It's time to...

Partly the silence was because of poorly Amar. Partly, the denouement of Harry Potter, addiction to the Summer sale and attending parties, bbq and picnics. But ultimately, the time has come for us to part with our home for home...

p/s: Have to take down the photo temporarily. ~Sorry~

Hospital again and again

A lot has happened since the last time I posted an entry. There are still a few unpublished events. I guess those have to wait now. As for now, let me just update with a very brief entry regarding Amar.

Tuesday, 3 July: I noticed a swelling near his groin.

Wednesday, 4 July: A trace of pus was seen in his nappy suspected from the swelling.

Thursday, 5 July: I took Amar to the Walk in Centre (WIC). [Our GP - as usual fully booked and kept on asking us to call the next day.] The doctor at the Walk in Centre dismissed us saying that it was just another chicken pox coming out. [Angry mode: *#$$%&(#$*@*%#] [I promised a brief entry so I spare you all with the details]

Friday, 6 July: We were not happy with the doctor's diagnosis from the WIC. So I booked an appointment to see our GP. Luckily we got an appointment at 11am. We waited until 11.30am to be seen by Dr.Sood. She examined Amar, prescribed antibiotics and ibuprofen and then referred Amar to the hospital.

Sarah, Amar and I took the public bus to Coventry University Hospital. We waited for a while and we were seen by a nurse. We continued waiting until a doctor called out Amar's name around 2pm. The children A&E doctor was happy to let us go home with antibiotics but she would like a second opinion from a Surgeon.

Again omitting the many (my anger and frustration) details, we waited a further 5 hours to be seen by the surgeon (That was around 7.30pm). He was in the theatre the whole time. Babah arrived to see us about an hour before the Surgeon's examination on Amar.

After a quick examination, the Surgeon called a Urologist for another opinion. By then Amar was already traumatised by people groping his private part. After at least three separate examinations, the Urologist referred us to Birmingham Children's Hospital.

Saturday, 7 July: Amar was given an appointment at 10am to go straight to ward 9. There was also instruction for Amar to have his last milk at 6am and last clear fluid at 10am just to prepare him for a surgery.

Again all my frustration, bitter and sad memories will be excluded from this entry.

Two hours after we arrived, Amar was seen by a nurse for his history and general check up. We were all hungry since it was already lunch time. We had to sneak away from Amar just to have a bite of bread and a sip of drink. He finally saw Sarah eating a chocolate filled brioche and started to whine and extended his hand through the cot's bars as if pleading to have just a tiny bit of the bread.

He continued crying until he fell asleep -hungry- on Babah's shoulder. He slept for about two hours and woke up smiling.

Then finally around 4pm (almost one whole day of fasting by our 2 year old Amar), the Registrar and (I assume) the Consultant oncall came to Amar's bed to examine him. The Registrar apologised several times for the wait to which Babah didn't say anything, and I avoided her eye-contact for I too was uncertain what to say.

Both doctors were happy to discharge Amar from the ward that day, [excluding all the medical jargons] but he has to come again on Monday for a review.

So that's the briefest summary I could give here. To date, the swelling has reduced in size and Amar looks OK. He still continues with his antibiotics and hopefully he won't have to go through a surgery afterall.

Coombe Abbey: 2 June 2007

I guess my statement and estimation was right after all when I said, I will write about our picnic at Coombe Abbey in a month's time! I first heard about Coombe Abbey from a friend during Princess's birthday party. She said Malaysian in Coventry used to do lots of barbecue there.

On 2 June 2007, the weather looked quite promising with plenty of sunshine. So we invited very close friends for a picnic at the place. Babah actually insisted a barbecue, but there was very little time to buy then marinate the meat. Therefore, a simple picnic was good enough.

Our friend D and her family led us to Coombe Abbey. There was proper signs along the way, so it was quite easy for us. We were so excited and happy when we reached the place. Again, Coventry has surprised us with its hidden beauty.

It was the first time for all of us (our family, D's family and Dina), but we immediately envisioned more picnics in the future. Originally a monastery, now a four star hotel covers a huge piece of ground. There is also a man-made canal and moat which was built in 1861. Full history here.

We had to pay a minimal parking fee and carried our stuff to the picnic spot. We purposely chose an area facing the back of the hotel and the moat.


There was plenty of space for the children to explore. The children saw rabbits and squirrels capering in the area too.


We had nasi lemak, karipap and some fizzy drinks. Babah bought some ice-creams at one of the kiosks there.


The children enjoyed themselves around the moat after their light lunch.


