I DON'T believe in coincidence. From what happened to me recently, I honestly doubt the chain of events were coincidental.
My story began in March this year. My better half and I were on one of our regular trips from Kuala Lumpur back to Temerloh. She was behind the wheel of the SUV. It was a slow drive, about 70kmh. We were talking about the Altantuya case while munching potato chips. It was drizzling that day.
Then, suddenly my other half screamed, "I cannot control the wheel Ya Allah! Ya Allah! " at the top of her voice.
Our car suddenly began to spin out of control. It swerved to the right lane and slammed into the concrete divider before coming to a halt on top of the monsoon drain.
I think it was less than a minute from the moment the car was out of control to the top of the monsoon drain but it was the longest minute in my life.
I remember shouting takbir Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar ! I also slammed my right foot to the floor in an automatic reaction to press the non-existent brake (of course there is no brake paddle on the passenger's side!)
No, cannot be a coincidence!
The engine was still running when my other half pointed to something in front of us and asked, "Look at that. What's the thing called?" I looked up. Yes, that thing is a tow truck!
Less than one minute after our car came to a halt, the tow truck arrived! Very efficient indeed, I thought. Our damaged car's engine still running, we had yet to catch our breath...and the tow truck came!
That's why I said I don't believe in coincidence. The 'good Samaritans' stopped and I think so did the pundits. "Aiyah , 2 angka sahaja encik punya nombor plate? " one of them asked me afterwards. He then had the cheek to ask me whether my car plate number was my date of birth.
The police also stopped. Peronda Lebuhraya in Perdana. They asked me, " Encik okay? Orang rumah okay? " I said, "Thank god we are okay."
Meanwhile, the tow truck guys were still trying their luck. No, I told them. I have a friend who owns a workshop. Then I asked one of them in front of the police, " You letak minyak atas jalan ke?" He was taken aback. " Mana ada, kita pun ada anak juga. " He scrambled back to his truck and drove away.
" Macam-macam cara orang cari makan Encik; memang ada orang kata depa simbah minyak atas jalan kasi licin ," said one of the police officers.
Well I do not know for sure whether they poured oil on the road, but as I said earlier, I don't believe in coincidence. I became suspicious.
We lodged a police report in Bentong and a friend came later to send us home. In the report, I did not state any injuries because at that time I was sure I did not sustain any injuries.
Blurred vision
The next morning, my whole body ached. I was in great pain and my vision was blurred. I asked my other half, " kenapa jerebu ada dalam rumah ?" Her answer surprised me, " mana ada jerubu , I think there is something wrong with your eye."
Our friend, Sue picked us up that day as we had a court case in Kuantan. I was still complaining about my blurred vision. After our case, Sue drove me to Klinik Pakar Mata Quah in Kuantan. The good doctor checked my eyes and in a serious tone, he told me.
"Look, you have a problem, I think your left eye's retina is detached."
"So, what should I do?" I asked, getting worried.
"Well, I think you need immediate surgery. Your have the choice of trying your luck with the general hospital here which I think will take some time or I can recommend you to go to Retina Associates in KL."
"You must go now, I think you will be able to reach the clinic by three. Or there is a strong possibility you will go blind" he added.
What he said really get to my nerves. Blind? Oh my goodness, is it that bad? The doctor explained further that there is only one specialist in the whole East Coast who can fix the problem. As time is not on my side, I need to go to KL.
The very next day, we went to KL with his referral letter. To be safe, I brought along extra clothes, toiletries and such, as I was advised that I may need immediate surgery. My other half was still in command of the wheel, only this time it was her car since mine was in the workshop.
We went to MidValley and managed to locate the clinic. At that time, I was not much of a help since my vision was getting worse. After registration, we were ushered to the doctor's dungeon. She started checking my eyes and again I heard the worrying sighs.
"Well, you have retina detachment, you need immediate surgery," she told me.
"How immediate doctor?" I asked.
"In twenty minutes!" she replied adding that the condition was very serious and there was a strong possibility I could lose my sight any moment. I was also informed there is no spare part for retina.
Of course, it was shocking news to me. Never in my life have I imagine I will have to go under the knife or become blind.
"Okay, "I signed the consent letter. "Can we go down to look for accommodation?" I asked.
"No, you stay here. Your other half can go," she said.
I was nervous. Still trying my luck, I told her frankly that I need to go down and have a puff. She was speechless, I think maybe I was instantly labeled ' degil' in her mind but since she kept mum I took it as a yes and I went down doing something which all doctors despise - smoking.
The ten commandments
Moments later, I was in the operation theater. Since I was not informed earlier that in order to use GA I must have empty stomach, the charming specialist operated me under LA. The problem with LA is that it can make you more nervous, disoriented and feeling hopeless. The surgery took almost two hours. To me, it was an extremely long time - as if it lasted forever.
