A heart’s problems

My Mother had been relatively healthy throughout her life. Despite her diets, she never had high blood pressure, diabetes or any other serious medical problems. Therefore, it came as a surprise when she had her first heart attack in April 2003, roughly 1 week after my DD was born. It happened in late afternoon. My Mother was alone at home while my sister, Kak Ze was at school. My Mother managed to get to the telephone and rang my cousin, Kak Dah who lives across the street. Kak Dah, Mak Cik Umi (my aunt) and Che Joh (our part time housekeeper) rushed to the house. Kak Dah made several phone calls to my sisters. Kak Ze rushed home and took my Mother to a clinic in Rantau Panjang. They met my other sisters, Kak Nun and Kak Bi there. My Mother was sedated, the doctor called for an ambulance and she was taken to the district hospital in Pasir Mas. The district hospital didn’t have enough facilities and hence my Mother was transferred again, to Hospital Besar Kota Bharu. She was admitted to the CCU (Coronary Care Unit?) and spent the next one week in the hospital. Before she went home, the hospital gave her a bundle of medicines. My Mother is the type of person who thinks and worries too much. She is concerned about everything with regard to the family. I keep telling not to worry about her children as we are all adults, but as they say, old habits die hard. She is also very precise and disciplined. I have no doubt that she is a doctor’s model patient. She always follows instruction exactly. If the doctor tells her to drink 5 glasses of water a day, she would not go even half a glass short or extra. If the doctor tells her to swallow 40 pills a day, she would take 40 pills 99.99% of the time. She religiously visits the doctors in HBKB as scheduled, despite long waiting period and all. My Mother never fully recovered from her ordeal though. After the heart attack, she gets sick often.. fever, coughs, shortness of breath, pain in the legs, you name it, she has it all. So it didn’t surprise me when she told me during the recent Hari Raya Haji holiday that she wanted to go for treatments at a private hospital in Kota Bharu. Kak Ze took her to Kota Bharu Medical Centre (KBMC) early this month and again on 12 February. If her condition does not get better, the Doctor will perform endogram on her to clear the blockages. I pray that she’ll show some improvements. If only I could do more for her …