discovery about the viruses that caused the common colds

Today Dr Patricia Turner of the University of Maryland was interviewed on ABC about the discovery of the virus strains and which could lead to producing  effective medications in combating the problems faced by common cold sufferers. She said it might take 10 years for studies to be completed before medications could be manufactured. I sincerely hope something great will really come out of these researches.

As you know when we  suffer the common cold, we would not be prescribed with any medications by the doctors because they say that no medications can get rid of the viruses of the common colds. So you just suffer through for 3 to 4 days until your bodies are strong enough to fight the viruses. No antibiotics can do anything to the viruses.

I pray that God Will show the scientists the way to many more breakthroughs in our efforts to fight the common colds.

This was the car owned by my grandfather, Tok Muda Ibrahim bin Kesah, after the japanese occupation. I remember riding in the car driven by my grandfather in 1947 when we went to visit my eldest uncle, Datuk Abdullah bin Ibrahim, in Tapah. My uncle was working as an assisstant District officer in Tapah, Perak.

My Grandfather drove the car. My grandmother also came along, so also was my eldest cousin, Ismail. We travelled via the winding roads from Temerloh to Kuala Lumpur and then to Tapah. I cannot remember details of the journey, but I remember feeling so happy to be in the car which was brand new from the United Kingdom.

This car lasted for many years. My grandfather never changed his car. He used it until the cushions were all torn more or less in shreds. It was the only car in the whole village for a long time and one of the few cars in the whole town. The color was black. If you could see the front door knob was in the front of the door, so when you open the door, it would be very easy to slide in  to sit on the front seats. The plate number of the car was C995.

 Going about all over the country in the car were some of the happiest memories of my life. Those were the days.

One enterprising lady

Recently I got into talking with one lady of 65 years old. She was a very smart looking lady with stylish spectacles and a big handbag and pretty shoes and she had a very commanding voice. She was sitting next to me while we were both waiting for our medications at the dispensary of the hospital. Her first question was "are you a pensioner or are you still working?". That was one very diplomatic question which put me at ease immediately. She too admitted that she was a pensioner who used to work in the broadcasting services. No wonder her public image was good.

Before I could answer  her question as to what I was doing with my retirement time, she started telling me what she was doing with her time. I would have guessed that she would be doing some charity work of sort. I did not expect to hear what she said she was doing.

She works full time as a personal driver to a grand daughter of a couple who are both doctors. The grand daughter is just attending pre school at one Chinese school.  Besides driver the girl she also drives the couple to wherever they want to go outside of their office. She wakes up early morning to get ready early to avoid being late as well as the traffic jam. In the afternoon too she waits early for the girl. She works 5 days a week and sometimes on weekends she would drive the grand parents to shopping malls or wherever the destinations of their private visits. Its hard work she said, because she has to be alert and healthy. She only has one or two days of the weekends to do her own things.

During the school holidays she would go on holiday with her Buddhist society. Her last holiday was to India and Thailand and she was caught at the airport  in Bangkok when the protesters took over the airport. They were temporarily put at a hotel and left Thailand on an army flight in a hurry at a very short notice. She and her group really had an adventure of their life!

She was collecting a big bundle of medications from the pharmacy. She told me she had high cholesterol, high sugar level and high uric acid. She too had to take aspirins daily for her heart protection. 

What I admire about this lady is that with all her problems  she just does not just sit at home but work at something different from what she used to do. She was not asking anybody for help. She agreed to work because of a response to a need. Someone needs a lady to drive a small girl around for the sake of ensured security. In the process they developed a bonding and she feels like a member of the family. Someone else in her position would just sit at home nursing the unwellness of self. I like her spirit and her attitude towards life. Thats the way to live.

Moments of truth

On the 28th of January 2009, I had a medical appointment with my cardiologist. Before I saw him I had to do a full blood tests, an heart echo test, and a stress test.  I registered for all those tests at 1.30pm and finally  collected my medications at 5.30pm. It was all a very stressful experience. But I managed to handle my patience.

When I did my stress test after my echo my heart rate was already 120, a bit too high to begin the walking but I insisted on it not wanting to waste time. I managed to do up to stage 3 and my heart rate  reading was 160. I needed to reach  my optimum heart rate of 150, which is 220-71 (my age). So that was ok. But it was not the best of time to be doing any form of exercise.

When I saw the doctor, Dato' Dr Amin Ariff Nuruddin, he told me my blood tests were alright. Praise be to ALLAH. My LDL remained at a controlled level but my HDL was low. I suppose I have to watch my diet and be regular with my exercise regime. I am able to control my LDL because I take Flaxeed oil and BENECOL. My Trigiseleride was low due to the medication I am now taking. The overall cholesterol reading was 5.3 a hi normal. The blood sugar level was ok, kidney and liver functions were also ok. The other readings were good.

What I did not expect was what the doctor told me about my echo test. He said that it shows the beginnings of thickening of the heart muscles due to the blood pressure problems I have been having over the years, its been since 1995. The other reason is age. The other worrying news is my valve is also thickening and there could be a leak. Another worrying thing is my high heart beat rate. I have been feeling rather breathless going up the stairs lately. The doctor said I should not be alarmed by it. How do I go about strengthening my heart muscles  when the reason is age. I have to fully accept the fact that I am growing old, so my heart muscle is also ageing. That is the fact that I have to accept. With ALLAH's Blessings, I hope my heart valve would get stronger with the medications and the exercise regimes I am determined to incoperate  in my life.

I found that the cholesterol medication as well as the medication to lower my heart rate have the side effects of causing muscle pains. I have to be able to suffer through these muscle pains in oder for the medications to have effect. Its not much of a choice.

