. No huss, no fuss.

Minister came live. Didn't really need to see the news to know that MCO was extended. Majority non-healthcare workers groaned. Come on, folks. Our cases at that time were skyrocketing above the roof, don't tell me you were expecting things to go back to normal so soon.

Being quiet means we are somehow closer to our co-workers and doctors (I'm talking about bonding, please don't mistake it for something else), because we are spending majority of our time in the hospital, and with not many patients around, we just go around talking to each other while keeping our senses on alert. Part of the package; you can never be too relaxed. But during that time, we get to unwind a little.
            Bless our Triage friends. They were in full gear and scanning everyone who comes in. A co-worker said there's not much point, because Coronavirus (AKA COVID) is asymptomatic, meaning you and I could have it despite having no symptoms and looking healthy. The only way to be sure is to do a Covid Test, which is really uncomfortable. How so? Ever did an influenza swab? You need to insert a swab all the way up to your nose, which is really uncomfortable, not to mention irritating. 
           A father and his daughter came. Daughter had to do a temperature check. We used those ear-probe type thermometer. Immediately, the father launched several questions at me.

• "It's not hygienic."
• "How often do you clean it?"
• "How many patients had used this before us?"
• "Why do we need to re-check? Downstairs already did it for us."

Look here. We are not dumb or EVIL okay? We changed our ear probe daily, not to mention wiping the whole thing down with alcohol wipes AFTER EVERY PATIENTS. And nowadays, we don't use to old fashioned oral thermometer anymore. Go out to any clinic, most of them used forehead scanners or ear-probe. During my time, do you know what we use? Those old glass thermometer with mercury in them, which you need to shake several times to prep it and ask the patient to hold it under their tongue or armpit for THREE MINUTES. In our current world, people want instant service, like hey presto! 'Cause we still keep those lying around, in case we need to re-check. We tell patients to wait for the beep and they pull a face. "Why so long?"
        Regarding the re-check: It's a must, okay? Supermarkets and clinics are practicing re-checking temperature. I don't set the rules, I just do my job. Father wouldn't let his daughter come near me (Okay, I'll respect that.) but he himself refused to even let me scan him near. Best part, when I want to hand him their temperature reading, he dug out a Dettol wipe, careful not to make contact with my skin as though I had the plague. (Ridiculousness level: 4)
        Complaints came in from our staff: Housekeeping staff came up to us to tell us someone stolen their box of mask. I can't even-- WHY WOULD YOU STEAL SOMETHING OFF THE HOUSEKEEPING TROLLEY? (Ridiculousness level: 5) Nothing we can do about the stolen goods. Advised the staff to lock it in his compartment, rain or shine. Another staff came up to us how one family were really clever. They distracted the staff, while one kept close to the hand sanitizer at the counter. When the staff was distracted, the person swept the bottle of hand sanitizer into the bag they were holding and ran off. (Ridiculousness level: 6) I don't usually curse or swear, but I tell you, on that day, I hope karma rain down on these people.
        The one good thing that came out of this whole pandemic, it really brings out people's true nature.

MCO Entry #1

Author's Note: Because during MCO our side is relatively quiet, I'll be brief.
                        Most of the things really did happened, but to protect my colleagues' and patients' privacy, I edited a few things here and there.

1st Week of MCO
Place was insanely quiet. Once our minister announced the Movement Control Order (MCO), everyone immediately cancelled appointments and stayed home. Before this, we often dealt with patients/ customers with this line:

• "You don't understand. I need to come now!"
• "Please, please, I need to see the doctor urgently. It's an emergency."
• "I'm already on the way. Please don't let your doctor go off."
• "Eh, I walk in, can accept?"
• "I don't have an appointment, I got referral letter. Can accept?"

       I came out off home at my usual time to find the whole road empty. There's no one at all, not even a car at sight. It's like everyone disappeared overnight, like something out of a sci-fiction novel. It's a nice change of pace.

