New Month, New Team, New Experience

Salam..

The last entry I scribbled in was indeed short and not more than a drop of an ink to wish Eid to all of you readers.. Much has happened since then, and yes, it was only a week ago since the last entry.. I will try to share a bit about the happenings of the past one week.. Although I have promised to write on 'Trust Me I'm A Doctor' heading before, it was only recently I managed to compile enough material to attempt a good discussion about it, so I decided to take some time before laying down my debates and rebuttals..

New Team

For me and Ina, the arrival of October meant more than just Eid.. Of course, nothing is bigger than Eid in this month, but another significant change for this month is the change-over to a new team for almost all doctors here in Ireland.. for me, it is a swap to Haematology after a six-month stretch in Palliative Medicine.. As for Ina, it is a swap from colorectal surgery to breast surgery, but mainly almost the same as both teams do general surgical call..

Haematology for me meant a new area of specialty that is quite alien to me, in a way that - ever since medical school - I have only the faintest idea about Haematology! Hence, being granted the opportunity to have a 3-month experience should give me a fair idea about this very sub-specialised area of medicine.. I am so happy and fortunate that my registrars are very nice..

Unfortunately, though, that on day-one of the new rotation, I was put to be on-call, covering the A&E (accidents and emergencies) for Dr O'Hare.. Yes, it was general medical call and usually it is busy, but we were lucky that I admitted only two patients, and Dr O'Hare only ended up with seven from the whole call! Rarely happens - almost unheard of! Yes, it was unfortunate because 1st of October was also 1st of Syawal, which meant I had to spend my Eid in A&E! Luckily, it was only up to 10pm..

Well, a new team, back to the usual hectic life of general medical call - this is all part of the medical career.. I miss Palliative Care already.. I met Dr Conroy (my old boss from Palliative Care) yesterday and she told me "We're missing you there in Milford".. I told her I missed Milford too and hopefully our paths will cross again sometime..

Palliative Medicine Team dinner & iftar - 11 Sept 2008, Copper 'n Spice
From left : Along, Ev, John (Jodie's boyfriend), John Curtin,
Mairead (John Curtin's girlfriend), Jodie and me
(Pic : courtesy of Evelyn 'Ev' Kearns)

Tracking Mr Grant

This morning, Mama texted me and asked a favor to try and track a gentleman by the name of Donald Grant.. This man was a government officer in then-Tanah Melayu and Tok actually worked for him at some stage.. In fact, Tok and Pakcik Suri had once visited him in Scotland (where Mr Grant is originally from) some years ago..

During Hari Raya recently, Mama and few of her siblings actually 'ransacked' Tok's closet and found some treasures of significant memorabilia.. They found 2 raya cards dating about 4-5 years ago from Mr Grant to Tok.. Also they found a book of stories produced by the former foresters at the time of the British occupancies, including Tok's story.. Mama will make a copy and send it to me..

I tried to Google the name in the internet, and to my utmost astonishment, there is a man by the surname of Grant with the exact address given to me by Mama.. It is possible that this man is Mr Grants's son (or even grandson, given the time of departure between the two old comrades) and he is running a tourism service in Scotland.. I have emailed this gentleman and maybe he will be able to help re-connect the two old friends again..

* * *

Well, I guess I'll pen off now.. I will certainly keep you updated about the progress with my investigative work.. And maybe Ina will script a word or two about her upcoming job interview next week! I will not say much - I'll let her tell you..

Today, few things need to be done :

1. Book flight ticket home in November
2. Call e-flow for charging me with toll that I did not use!
3. Buy suit for Ina's interview
4. Beraya at Shikin's house!

Adios, people! Salam..