They also enjoyed themselves feeding the ducks, geese and swans. [Above photo shows twin D distributing the seeds equally in different bags]

Not long after that, Amar fell asleep while the rest of the children played at the children's playground situated at the front/beginning of the park.

Just before we left, we did our (borrowing Babah's words) obligatory jumping pose.

I know I misjudged [ie failed to snap] their jumping, but I love to see the way they rolled on the ground after their excellent synchronised jumping in the air.

Sarah watched from the side. She refused to join because she was unhappy about not getting something she wanted. [notice the similarity of her pose with the blurry statue in the background?]

A few people tried to make her smile again. But she just decided to be difficult. She even pushed Babah away.

Oh well, we still like Coombe Abbey nevertheless. We couldn't wait to go back to explore the rest of the place. Unfortunately, the weather has really been pretty gloomy for the last few weeks. Plus the whole family had chickenpox. We just can't wait for a cheerful weekend for another round of picnic. We might not be able to do our barbecue though, I've just read a notice put up by the Council that they have banned barbecue at all of their parks!!! [I don't mind nasi lemak again]

Attack of the Chickenpox: Episode III

Note: Please skip if you don't feel like reading a long entry!

How and when it began was recorded in an entry here. The next few days were really trying moments for both of us. Amar has a couple of sleepless nights. So have I. Amar was just tossing and turning. While I couldn't help but to really 'entertain' some of my itchy spots. They were the itchiest when the clear liquid turned into whitish coloured blisters. The whole house was covered in chamomile and lavender talc at that time.


GP
On the fifth day(Tuesday), Amar woke up from his day nap with a red right eye. The next morning, his eye was a bit swollen and still red. Babah has already gone of to work. I quickly dressed the children, prepared their breakfast and walked to our GP (clinic).

Unfortunately, they were fully booked for the whole day. So I said I want to make an appointment for the next morning first thing in the morning. The receptionist answered, you have to call tomorrow morning to book. Although I already expected that answer from her, I still felt so sad, disappointed, frustrated, angry and geram. (yeah, we're talking about service in the UK!)

Didn't she see my spotty face, that said 'CONTAGIOUS' all over it? Didn't it mean, my son needed immediate medical attention? I wouldn't be going out with my current condition just for fun (you idiot!)

Still trying to keep my cool, I asked what should I do next? She said, if I still want medical advice I can go to the Walk in Centre. Then we walked out of the room. After a while, I went back inside and spoke to the same lady again, pretending to ask where the Walk in centre is. After getting a not-so-sure answer from her, I also requested for a COMPLAIN FORM and asked for her name.

I get stressed out each time I didn't get an appointment for my sick children. I just have to do something about their ridiculous appointment booking system. And they just have to get rid of their receptionists FAST! They are just bad bullies!


Walk in Centre
Then, I called up a taxi to get to the walk in centre, which was about 2-3km away. It was a joy ride for Sarah and Amar. But sadly again, when we reached there - they were still CLOSED!!! They open from 12.00-22.00! And it was only 10am when we arrived.

There was a playground nearby where I took the children to kill the time. But soon other kids started to come and play too. It was only appropriate if we go somewhere else. I already received stares from people who passed us. Then I took the kids to see the swans and geese but it started to rain!

And you know chickenpox and rain don't mix, right? While trying to find a shelter - I kept on thinking who on earth spread the myth in the first place? As much as I didn't want to believe it, the faster I walked and dragged Sarah who was also walking. Someone PLEASE do a research on this too! (I've already requested a research paper on the relationship between chickenpox and young coconut drink)

We sought shelter at Coventry Hospital porch which was also in the proximity. After standing there for a while, I decided to just walk inside towards a vending machine and ignore stares. After getting some refreshments I saw a vacant seat at a secluded corner of the big room. All three of us sat there for at least an hour until Sarah said she wanted to do 'a business'. After a visit to the toilet, I thought I should bring the children out again. It was nearly 12pm anyway.

As it was already stopped raining, I took the kids to the playground again when Babah called to say he managed to find someone to cover his work while he took some time out to tend us. Oh my knight in shining armour has come to save the day. Honestly, I felt all the burden has been lifted off my shoulders when I heard he could come home for a while.

I called a taxi to take us home to wait for Babah to take us to A&E instead of the Walk in Centre.


A&E
There wasn't many patients at the children's A&E. We reported ourselves at the receptionist and later was called by a nurse. The nurse brought us to another closed room to avoid contamination as we had chickenpox plus Amar's red eye.

