Monday 2 March 2009

Halfway

Assalamualaikum wbt.

You still seem intent on keeping your hairs I see?

(grinning)Well, as long as I possibly can doctor!

Well, I must say Mas, for a patient on chemotherapy, you're a top notch mate!


SubhanAllah. Alhamdulillah. Allahuakbar. It was my 6th dose today, and I got to meet Dr Morley in the morning whilst waiting for the ABVD drugs to arrive. He had just been back from a paternal break, having been blessed with a new baby girl last month. He was apparently impressed with how I'm responding with treatment thus far. So am I, in all honesty. How am I indebted to everyone who has never forgotten to remember yours truly in their dua's.

Today was not really the smoothest of days for the nurse. The female nurse who had five attempts on doing my cannulae about a month ago was the one in-charge today. And poor her, she tried her best but again failed to get the cannulae in after two attempts, and thought it was wise to request her fellow colleague to have a go. And they eventually did with the third attempt.

I mentioned in the past entry about the nausea I experienced even by only thinking about the ABVD drug. Gosh, today was a challenge holding myself from throwing up in front of all the other patients. I develop this horrible nausea in anticipation of the drugs being infused into my body. Reminds me of the Pavlov's experiment.



As I am now halfway through my treatment, I am due to have a CT scan sometime next week to get a better picture of my body's response to treatment. Another CT scan will also be repeated at the end of my 12th dose sometime in end of May, before they then decide with the next management.

Another testing week looming. May Allah make all matters easy, insya Allah.

Wassalam

p/s: Pisang dan Roy had kindly resumed responsibility with preparing foods for Monday. And as usual, knowing them for almost 3 years now, I don't only get to enjoy their foods but also their endless jokes and teasing. Memang partners in crime betul. Alhamdulillah, a few helpful Malaysians have also offered to prepare foods throughout the week, and may Allah reward them. Menunaikan hak yang terpundak ke atas diri setiap Muslim.

p/s2: I hope Jep is settling down fast in Down Under. It certainly wasn't easy when I first arrived in UK even with all the other friends along with me, so I must imagine how difficult it must be for him having to travel to Aussie all by himself. But he is definitely a man made of steel, and I'm sure he'll cope. Tapi dgr cerita meleleh juger air mata jantannyer kat epot, kantoi! =)

3 comments:

dr_luv82 said...

Assalamualaikum wbth,

I Agree with Dr. Morley. U really are top notch. Keep up the spirit. U r halfway there n we r all rooting for you. My loved ones are spread all over the world, in the northern hemisphere, southern hemisphere, across the equator..I pray Allah look after them and bring them all back to my arms in due time..amin...InsyaAllah I will see u again on UK soil before long...stay strong my dearest....mama.

PakTam said...

Assalamu`alaikum wm.

Semoga Afzal sentiasa berada dalam keberkatan dan lindungan Allah SWT.

Have not been able to keep up with your blog as frequent as I had before. Mula-mula tu, sibuk coz' nak pindah rumah. Arrange this and that, coordinate remaining works, itu ini, trying to synchronise everthing so that we can move in on the scheduled date (14.02.2009). Alhamdulillah, everything went fine (hiccups here and there tu, biasa la). I am glad everyone came. Aki & WanChik, The Sri Petalingans although Mama & Andi are scheduled to go to Taiping that evening!), The Gantoks, The Armaneeans (Pak Teh & Co.) & Pak Chik. Its the company that's fun.

Then, unpacking things and getting the new home into a livable condition. Whew..!

By that time, Jep is already due for Aus. Then, kitorang buat doa selamat (among us family) for Jep the morning before he sets off to Aus. Alhamdulillah, semua selamat.

After almost 1 month asking for relocation of the phone line, our new home is still without phone! That's the TM service! Not that I am surprised.

Sending Jep off reminds me much of sending you off (of course less dramatic..). Sedih sending him off because we miss his company, like we miss yours. In fact I have always regard you guys as my own, even the Gantoks & the Armaneeans, in our own ways, kami menumpang kasih sayang you guys.

I am proud to learn that you put up a good and strong fight. Tawakkal is indeed the greatest strength.

Although you may not savour Jep's stew and tomyam for some time, we all hope that you will not miss any of your meals. You know better.

I must also say that all in the family are truly indebted to your good and kind friends who have been taking very good care of you. Please extend my Salaam to them.

Mak Tam is very busy with her course (and exams!) at Intan (for 6 weeks ending March 13 2009). Kesian jugak tengok dia, penat. Belajar statistics la, segala benda.

Ainul dah start tidur kat bilik dia sendiri (the Pink Room). At first PakTam tak bagi, tapi lama-lama dia nak sangat, terpaksa lah jugak. Tapi kadang-kadang MakTam or PakTam akan tidur sama ngan dia kat bilik tu.

OK, Afzal. Segala doa kami di sini supaya Afzal terus cekal menghadapi dugaan Allah SWT, semoga terus mendapat kekuatan menempuh dugaan ini, semoga beroleh kesembuhan dan kejayaan, insya Allah.

Salam sayang,
~PakTamMakTamAinul~

JeP said...

Salam, hey there chemoboy!

It's hard not to weep a tear or two reading through your post, as well as mom and paktam's comments that follow. And the feeling gets more intense, now that i'm away on the other side of the world from yours.

We're all very proud of you, and hopefully you can reflect on your last few doses as testament, that every test which God bestows on us, is bearable if we have the will, spirit and courage to do so. You've had the prayers and doa's from not only us but also many others whom wish only best to come your way. Remember, your bravery up to today has been an inspiration to us as well. Keep up the good spirit and faith; i know very much that there are times you'd feel like giving up but know that with all this comes purification.

You've always believed that all this is God's will and whatever that is His will, is the best for us. Good luck on your upcoming doses brother, rest assured that there'll be at least a person here in Aussie with his prayers to God on your favor.

p/s: in my defense, air mata jantan yg terlepas haritu x sampai tiga titik (kot!).