Down with dengue(6thJune-19thJune)

I never suspected that I was having dengue that Saturday night before we had our family dinner and I had cooked a special dish of Mee Jawa for the boys and their families. I suddenly felt so sick, with hi fever and body aching. I was getting more sick for the next 5days never suspected anything more than just an ordinary viral infection. My maid was down too. I refrained from going to the hospital because I knew it would be difficult for my husband to visit me in the hospital. By  Wednesday things were not improving so I telephoned Asrul, my eldest son, to take me to the emergency unit at the Damansara Specialist Hospital because I could no longer eat or get up or sit up other than the necessary chores of having to go to the toilets.

After the blood test which confirmed that my blood platelets were at 56,(normal range was 150-450), I was given drips and  warded at the hospital for five days. My blood platelet went down further to 39 and it was then confirmed I had dengue.

I would wish it on no one, this dengue thing. It was an awefull experience of hi fever, body pains, stomach pains and terrible headaches and worse of the lethargy and extreme fatigues , which I found to be so unbearable.

With several bags of drips, I slowly became well again. Now my blood platelets is at 317. I thank ALLAH for being well again. 

Surviving the hot weather

The weather is still hot. Its been more than three weeks now. It helps when I stay indoors most of the time, except when it is exceptional necessary to go out like going to classes. I try to draw in the curtains most of the time so that it indoors remain cool and at night  to have the lights on only in rooms where there are people. I also make sure the doors of the rooms not occupied to be open so that there is better air circulation. I am thinking of rolling up the carpets, maybe it will further help to cool the room. The marble floors are very cooling and maybe without the carpets the cooling floors can help further cool the room.

need to have a good sleep

I have always been what they say an owl, where sleep pattern is concerned. From 8 pm onwards I will be very alert and find it so difficult to sleep by midnight. I need to wake up early as I have classes to attend by 9 am on most days. I find that I am tired and still so sleepy by that time. So I am trying very hard to sleep earlier than 11 pm so that I will be alert by the time I am in class. For the last 4 nights I have tried following the advice of  friends. I had hot cocoa by 8.30 pm, and read a few relaxing exercises and read a boring recipe book! Surprisingly it worked! unbelievable!

Its a good feeling I have now at the beginning of the day.

Need to have good sleep

Surviving the hot weather

For more than a week now the weather has been very warm. I can feel my skin burning when I am out in the open. Even in the car the air is warm even when the airconditioning is on. 

I feel there is a kind of restlessness when the air is like this. I cannot really rest in the afternoons. Trying to concentrate is very difficult.

I find that it helps when I have the curtains drawn and the windows closed, so the hot air is kept outside. Just have the fans on and just do easy chores. Wearing light clothings also help. And of course drink a lot of water and just stay indoors as much as possible.

I also just do light exercises such as stretching  and walking on the spot. If I do walking on the treadmill I find that I feel very tired after that. If I just do stretchings, I find that I feel more refreshed.

I also find that when I drink warm water rather than cold water, I find that I feel better after the drink. If I drink ice cold water  if I want to pacify my thirst, I find that  I feel a bit of discomfort after the drink and the discomfort remains for a long time. Warm lemon tea is the best of all drinks.

DILEMA OF OLD AGE

Growing old is both sad and happy but mostly sad I feel. There are so many things still that you feel you need and want to do, yet you know deep down that your have very limited time to do it. Reviewing the things that you had hoped to accomplish when you were younger, and realising that you have actually done very little, or some of it only, you cannot help but feel sad that you may not have the time anymore to do it.

For example, when I was younger, I had wanted to be a writer. I bought books on how to write. I used to do some writing on my own. Somehow it got subothaged and it did not take off at all. The yearning is still there but the will  is gone.

I remember also I wanted so much to do a patch-work bed cover. I used to collect bags full of material remnants planning  that one day I would get to it. I did partly and the rest never got done and recently I threw everything away and thats the end of that dream.

There are still so many books in the house  waiting to be read. I somehow could not find the time to attend to it and they never got read.

On the other hand, I found myself into studying Quranic Arabic and I became so consumed by it that I spend all my waking hours attending to it and I found so much joy out of it. Now I found there are still so much to learn about it to fully understand the real MEANINGS of The Book, and I fear that I may not have the time to accomplish it. The language is so beautiful that every time I read I see different meanings in the message. I wished I had started studying it much earlier when I was younger, when my mind was still very alert and concentration was optimum. I am very grateful to Allah for giving me the opportunity. Anyway no regrets here.

At peace with the world

I really feel good today, just follow the flow. I felt so sleepy after the early morning prayer at 6 am and went back to sleep. It was the most amazing deep sleep until 8 am, the time I thought I ordered breakfast. It was a miscommunication and there was no breakfast. Still feeling sleepy I decided just to go back to sleep and also decided not to go to class at 9.30 am. It was again the most amazing deep sleep I had until 10.30am. I got up feeling tremendously  good. Then I had my french toast and coffee, read the newspapers, had a bath, washed my hair and played scrabble. After lunch at 12.30 and prayers at 2pm, I went back to sleep. It was again the best of sleep. Got up at 4pm feeling so much at peace with the world around me. My body just wanted me to listen to it and gave it a total rest. Its amazing!