       Day started out like normal, except everywhere is quiet, you could roll from one end to the other end and no one would step on you. We did get patients, very few, mainly urgent cases, or people who can't wait anymore. Had to keep the sanitisers and masks out of sight because everywhere was stocked out. If you remember from my previous entry regarding the MCO, there was a mad rush for masks and hand sanitisers. Pharmacies are tapped out, online platforms are sold out, so what's the next best place? Why, the hospitals of course. Surely they must have plenty of stock.
        Sorry to burst your bubble. Previously we used to give out masks for free at our nurses' counters, but did anyone want them? No, they just treated the thing like it's obsolete. Now with COVID upon us, people started grabbing things by the handful. Masks gone, hand sanitisers bottles uprooted from their holders. The hospital is a huge building, and everyone needed to wear one. So... say you have 1,600 staff working in the hospital, and you need to supply masks for everyone, everyday. Yep, we were on shortage as well.
         One lady came up to us around 9. She already had a mask on, yet demanded for one. Her reason: "I need one." My colleague politely told her we cannot simply provide masks. We can only provide for those who really need it, like immuno compromised patients (Eg. Elderly, cancer patients, people who are showing symptoms like flue, cold, cough, fever) , plus our doctors and clinic assistants are sharing with us. The lady refused to budge. "I need one! What is wrong with me asking for one?" Again, colleague politely told her we cannot provide her with one. By the way, her mask looks brand new, and it's a 3-ply. Furious, she yelled, "What kind of hospital are you people running? 5-star? Stupid service!" She left, but at the same time telling everyone how our service is terrible and how selfish we are. Devils, she called us.
          A patient and his son came up to me to do catheterization. At that time, we ran out of masks. Really, so I wasn't wearing one. I was waiting for my colleagues who ran to the store to get more supply. Since the patient is here, I thought I'll just bring him in and lie him down, just get him ready. I was about to push him into the room when the son stopped me. "Miss, why are you not wearing a mask?" So I honestly answered, "I'm terribly sorry, sir. We just ran out of masks so my colleagues are now in the store trying to get more supply." This is what the son answered, "My father is 70+, and he has heart problems. I cannot let you come near him without a mask." I'll let you know at that time, I had my temperature checked (No fever), signs and symptoms of COVID (None). No, the son refused to let me come near his dad. Shaking my head, I went to the doctor in charge and explained the situation.

• Me: "Doctor, I can't prepare the patient because the son refused to let me come near him without a mask."
• Doctor: "You tell him I ask you to do it. If he refused to let you bring the father in, then I won't do the procedure." 

So I went back to the son and told him in politely what the doctor has said. Seeing no other choice, he let me bring his father into the treatment room. Perhaps feeling a little apologetic, he rummaged in his bag and produced a mask. "Here, miss, you can have one." I'm not mad at him, just to let you know. I told him it's okay, that he could keep it because my colleagues should be back anytime now with the supplies, but he insisted. "No, it's okay. I still have a lot. You can take one." I did, in the end, and then he was telling me nicely how nurses are wonderful people who help patients a lot.
          Since we are ready, I called the doctor (NOTE: Male catherization is done by male doctors only, and vice versa) Still no signs of my colleagues yet, so the doctor went ahead with the procedure without a mask (He's healthy and fit as well, yeah. He had to rush for a surgery so he can't wait anymore). It took roughly 5 minutes, and the son was watching us the whole time. For a second there, I thought he was going to do the same thing to the doctor, but then I pushed the thought away. No one would be so foolish to go against a doctor. True, he kept silent the whole time. When the doctor had to rush off for his surgery, he asked me, "Why is the doctor not wearing a mask? I felt like asking him but it would've sounded rude." No comment.
           Colleagues finally came back with the mask supplies. There wasn't a lot so we had to use sparingly and wisely. You know the old sayings that goes, "We can never have nice things, because people take advantage..." Same thing happened here. Most of our staff are alright, they know to only take one for each day (one for their doctors as well), but there are one or two who take advantage, saying they want two (Their doctors took their masks elsewhere, so they basically are giving themselves double)
            Wanted to get away from the stifling silence, so went over to the grocer's nearby during lunch hour. Long lines, new MCO rules implemented. Wasn't that awful to be honest. Healthcare workers get to go in early. Shelves all empty, instant noodles, rice, junk food, biscuits, chocolates, flour all gone. Let's be honest here, things in packets and instant food are like a staple item right now. There were news going around how people bought a year or two supply of instant noodles. Junk food in packets last long. Usual flavours like cheese and original are gone, leaving flavours like spicy, BBQ, tomato, malt vinegar...Things that you usually wouldn't touch. Wanted to get a cheese-flavoured mission nachos originally. Disappointed, but I managed to find a Tokyo Shoyu ramen. So I'm happy. DIY was closed, so can't get stationary and tools for my craft. Bookshop closed down, so nowhere else to go.
            That concludes the first entry.

