Today is the fourth day that I did the rounds, increasing it everyday by a few stretches of roads and rows of houses. See pic showing the area where I started my walk (click pic to enlarge).
I also went out quite early today at about 5.45pm. and met a number of people. Some very familiar faces driving home in their cars while others I couldn't quite place. Yet a few I met at close range for the first time, saying "hello" and exchanging smiles. One Indian gentleman was also taking a walk doing it faster and more briskly than me and thereby overtaking me at a long stretch of road in Taman Melawati. We talked awhile but did not get to exchanging names. We met again today and just managed to exchange smiles and a wave of the hands as if we've known each other for years. See pic showing Datuk Yusof Haslam's residence on the hillside around which I passed (click pic to enlarge).
I had a lot of fears about the possible slip disc and the damages to the nerves that the doctor suspects. But the walks made me feel much better, especially in the left foot which often goes numb. My late father had the same problem. It turned out to be a leukemia of the bone which required him to undergo a chemotherapy. I hoped that I won't be suffering from the same. I was deep in thought about it when I saw a old friend walking from the opposite direction but taking the same side of the road. He looked frail and weak.
"Hey, what's up. I haven't seen you for quite a while.." We shook hand weakly for I too was tired.
"I'm sick, I've the big C," he responded in quick,soft gasps. He looked at me pathetically and I was at a loss for words. How could he be stricken with the malady when he had looked so hail and hearty to me before. And full of zest for life and humor too.
"Don't take it too bad for verily all our lives are in His hand," I mumbled searching for the right words to say. " If He says that we should go today or tomorrow. nothing can stop it. You know one of our Imams, Ustaz Hussin. who used to stay around here but had moved to a new residence since he became the Chief Judge of the Syariah Court?" He nodded weakly. "He looks so healthy and well, yet he had a stroke recently and is now in a coma. Even the healthiest of persons can suddenly fall ill and only Allah can decide whether he or she can stay or must go."
"You're right, " he replied with a little smile on his face. That was enough to make my day. When I continued my walk for the rest of the evening I did not feel any pain at all in my left foot. Even the numbness had somehow disappeared, until I was home again and sat down to rest. It slowly came back as I stopped thinking about my friend's misfortune and started to nurse the ailing foot, realizing full well that it was nothing compared to the mental torture my old friend must be nursing.
15 comments:
It must be scary and traumatic for him. Knowing that his life may be pulled anytime, or suddenly that his life has a time-frame. Wah, coincidently, I blog about this in my latest entry.
However I have to agree that sometimes the pain and suffering is just a mental game. If we shift our mind elsewhere, the pain would definitely be forgotten.
Get well soon. And do take care.
Entri kali ni mengingatkan i ketika 2 hari tak dpt jalan. Adui...siksanya.
Jumaat lps review kali ke-3 dan kata2 doktor tu seolah2 menakut2kan. Katanya, mgkin dlm masa 20 thn, i akn mengalami sakit belakang, arthritis...Masa tu terfikir, hidup ke lagi aku masa tu?. Dan sbb jd takut, i rajin mkn ubat yg dibagi secara otomatik. Hehehe.
I've just returned from visiting my sister Dr Norzah who had an operation at the Putrajaya Hospital, to remove the cartillage from a slip disc that had been playing havoc with her nerves and muscles in the right leg, J. She had suffered more severe pain than what I had so far experienced and she kept joking around (now that she's no longer in pain) that I'd be welcome to the hospital bed after she leaves. I really hope that the numbness in my leg would go off soon so that I don't have to undergo the same ops. But who knows what lies in store for us tomorrow. I already had a heart operation and survived. Today, the pain is minimal whilst a little numbness persists. So, do take care of your backbone for once you have a slip disc, nothing can be done about it, hehehe.
Yy, you had already experienced the pain from a spinal injury which must have been worst than what I'm experiencing now. If you haven't felt any residual pins and needles or numbness in your legs ( or elsewhere in the pelvic zone) your recovery must have been quite complete. Kalau gatal-gatal sikit tu tak kisahlah.....ooooops, not the censored type, I mean!
Kalau doktor kata efeknya mungkin timbul 20 tahun lagi, itu perkara biasalah. Siapa yang boleh lari dari penyakit tua? Lagi pun U kuat makan obat atau.....makan obat kuat? Jaga-jaga jangan ada benda tersalah landing lagi dalam mee goreng, sup atau air kopi u sudahlah, hehehe.
