Being a 'Dokter Muda' for about 2 months, I gained a lot. Perhaps not as much as others, tapi sebab rasa berguna pada orang lain, I feel good about it. Not that it was all bright and sunny, I have to mentioned that the first few weeks was a bit miserable (for me). Maybe because of the new environment, new system, new faces. But fun is an option, whether you want to make one or be miserable sorang-sorang :p
Bukan yang tua je boleh kena penyakit saraf, but most of the beds in bangsal saraf were filled with elderly. Neuro department taught me so much about life, and death too.
Case 1 : An old woman, came into neuro ward with recurrent stroke, gara-gara tak control blood pressure. She had bihemiparese with motoric aphasia and some cranial nerve paresis. She couldn't utter a word, but she can still understand what's being said. Poor her, kalau nak minum, she pointed to her lips, as a sign of thirst. Two weeks after, right before she is discharged, she gets better, she moaned, though incomprehensible, but still, there's a positive progress.
Case 2 : An old man warded because of headache and impaired cognitive function. His CT scan showed an astrocytoma, I'm not sure the exact location of the tumor, nor his prognosis. I accompanied my friend to interview him, and to test his IQ level. He is funny and very welcoming, and talkative too. Sadly he sometimes paused between the conversation, trying to recall simple words like 'pencil', 'clock' etc. He told us that he was once can read, write and speak fluently, but now, those become difficult for him. Nevertheless, I admired his spirit, he don't want to be dragged by his illness, he wanted to recover fast, to perform his Umroh :') I feel like cheering him with a pom-pom right at that moment.
Ugly things could happened to anyone. But then hope become the new strength.