Pain and Madness

Note: Some of the thoughts here are my own and are not meant to be offensive, it's just for sharing. Take it with a pinch of salt.

I intended to insert the during MCO entry but instead, I'm going to share with you today's entry. It was my half day on duty, which means I clock out...half-day. I was a little tired to be honest because for some reason I couldn't sleep. So I ended up looking a little bit like a zombie, but still throwing myself into work. Don't worry, I did not yawn or look sleepy. That's a big NO-NO, but you can see it's obvious that my eyes are tired.

          I already knew that we're going to be busy, because since from the weekend itself, we already got our patients lined up for today. A few major dressings, a lumbar puncture, injections, IV antibiotics, few rigid sigmoidoscopy. Just your typical Tuesday.

       First dressing of the day, recent cyst removal. Not that exciting. It's just the second day of dressing so you won't see much progress yet. Wound was a little too dry, my friend wanted to put something like duoderm gel to get it moist, but you know...different doctors, different preferences. Old ways, modern ways. Ours leant more on the old ways, and he's what a friend of mine calls a type A, meaning old school surgeons/ doctors. He's not unreasonable though, he's a nice man, but it takes some time getting through him. In the end, we settled for good old debridement (you can never go wrong with it).

         Injections in between, mainly hormones. Don't ask me why, I'm still trying to figure it out. (I asked the doctor, but he refused to give me a straight answer, instead he asked me why I used a pseudonym and a pen name for writing)

        Come during the peak hour, we got hit by the usual things: Vital signs taking, temperature taking, directions, you know, I have to switch from nurse to directory to customer service to translator, depending on the situation. Don't get me wrong, if I hated the job, I would've left long time ago, but throughout MCO, we've been working non-stop. (Don't worry, I will update the entry in future) 

            One day I may have to list out what patients ticks me off the most, which could be forever, but I'll say it out now. After working for years, I really...really...get pissed off when patients tend to intrude into my personal space. This includes disturbing me during before or after duty (Picture yourself: You come in early to get your things ready so that you can deliver a smooth service and someone disturbs you just to ask you for direction, or better yet, come and yell at you to serve them 'cause they are running late.), break time (It's the only time when you can relax and unwind, you don't disturb the doctors when they are on break, so why are we always an exception?) and taking photos or videos of while we are doing procedures. They are not even subtle about it. They just whip out their I-phones, smartphones and start filming and snapping photos. When you confront them about it, you will always get these answers (either one or a combination of two or more):

a) I'm just filming for my own personal record. 

b) I just want to make sure that you are doing your job right. 

d) Eh, I didn't know that I'm not allowed to take photos or videos.

First golden rule in hospitals : DO NOT EVER TAKE VIDEO OR PHOTOS. Seriously, before you even step foot into the place, the sign is there for crying out loud! It's the same for cinemas and court cases. Why would you take a photo or videos just to spoil it for everyone? (Look at Avengers Endgame, the Head, CEO, everyone had to plead not to spoil the movie.) It's the same for hospitals. Would you like it if someone is filming you without your consent? Doctors were complaining that their faces are somehow plastered in social media without their knowledge. Please, please, please, do DO NOT EVER TAKE VIDEO OR PHOTOS of us. It's plain rude, and furthermore... 

Just because a property is open to the public doesn’t make it public property. Military bases, crime scenes, airports, museums, energy installations, courthouses, public hospitals, and certain government facilities — while technically property owned by taxpayers — may also be physically (and sometimes photographically) off limits to photographers or subject to significant limitations for security, privacy, or logistical reasons.* Back to the story at hand, this lady, younger than me I might add, wanted to buy things for her boyfriend. Because I didn't know what was going on at the time (We were all rushing and being overwhelmed by our duties), I went to the doctor to clarify his orders. Once done, my friend who first attended the lady quickly went back to her, leaving me free to attend a major dressing case. As I was waiting for the patient to register, the lady walked right around our counter and stood there, causing my friend to tell her calmly, "Please stand in front of the counter." The lady's reply, "Why? I need to make sure you're giving me the right things."           In the supermarket, do you ever stand in the cashier area? You don't. Same things goes for the nurse/ clinic counter.

            Last procedure of the day before I wrap up: Lumbar puncture (AKA spinal tap). I just love the procedure (Not sure why, just like it), it's almost like bone marrow aspiration, except this one is where you insert a spinal needle into the spinal canal to drain out your spinal fluid (AKA Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)) for diagnostic testing. Where to begin the drama that started...