Hahahaha....I dan J, kaum Hawa yg lemah ni 'berserah' saja. No need kuat2 smpi perlu mkn ubat kuat.Haha
I haven't felt any residual pins and needles or numbness in my legs. Alhamdulillah...Lps urut celah kangkang kiri buat kali kedua, jln lbh ok, less pain, mgkin sbb urat berpintal kat area tu. Br2 ni, timbul rasa sakit sikit kat celah kangkang kiri tu (but the pain on and off) dan i plan utk urut sekali lagi (mgkin sblm bertolak ke Padang).
Which body parts lg (selain heart-jantung/hati?) yg u dah operate?
So far I dah operate jantung kerana ada tiga pembuluhan yang tersekat, tangan kanan kerana patah waktu sekolah dahulu dan buang hujung usus yang berlebih- buang appendicitis. Sakit sengal-sengal kaki kiri ni masih merisaukan walaupun tak sakit dan harap tak bertambah teruk. Masih terus berurut dengan seorang tukang urut traditional lelaki.
Memang masih banyak urat-urat yg berpintal, katanya. Jangan-jangan nanti urut kaki tangan yang kuat, urut pinggang belakang yang kuat dan urut belakang entah apa yang jadi kuat tapi kaki masih sengal-sengal je. Kalau operate L4 atau L5 kenalah pakai korset keras tu kan? huhuhu.
Thanks Anonymous, for dropping in if you're a visitor and creating a mystery as to who you're if you're already a friend. You're most welcome here, anytime.
Akhi Norzah,
That evening walk is a lesson that brings a lot of introspection. It should be called " A Walk on Life " and it makes all of us realise how easily one forgets the many Blessings that ALLAH S.W.T. had bestowed on us. Just take away one of the uncountable blessings and we feel helpless. Subahanallah.
How true ya Akhi AHS. I wonder how the friend felt knowing that he is at stage 4. We didn't talk much for he was always short of breath. How about ustaz Hussain? We can only berdoa agar kedua-dua insan ini dikasihani Allah, direngankan penanggungan dan disembuhkan seperti sediakala, Allahuma innanasaluka fiddiin walafiatan filjasadi....Salam.
Akhi Norzah,
Ustaz Husin seemed to make a slow but steady recovery. My friend who lived in Bandar Baru Bangi said that recently he went to visit him and he could recognize my friend. That is a good sign. I do supplicate to ALLAH S.W.T. for his recovery always. May his predicament and others of similar situation always remind us of how vulnerable we are and only ALLAH is our saviour.
Amin ya Akhi. Dah tau ke alamat uxtaz Husin yg sebenar? I'm very slow on the phone. Tak telefon lagi numbor yg u beri.
Akhi Norzah,
The fact that you face it head-on is itself therapeutic.
It takes courage to put it so well on paper. It helps lift up the spirits of those in a like situation.
Wishing you well!
Everytime you're in a predicament, Akhi Kk, and a friend turns up who is in a worse situation, you feel that Allah is smiling at you, reminding you that He's letting you off easy. You feel like kneeling (sujud) then and there to show your gratitude. If what you say can lift up the spirit of your friend a little, Allah be praised.
Subhanallah. Tq for the spiritually uplifting comment.
norzah,
Picking up bits and pieces of what you have written I realise that you have had your share of medical experiences. And today you are up and about, programming your walks and so on as if nothing has happened. That is some will power you possess. I have not gone through what you have. Alhamdulillah, I am lucky.But you are lucky to have been endowed with that inner strength. We live and pray that all is well till the end.Salaam to you and family
Thanks so much Pakcik Hassan al-Manar. Yes, I'd had my share of ujian dari Rabbul Alamin and I'm sure it's not over. No, I don't have any inner strength but that which Allah redhakan besides the awareness that some of my brothers and sisters suffer more ( Zul dipotong sebelah kaki bawah lutut kerana diabetes dan Adik Norzah baru operate tulang belakang kerana slip disc) and behind every sufference Allah beri imbuhan tertentu ( innamaal usri yusra). Saya berasa sudah redha apa saja. Subhanallah. Salam.
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