But the worst was not over. There was post operative regime that I have to follow strictly to the letter. For the benefits of future retina detachment patients, here are the 10 commandments that must be adhered to:
1. Thou shall maintain a face-down position at all times even when walking.
2. Thou shall not lift heavy objects over 10 kg including grocery bags.
3. Thou shall not sleep on the operated eye.
4. Thou shall take stool softener if constipated.
5. Thou shall wear the eye shield at night or for a nap for the first two weeks.
6. Thou shall take a shower if the water runs only from the neck down.
7. Thou shall not bend from the waist
8. Thou shall not do vigorous house cleaning
9. Thou shall not drive a car unless the doctor says so
10. Thou shall not have vigorous sex.
I told my cousin Jasri about these commandments. Tongue-in-cheek, he asked me how to determine the degree of vigorous sex. Frankly, I was dumfounded and too embarrassed to ask the doctor. So I will leave it to the imagination of readers.
Before the whole episode, I was halfway reading and enjoying John Irving's book, Until I found You. Fortunately, my loving other half volunteered to read for me. It reminds me of my days in campus, when I used to read for the blind students and now it was my turn to be read to.
On top of that, my friend Syed Putra of Harakah had requested me to write an essay on socio politics just before the accident. I had gathered all the materials, only waiting for the right moment to start writing. I had intended to write about the recent development of socio politics from the Hukum Kanun Pahang's perspective. Due to the unforeseen circumstance, I have to decline the offer.
Laying face down all the time was not something appealing. Imagine 45 minutes of every hour, you must look down and the balance 15 minutes was to answer nature's call but still you must make sure to look down, never ever look straight and it is strictly prohibited to look up! The reason was to make sure the gas pasted the retina to its proper place and to avoid cataract.
Yes, I mentioned about gas. To put back the retina, gas were inserted into the eyeball and gradually, the gas will dissolve by itself. Now, the hiccup was that the gas will expand if you travel on higher ground. It will increase the pressure in the eye.
The hospital eperience
Trust my luck, it had to happen to me. From my humble hometown Temerloh to metropolitan KL you have to cross Banjaran Titiwangsa, specifically, Bukit Tinggi and Genting Sempah, I think about 500 meters above sea level.
Suddenly, I felt a very acute pain in my eyeball as if the whole of my left face was going to explode. I got a terrible headache and felt extremely dizzy. Yet, as we travel downhill after Genting Sempah's tunnel, the pain slowly subsided.
Somehow I did not relate this to the doctor. I never knew there is such a thing as eye pressure (honestly, I thought there is only blood pressure). So, to cut the story short, the very next day I went to our local new hospital, Hospital Sultan Ahmad Shah, Temerloh. It is worth to relate my experience there.
We went to the Emergency and Outpatient Department. After registering my name, we had to wait and I think it took me about three hours before I managed to see the doctor. How to kill three hours? I went to explore the hospital. The doctor shortage is very acute, the emergency department that day was manned by a doctor from Myanmar. You know with an expatriate, the main problem is language. They could not converse in Bahasa and not fluent in English.
I remember the doctor asked three questions in Bahasa Malaysia and they were:
1. Ada pining-pining? ( Adakah kamu pening?/ Are you dizzy/)
2. Ada sakit purut? ( Adakah perut kamu sakit?/ Does your stomach hurt?)
3. Ada muntah? ( Adakah kamu muntah?/ Did you vomit?)
Well, I felt like laughing and crying at the same time. When my other half explained to her in Bahasa Malaysia, she looked at us as if we were from outer planet and when we switched to English, she just shook her head.
I whispered to my other half, why don't you try sign language then?. No, she said, I don't want to offend, otherwise she might punch your eyes out, she joked.
Luckily, the medical assistant was a great help. He managed to secure an appointment with the eye specialist, Dr Izani, and warded me for the night at the hospital, claimed by some to be the most canggih in the East Coast.
Now I am getting better, even though I just had another surgery on the same eye on July 5, done by the charming Dr Hanim Barkeh Jumaat, the only difference being this time it was done under GA.
I am aware that there is no support group in Malaysia for those affected with serious eye problems but who are not blind. Perhaps some professional groups or those in authority can initiate such a group for the benefit of the many affected.
- This article to Dr Hanim Barkeh Jumaat of International Specialist Eye Centre.
AHMAD NIZAM HAMID is a legal eagle in a small town in Pahang and is still trying to place his name in Malaysian Books Of Record as the first person to swim across the Pahang River from Kuala Semantan to Teluk Ira. Comments can reach rentakini by emailing francis@ malaysiakini.com