       First started out we needed to get midazolam (a sedation that you typically use in short procedures like in endoscopy). Due to some issues, the drug ended up being delayed. This was around 1030hr, where some patients had came for injections and a patient on a 10-day course antibiotic. MO inserted a line for her on Saturday, but I don't know... Quality seems to be going down. You know sterile gloves, the one that is hard to tear no matter how much you tug it? One of our doctors was trying to do a catheter insertion and he just put it on after washing his hands...Riiiip. "Girl, get me a new pair. Quality nowadays is not good." (Oh dear) 

             Sorry for running off topic, back to the story, my friend hung the antibiotic diluted onto the stand, and --

               "Your line is blocked."

          Oh Lord. So we have to wait for the MO, who is busy in ER, at the same time, we got bombarded by many requests. The rooms were occupied, so we can't slot in some injections cases. At the same time, people were demanding for their vital signs and temperature to be taken. "It's just a few seconds! Why won't you attend to me?!" "What kind of service is this?!" "Your doctor hasn't come yet, do me first!" I wish some things were that simple, but when your doctor is coming in anytime, when he has gone back and forth looking increasingly annoyed... In the end, we got anclinic assistant to help out.
                In between waiting for the MO, the medicine, procedures... It's like juggling several balls at once, and you cannot afford to drop even one. It was around 1130hr when we finally got the Midazolam. This young lady is strong by the way. One shot of midazolam can immediately knock me out for couple of hours. The young lady, she's still awake and alert. You can't do lumbar puncture when the patient's all awake, no way. It hurts like mad. No, we refused to serve another shot, so we waited. It was around 1200hr when the sedation finally kicks in. Even then, she's still slightly awake.

"Miss, are you still awake?"

(slightly confused)"Eh, I came here to see Doctor So-and-So."

:) It worked, took a while, but it worked.
                Into the procedure we go. It took forever to collect the fluid, because it dripped slow. Doctor aspirated few times with the syringe to collect some amount, still slow. It was around 1300hr when we finally managed to get enough to send for a diagnostic test.
                   Because it was a crazy day and I ended up overtime, I gotten the department (and myself) some ice cream to spread some cheer. Despite the sore muscles, at least we managed to get our job done and safely.


*Source: HTTPS://WWW.CLICKINMOMS.COM/BLOG/STREET-PHOTOGRAPHY-AND-THE-LAW-7-THINGS-YOU-NEED-TO-KNOW/

            

Before the MCO

It was in February, near the end of my Chinese New Year week. I was in outstation at the time. Who doesn't know about to CORONA VIRUS. It has been around since late 2019. At that time, I was doing a three month ortho-in house course. No writing, no going out for fun. Everyday I was hitting the books and trying to remember all about the bones, muscles and diseases (Who knew just a single bone you got to talk so many things about it?). Fast forward to January, I sat for the final exam, did okay for theory, struggled in OSCE, but managed to pass. Oh joy.

As I mentioned before it was near the end of my break, and my phone has been buzzing like crazy from my workplace. They were saying that soon we are going to be in a lockdown. At that time, China has already closed off all borders. No one can get in, no one can get out. Flights has been cancelled. Workplaces and shops (except for the essential business like healthcare, grocery, pharmacy, food (only for takeout)) are forced to close to contain the virus. It's already starting to impact our side. That's when the government had said we will be going into the MOVEMENT CONTROL ORDER. Kind of like a lockdown, but it's not. We can still go out but only limiting to one person to get essentials, and for people like us (Frontliners, certain food hawkers, grocery workers, pharmacists), we can still go to work, but we need to wear masks and the one important thing everyone will tell you: WASH YOUR HANDS!!!

Due to the sudden shortage of masks and hand sanitizers, please make sure to keep your department's stock sufficient. We have received complaints of people taking our hand sanitizers and masks... 

I predicted that it would happen. My family scoffed when I said that. "No one would take those. Don't be so negative." Sorry folks, when things goes down, they go down for real.

I came back to work to find it like a warzone (figuratively). We have people coming up to us demanding for masks and hand sanitizers. Their reasoning...I'll list it out here for you. I kid you not.

• "There's no more stocks out there. "
• "Hospitals are filthy rich. You should have plenty of stocks in your store." <== Most common 
• "I need to protect myself. You should supply me several."
• "Do you want me to die from the virus?"
• "Come on, I just want one. Just one..."  
• "I NEED IT..."

