This 'unfortunate event' occurred when I was in Form 3. I had fallen very ill and had to spend some time in the Johor Bahru General Hospital. It was towards the middle of April 1965, that I started to have frequent headaches and I felt very, very uncomfortable, especially when I returned home from school in the afternoons. I honestly did not know what was happening to me or what malady had started to strike me. I did not tell my parents about my discomfort for fear that they would worry. But the afternoon of April 23rd saw a striking change in me, which triggered quite an alarm among my family members. My whole body had become swollen and puffed up and on the advice of my father's colleagues, I was admitted to the Johor Bahru General Hospital for treatment. Incidently, my father was not around then, because he had gone to Taiping, Perak to attend a course. April 24th 1965 saw me being warded in a hospital, for the very first time, and my stay there was to last one solid month.
The doctors had diagnosed a kidney ailment and it was quite serious. I did not know it then, but my condition caused much concern among the doctors who treated me, and of course my family. I was only fifteen years at that time and I thought I was suffering from just an ordinary disease. Come to think of it, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in hospital because I had many visitors, made many new friends and the medical staff were very kind and friendly towards me.
My diet, during my hospitalization, was watched very, very closely. From the moment I stepped into the hospital, I had to say goodbye to normal food. I was only given toast and tea for breakfast and rice and jam (believe it or not!) for lunch and dinner, for that whole month. I was directed to drink lots and lots of barley water daily, and my dearest mother never failed to bring the supply from home. She had faithfully boiled the barley seeds for me, and she also came to visit me everyday, without fail. Incidently, my mother was three months pregnant with my youngest sibling, Rodziah then. Dearest, dearest mother.....what a horrific time you went through, having to walk from the bus stop along the sea front, up to where the Officers' Ward was situated, daily. The route was uphill all the way and I was sure she was exhausted all the time. BUT I never heard her complain, not even once. She never failed to bring the things that I had wanted, like my school books, story books, my transistor radio and also the British Pop Magazines, which I loved to read then. Mak, thank you for all the sacrifices that you had made for me.
During my stay in hospital, I had to undergo a lot of medical tests, like the ECG, blood tests, x-rays and also the urine tests, which were done daily. I could not cheat on my food intake for they would definitely find out. Once I could not resist my temptation and consumed some chocolates, and on the very next day, the doctor reprimanded me severely. I was also made a case study for the medical students. The discussion sessions were done during the night and at the end of them all, I would feel very exhausted indeed.
After my discharge, I still had to watch my diet. I could resume eating my normal food but everything had to be 'salt-free', for quite some time. I also had to go for follow-up examinations, initially once a month and later once in three months till the end of the year. My month long stay at the Officers' Ward, General Hospital Johor Bahru certainly holds bitter sweet memories..... till this very day.
.....happy mother's day.... :)
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