I can consider myself lucky for having such a blessed life other than those physical problems. I enjoy exercising, I enjoy good food, I enjoy learning The Quranic language, I enjoy teaching it to friends who come by to the house to learn, I ejoy the company of my children and grandchildren, I enjoy listening to music, I enjoy reading, watching television, meeting friends. In other words I enjoy life. I enjoy visiting new places. The best part part of it all I dont feel 71!

politics in the old days,(1957-1983)

This is a photo of my late father, Datuk Awang Ngah Ibrahim, at a function in Temerloh. The year I am not sure. My father is seen seated to the right of the second Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdul Razak bin Hussein, the gentleman seated in the centre in white attire and with spectacles. 

In the old days politics were much simpler. Aspirations of politicians were different. I am saying this as an observer. Even though my father was involved in politics, I was not. Never had a mind for it.

What I want to share today is in reference to a comment made last Sunday (25th January 2009) in one of the local newspapers about why the UMNO, the United Malay Organisation, the backbone party of The Barisan Nasional, the ruling party of Malaysia, lost in the Trengganu by-election earlier in the month. One of the reasons cited by the writer was the arrogance of the the UMNO campaigners. They were all staying in hotels and they were all busy talking about the coming March party elections. The opposition campaigners on the other hand, were staying with the voters at their homes or friends homes. So they were intimate and I suppose more endearing to the voters. When you eat and pray and sleep together, of course you could get much closer or feel much closer to the voters.

Now I remember during father's time of politics, it was like that. I remember people sleeping at our house, eating our foods, sharing our bathrooms and chit chatting in the living room of our home. I vividly remember one prominent politician from Johor, the late Datuk Syed Jaafar Albar, the late father of our Home MInister, Syed Hamid Albar, one day sleeping at our house. He slept in my father's room. We had only two bedrooms. He ate the foods that my mother cooked. As a small girl I saw him walking to the outside toilet the family shared with his towel over his shoulder. He bathed  in my father's bathroom. He was like a member of the family.

Its the small gestures, the personal gestures which I think the present politicians have forgotten to do. Of course in Temerloh then, there were no hotels! But then in these modern times, if the opposition can still  share those personal moments in the homes of voters, why should we share our times formally in the coffee houses of the hotels?

Raeyn, my second grandson born on 15Jan .

Hi Raeyn, this is a belated happy birthday wish to you. Your 5th birthday was on the 15th of January. Before I left Aberdeen and your family on the 8th of January 2009, I told you that I would give you 5 pound as a birthday present, you asked me then, "EmbahMak ada ke 5 pound tu?" Such an innocent question! When you received the  pound note you put it in a bottle as your mama says you can only buy the present later. You wanted your Papa to to toyserus, a toy shop ,  immediately!

You look real smart in this picture Raeyn. I know you cant wait to be 5 years old! You  were always asking me to play cards with you the moment you see me, just because you just learned how to play cards! You were getting to be smart at it and very observant of the cards that I dont have and then throwing those very cards to make sure I had to get more cards. You were very sporting too, happy to win , at the same time accepting the fact when you lose, by just saying "oh man!"

I enjoyed and cherish the moments when you slept with me cuddling and hugging me close. Before sleep you and Abang Afyq would recite the prayers. Very touching indeed!

I would always cherish the calendar you gave me which you made yourself in school. Its cute when you said you wished you could stay in PJ house  and go to school in Aberdeen. You did say you would like to follow me back to PJ house in Malaysia but you were anxious because EmbahAyah , you said,"he dont like me, always marah2 me"

I pray for God's Blessings for your life and may you grow up to be strong and healthy at heart as well as physically. May you up always to be full of gratitude for God's Blessings in your life. Happy Birthday to you again Raeyn (Lalen).

Growing old gracefully

This morning I visited my oldest aunty, Zaharah, my father's sister, who is today 91 years old. We call her Long. She suffers a weak heart because she has had hi cholesterol for many years and has been on medication for a very long time. A few ago she underwent angioplasty  but the smaller blood vesels, which were blocked could not be attended to. Over the years this has weakened her. The doctor prescribed for her Plavite, a blood thinning medication.

Besides that problem, she is ok. She still walks upright, her eyesight is ok, she can still read the Al Quran and watch the television. She still has appetite to eat. She wears nice clothes. And she enjoys talking about the daily political news. She is very alert as a social critique. 

She enjoys the religious knowledge from the Al Quran and Hadis2. She told me again this morning that she is fearful of death knowing that at her age it would come at any time. I reminded her that death comes at any time to just any of us, as only God knows when our time is up. I asked her why she is afraid of death. She said that it is because she is so afraid that God may not have forgiven her sins. I told her that honestly, everybody is afraid to die. So she is not alone in having that fear. But, maybe its good  for her to be hopeful and optimistic that God will forgive her her sins as long as she continues asking God for forgiveness.

It is so easy to feel  down at heart, and to complain of whatever shortcomings in one's life, especially if one lives alone with just a maid, in a big house but one cannot go upstairs because one can no longer climb the stairs. But then again, I reminded her that at least she is in her own house and having a maid! There are thousands out there who have to live with somebody or at an old folks' home with no one to take care of you.

So I gently ask her to count her blessings everyday, no matter how small the blessings are. She can still walk, pray standing, go to the toilets by herself, bathe herself, put on clothes by herself, can still have sound sleep at night, could still manage to wake up in the early hours of the morning to pray, enjoys eating, reading the Al Quran, watching the news on the television, enjoys her afternoon naps and  watching the beautiful flowers in her garden. Its quite a lot of blessings!