At that time, we had a sudden shortage of supply. No hand sanitizers, not a big issue, we still have the old water and soap combo (Also my preferred method. Hand sanitizers sometimes makes my fingers blisters, but depending on the situation, if you have no time to run for the sink, just a quick squirt of hand sanitizer will do, but still, WASH YOUR HANDS WITH WATER AND SOAP) but masks were a huge dilemma at that time. All of us have to share a box (Doctors, nurses, clinical assistants etc) so it means we have to use it efficiently. Once in a blue moon, you'll get someone coming in with a broken mask (unfortunate, but we'll help where we can)

Anyway, when you tell people that you have no supply, you know what happens? We get called names. Really. It ranges from SELFISH and DEVILS, and those are the most mild ones. We haven't even gotten to the worst name calling yet which involves a lot of cussing and complaints ("I'm telling everyone your service is terrible! No masks!!!" "I'll rate you one star, stupid service!!!") I swear, after working in healthcare for so long, I never knew how people can just be so plain...mean. (Of course I had my fair shared of troubles, but this is out of my control)

As expected, business dropped rock bottom. Not just us, but everyone. The whole economy went plummeting. The only people who came were really bad cases, like appendicitis, unable to go to the washroom, bleeding, cardiac arrest, trauma cases, but even then most of them ran to emergency. My side are mainly post-op cases and uro cases, people who were due to change their catheters. 

So as I said, my side, we're not so busy, but government hospitals was like a warzone, because they were taking all of these cases, and because it's affordable. I myself had went to government sometimes for certain things because as mentioned, cheap and affordable. With the MCO looming upon us, I'm going to have to save every money I got in case of emergencies. 

All in all, not that much exciting. I'll try to put up the next entry soon. I got the ideas whirling in my head, but I'm also juggling several projects, not to mention my most important job.  

It has been a long, long time...

Due to many personal reasons, and those were the days when my internet connection is slow, ridiculously slow to the point when at some point I tried to post, everything goes missing in cyberspace. For writers, it's a huge dilemma. Imagine when you typed several chapters and tried to save, and say...A thunderstorm cut off your power before you could hit the save button

              

Whar's been going on? Well, I've been busy. Back in 2018, I entered a crime fiction competition with only a six-month deadline. Now, keep in mind if you have been following me throughout my blogging days, I have NEVER, ever written a crime fiction novel. Uh-uh. Nope. Nada. Zilch. 

(Even as I'm writing this now, my net threatened to cut off...)

So with six months in the deadline, I got to do RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH. Writing crime is a different thing altogether. I wanted to break a little of the norm, I don't want it to be the typical crime novel with the detectives and all. And I already got one out back in 2012 that involves supernatural. Long story short, I submitted it, didn't win, but I self-published it in print form. I'll share the story up in my website, because this is not the place to post about it.

 Fast forward to 2020, it was supposed to be Wawasan 2020, but the CORONA VIRUS (If you have been living under a rock, go and google it right now or just check your local news) had hit the world hard. Most of the world is in a lockdown, and that includes my side in early March. A lot of people had requested me to upload a diary throughout the lockdown journey, which I hesitated. Because it's been a long time since I uploaded this blog, and I'm thinking, who on earth would want to read about it? But after much requests, both in email and in person, I thought...Well, I can just give you the brief idea. It's not exactly blood pumping, because my side is rather silent. 

Without further ado... 

   

Mayhem at Work

22nd January (Sunday) - I haven't been up for so long. It was inexcusable, but a lot of things had happened starting from last year end til now. No, no one got fired or anything, but it involves my annual leave. You see, this year I'll be a lot busier, what with being shuffled around the working area and having to attend a lot of weddings this year, with two that are just around the corner, and they are both family members. Hence, I'll need to run back and forth from the South to the North.
I applied my leave early this year, since no one can plan their leave too early. But once the family members gave the exact date, I hurriedly applied my annual leave. Now I mentioned two weddings, but one isn't a huge issue because it's only about a few hours drive, but the other wedding, we had to go by airplane to beat the major Chinese New Year traffic. So my sister booked flight tickets for our convenience. And the part that ticked me off, I didn't realize it was after a holiday, I only knew it was a Public Holiday because the application roster had a huge red slash on that page that says PH. So I just applied the date of the flight and just hoped that I'll get my approval.
Roughly on the second week of January, I got a call from the person-in-charge (PIC). At first she was friendly with me, but things gone downright nasty after the first few pleasantries. Here's the conversation (slightly edited, of course) :