A doctor came to see Amar later, and he suggested two things:
1. He could prescribe eye drops for Amar and if it doesn't go away in 48 hrs, we should go to the eye department.
2. or, if we want another opinion the same day, we could go to the eye clinic straight away.

We were satisfied with no.1 and got the prescription for Amar. Babah went back to work immediately after sending us back home. Didn't I tell you Babah is so workaholic and love his work. He had to drive back for one hour to get to his workplace!


Eye Clinic
This morning (about 48 hours later), Amar's eye was still red. We all got ready and Babah took us to the eye clinic at the brand new Coventry University Hospital. We walked in the rain again and the same question played in my mind, re: chickenpox and rain. That really bugged me, hoping so much it's not true in any case at all!

The waiting area at clinic no. 9: the eye clinic had different bright coloured chairs. There was also a small area purposely designed for the little ones to play at. We were seen by a nurse not long after that. Babah reported all the history.

After that Amar was taken for a vision test which he did not cooperate at all. And last, we were sent to see an Ophthalmologist. The doctor was really friendly with the children. Still, Amar was not very cooperative.

Amar got another prescription in the form of a cream where we have to get it from the Hospital pharmacy. We got a 'bleep' while waiting for the medication. The bleep will bleep 5 times to tell us that it is ready. We had our lunch at the hospital while waiting for the medication to be prepared.

After two an a half hours at the hospital, we went home feeling lighter already, while Babah had to go to work. Thank you Babah for sacrificing your working hours for us.

Coventry University and a taste of Thai...

Tuesday, 29 May 2007

Babah must have just completed his nights' shift and got the Tuesday off. We ran out of idea of where to go in Coventry, then I remembered an 'oldish' looking building [the above photo] just off junction 4 of the ring road. The building is also somewhere near Gulson Hospital where I took Amar for his 'special nursery' (story to come in the future).

So we headed towards the old building, which later we learnt from our map is actually "Whitefriars Lodge Museum". We spent around half an hour there letting the children blew bubbles and trace the old ruins. The site is quite dangerous with (no warning) holes here and there.

Just opposite the "museum" is the award winning building, the Coventry University library.


Babah beautifully framed the library's natural ventilating 'towers'.

Even the bollards bore the name of the University and the Student Centre is just a block away from the library.

Surrounding the University is beds of beautiful flowers of different species. Above is one them. Do you think you'll be attracted to study in Coventry University if you see such building and environment in a prospectus? I would!

Later that afternoon, I asked Babah if we could just dine in a restaurant? Babah said yes and chose "Thai Dusit". The restaurant is also within walking distance from the University library.

We were greeted by two friendly staff dressed in their traditional costumes (I think). The waitress showed us our table - at the front, near the windows away from other customers. She took our orders and said the food will be ready in about 10 minutes.

While waiting, the children had their fruit juice.


and more juice.

In that short space of time, Amar managed to be so cheeky and spurted the drink to Babah. We warned him, but he just gave us his cheeky smile, he thought we were joking.

Sarah was under the table most of the time, shifting from the chair next to Babah to mine. I bet those who went there for a romantic meal must have *cursed* us. What with the noisy children and the none stop flash-photography. [The above is just another poor and unedited shot by me into the sun].

The food arrived not long after that. I gave Amar a few strands of my Pad Thai. Sarah had a little bit of the chicken satay. The food (to me) was great!

While waiting for Babah to finish his tea, Sarah and I went out for fresh air.


There's a row of houses near the restaurant.


and I introduced Sarah to a traditional British red postbox. Then it was time to go home.

A Princess's birthday party: 26 May 2007

note: Mind the dates

We were very delighted to be invited to our very first birthday party in Coventry! For that we thank our kind host, Princess D (and her family) whose 7th birthday fell on 21 May 2007 and the party was held 5 days later. Sarah and I wrapped the presents and she chose her own outfit for the party, her apple green fairy dress she first wore on her 3rd birthday.

Sarah forced me to iron her chosen dress the night before and hung it on the door knob. She put it on many times before the real occasion and got it crumpled again. "Nak cuba aje" She said.

We walked to Princess's house which was only within walking distance. Amar in the pushchair. Sarah with 4 ponytails walking hand in hand with Marium, our next door neighbour and I. We were slightly late (gosh, I hate people waiting for me and hate giving the same excuses! I really have to do something about this time management of mine!) but still, we were the first to arrive (still no excuse!).