PIC : Hi there, you applied your leave right?
Me : Yeah.
PIC : Okay, according to the application, you applied on the 10th of February to the 13th?
Me : Yeah... (Wondering where are we heading to)
PIC : Are you aware that on the 9th is Thaipusam?
Me : No??? (slightly confused now)
PIC : How can you not know it's Thaipusam?
Me : Should I?
PIC : (challenging me) Then how come you remember when is Chinese New Year and you don't know when is Thaipusam?
Me : Well, I only take note of the important event dates...
PIC : Oh, I see. Chinese New Year is such a big deal to you, yet you can apply for Thaipusam. Are you aware that the people who are celebrating Thaipusam are pissed at you right now for snatching their leave? How would you like it if they snatch your Chinese New Year leave?
Me : (rage began to boil over, but managed to say coolly) I have no idea.
PIC : May I know why are you applying leave on that day?
Me : I have my cousin's wedding coming up in Penang.
PIC : So?
Me : My family already booked a flight on that day.
PIC : Why can't you all use a car to get there? Penang is not overseas, you know.
Me : (slowly losing it, but manage to counter back) Then let me ask you a question, Terrenganu, Kedah and Kelantan are also local, but why on earth do you use the airplane if you can drive?
PIC : (kept silent, I did caught her at there, because next thing she did was evade my question)  Can you cancel your flight?
Me : Excuse me?!
PIC : Can you cancel your flight? We'll let you take the 11th to 13th off. But can you cancel the 10th, give others a chance? You can get a refund or postpone your flight, right?
Me : (fury finally took over, I didn't shout, but I was really sarcastic) Sure, and who is going to give me back my refund, you?
PIC : I didn't say-
Me : (cutting in, really angry at this point, I didn't shout, but the fury is evident in my tone) I'm sorry, I'm not sure if you know this, but according to air flight regulations, in the event of any unforeseen circumstances like a terrorist attack, flight delays or bad weather that may jeopardize the plane, you are entitled for refund, or at the very least, compensation by the airport. If you were the one who is cancelling or postponing your flight by choice, you are not entitled for refund. Instead, your ticket will be burned and you have to pay for the new ticket. Are you telling me that you will pay for my second ticket? And for your information, I'm not going alone. My entire family is going. To change my ticket means I have to change FOUR tickets.
PIC : (Didn't answer at this point, but quickly hang up the phone)

Yep. And if you think that's bad, try the second one. Few hours later I got a phone call from the second person-in-charge (2PIC)

2PIC : You applied your leave on the 20th to the 23rd March?
Me : Yeah...
2PIC : Are you aware that So-and-So also applied on that date?
Me : Yeah, but I already let her know.
2PIC : Can you cancel your leave on that week?
Me : (sharply) Why is that?
2PIC : No one is available to cover that department.
Me : I'm sorry, I had something going on.
2PIC : What is that?
Me : I'm going overseas.
2PIC : Can you postpone your flight for that week? Because we really need someone to cover down there, and you're the only person up for the job.
Me : (sarcastic) You all insisted I'm no longer attached to that department, that I have shifted to another department. I checked the roster on that day and so far, no one was taking leave on that day. Only two girls from different floors, so I applied. Now you come and tell me to cancel my flight? I already made the full payment of the flight and the hotel. Are you going to pay for my flight and expenses?
2PIC : C-Calm down, but you shouldn't have done that. You should've discussed with our head first.
Me : (sarcastic) And is she going to pay for my flight? Because if so, I don't mind cancelling my flight.
2PIC : (trying to control the situation) But you need to discuss with our head, you can't just go off like that.
Me : Look, I still got my annual leaves, which I needed to clear it all off by that month. And I did not book a last minute flight. Now we are in January, my flight is in March. I am giving you two months to find someone to cover my place. Are you telling me two months is not enough? It's not as though I'm taking a last minute flight. If I had booked a last minute flight, then yes, it's my fault and I do have to go to our head and discuss about it. But this is something I planned in advance. Besides, don't try to sugar coat me. I've seen you all book flights early as well. Are you telling me that all of you also went through the head to discuss about your flight plans which is months in advance?
2PIC : (closes the phone immediately)

God, it really makes my blood boil. Has any of you ever encountered something like this?

PS: In case you're all feeling a little lost, this is the map of the locations I mentioned.
Map image copyright goes to their respected owners.