The birthday Princess wore her beautiful frilly and smocking dress in terracotta, her hair neatly tied in a bun. There were so much food spread on the table! Almost everything was pink in colour! The birthday cake, cupcakes with pink icing and pink sirap bandung. The Queen must have been really busy in the kitchen the whole day.

The cupcakes and mini pizzas were the most popular ones among the children. I loved everything the Queen made and Sarah had many rounds of the sandwiches and the "pink" drink.

I saw Sarah ogling on Little D's nasi himpit with yellow soup. She told Little D to eat it properly using the spoon and not just 'drink' it off the bowl.


And when Little D didn't follow what she said, Sarah gave that senget look at him. [Mulut sendiri comot, tak sedar!!!]


The chocolate cake was yummylicious even Amar finished quite a big portion of it.

There was a game session held at the back garden. They played a few games where the winners received presents at the end of every session. And I don't know how, everyone seemed to have won something. Sarah received a jotter pad and a set of felt tips pen!!! I'm sure all the children have had a whale of a time at Princess's party.

I caught Amar talking to himself expressively with hand gestures when other children were playing a game. Looked to me like a traffic warden. What do you think?

Sorry Princess for this [awfully] late post about your big day. We've had a magical time there, it felt like it was only yesterday.


______________
Just to update you with our current condition, there are more spots on both of us. They are more prominent than the ones I showed in the previous entry. Mine are just spots of the size 'bapak gajah'. Poor Amar didn't really sleep well last night. He tossed and turn and cried every 15 minutes.

Today, I thought I saw some spots grew before my very own eyes! So very itchy beyond words! I feel sorry for Amar because he does not know how to explain his pain. With Sarah before this, she would tell me to rub her hand or back. Amar just cry.

Despite the stubborn itch, I am counting my blessings that at least I didn't get it on my wedding day(!) or while pregnant with Sarah or Amar. Or before boarding a flight. For that I'm blessed. Most importantly, there will be a light at the end of the tunnel, insyaAllah. I keep reminding myself that some other people are suffering much, much more excruciating pain... like a person in labour. Which after the many hours of agony, Allah decided that He loves the baby more.

Dearest friend, we are sharing your sad experience. Let's hope Allah will reward you in abundance throughout this hardship. Take care.

Attack of the Chickenpox: Episode II

I thought both Amar and I have escaped chickenpox. Sarah had it a few weeks ago and her scabs are almost gone now. But two days ago, I saw a few tiny reddish spots on Amar's body. I had one tiny one on my arm.

Yesterday, I had 4-5 spots with headache and feeling quite feverish. Amar was quite cool yesterday, playing as normal. I didn't see him scratching at all. Towards bedtime, I felt quite relieved that my spots were not very itchy and my headache was a bit subdued with a couple of paracetamol.

This morning was a different story. I woke up with MORE spots!!! Urrgghhh... I just hope to get this over quickly with little drama as possible.

Amar has more spots too. And his spots were MORE than what Sarah had before. Amar's dots (per Sarah's term) were tiny red bumps, which now are filled with clear 'liquid'. He hates any forms of medicine. Hence, the difficulty to apply calamine lotion on his body (I saw him scratching today)

Poor Sarah, she is taking the blame. She said she spread the chickenpox to us and keep on giving us big hugs. By the way, she is a good nurse. Sometimes you will hear her say, "Don't worry. Sikit aje" and she will diligently dabs calamine lotion and talcum powder on us.

Hopefully we'll go through this easily. Amiin.

p/s: honest to God, I feel so gatal-tangan to squeeze my spots!!! Just to see if it pops like a balloon.

Happy Birthday to Uncle Adan

Another year has passed. It's your birthday again! We hope you are enjoying your life to the fullest at the moment. And hoping that many more happy years come your way.

Happy Birthday Uncle Adan.

What is Friendship?

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You, too? Thought I was the only one." C.S.Lewis

It has been over a year since I started recording our memorabilia in this blog. Up till now, I still am faithful with the same green template and its minimal look. Also almost a year ago, I wrote an entry concerning my/our beautiful friends. Anne left her first comment in that entry and we became friends (if she agrees to that term calling) since then.

To continue the same subject of friendship, we made lots of peers just through blogging. In fact, through blogging I was united with a few of my long lost school friends. I am fascinated by this world of blogging where people still able to gain trust and form a special bond between them.

In my case so far, Pycnogenol is spot on with his comment also from the same entry mentioned before. He said;
"I hope that your mum and the rest of the family will be happy to ALSO know that you are surrounded by equally good, interesting and mysterious blogger-friends!!"

Indeed I have not met the majority of my blog friends and some remain anonymous but as long as they leave positive comments, then that's fine by us. Once I was surprised to receive a square envelope with stamps from Turkey. It was a Hari Raya (Eid greetings) card and some family photos from non other than our beloved Simah.

Just a week ago, Kak Elle was on a tour around the Europe and she happened to be in London as her final destination before heading back to Singapore. From London, she gave me a call just to have a chitchat. That was so sweet of her to remember to call us!

Two of my earliest blog friends are DITH and Ikelah. Ardent DITH writes just about anything and everything that evolves around her and creative Ikelah takes phenomenal photographs. Early this year, their son came for a short visit to London. Through Muhammad, DITH and Ikelah sent us a HUGE parcel comprised of lots of ikan bilis, a fuchsia coloured scarf and a couple of magazines.

True that we were ikan bilis deprived for several months at that time. But it didn't even cross my mind to ask for anything from Malaysia. Especially because of the recent food restrictions at the airport and their at that time was not quite appropriate for us to take advantage of. Somehow, thoughtful DITH still got us the goods for which we are eternal grateful. We had an ikan bilis fiesta immediately after receiving them. The above photos are sambal ikan bilis, sambal ikan bilis kering and fried ikan bilis made from the ikan bilis sent by DITH and family and still plenty more left. No more rationing our ikan bilis after that.

Sometime in March-April, Ajzie of Wilhem~Achtzehn asked me to do a favour. It was only a small one that I agreed to give her the assistance. About a month later, a postman came with a parcel from Germany. It was beautifully and neatly wrapped containing two lion soft toys wearing football jersey and another box wrapped in red hearts embellished with red ribbon.

I was perplexed but ecstatic for the gift of a perfume set was too special compared to what I've done for them. As we all know, doing a favour is meant to be done f.o.c. But Ajzie chose to repay it with such bounty (which was absolutely unnecessary) and I thank her and family very, very much.

Of all mentioned here, LoveuJordan is the most recent friend I made through blogging. I feel very fortunate to know her as her blog entries are mainly about her experience in Jordan and her beautiful family. Most of her entries regarding her family inspire me to become a better person.

Through one of the many comments I left in her blog, LoveuJordan replied that she wanted to send me a jelbab from Jordan as a present. I did intend to ask her to buy some jelbab or abaya from Jordan. To get one as a present is too much. The parcel was received last month, and there were a beautiful abaya with maroon embroidered details on the front and two t-shirts for the children too!

It did not end there. Two weeks ago, Maklang's sister and her husband came to Europe for a holiday. Maklang asked if I wanted anything from Malaysia since her sister (Alang) will be in Coventry during the trip. At first I declined, but then our rempah kurma and kari Adabi were running very low. The Asian shop in Coventry has recently been closed! So I asked for a packet each of rempah kurma and kari Adabi.

To meet Alang was not as straightforward as I anticipated. There were a few obstacles on Alang's side and on the day she was in Coventry - our phone decided not to ring. We missed to meet Alang and her husband but they left our parcel with another friend who also lives in Coventry.

My full adoration to Alang and her husband who in spite of their tight schedule on the road, they made an effort to come back to Coventry and search for our house two days later. They really surprised us that fateful afternoon who just came to say hello!

By the way, the parcel Maklang sent us was no ordinary 10kg package. In there were smaller packets wrapped in assorted and colourful wrappers enclosing not just rempah kari and kurma but also all sorts of spices including perencah mee rebus, mee bandung, rempah laksa johor and rempah soto. A big pack of keropok keping and at least a kilo of ikan bilis (yippee yeay!!). There were some ready made sambal ikan bilis and kacang made by Maklang herself packed nicely in plastic bags.

The kids received lots of goodies too, a pair of spiderman outfit for Amar, a couple of tudung and hairclips for Sarah and a beautiful brooch for the Mama. Plus, there was a specific parcel for D too, which I gladly dropped it at her house. Dearest Maklang and family, you have not only made lots of us happy but you have touched our heart too.

So now comes the question. What have I/we done to deserve all this? I have not met them all in person but strangely enough Allah has opened their hearts to be kind to us. Their gifts must have cost a fortune and we are so grateful for their sincerity and generosity in our friendship.

No words can describe our feelings towards their altruism. Nothing I can purchase will match their kindness. The best I can do is to pray that Allah will grant them easiness, happiness and plentiful of rizq in their lives. And I pray that Allah will give us the same in our lives and hope that we can emulate them by their munificence.