If there is one thing that I've learnt not to do during calls is to mention how 'cool' it has been so far.....unless I've got probably one minute to go before the time is up.
Kalau tak, the minute the words leave my mouth, the most horrendous, weirdest, ill-est case will be wheeled into the casualty/labour room.
Seriously.
So now, when people ask, I just say, 'boleh tahan la' - in other words, don't ask now, ask tomorrow when I'm safely out of the oncall period.
I was savouring my precious weekend on Friday and making plans on where to bring my two nieces the next day when the phone rang.
It was L, who was on call on Friday. Apparently N who's supposed to be on call tomorrow has been admitted to the CRW for chest pains and difficulty breathing. (The skinniest guy I know and he gets chest pains! I guess you can never tell) So what to do but replace him? It's not that I had urgent plans or anything, la kan.....
The next day, my senior MO was all huffy and flustered as she now has to arrange for someone to take his place for a course on Sunday. I was like 'pick me, pick me, pick MEEEEEE! Even if I don't get to sleep a wink, pick me!!!' - I was THAT desperate to get away from the OPD. Hehehe.
See, as I said before, I'm way from being categorised as 'cool' but yesterday's call was freezing! I admitted like 4 cases and referred one (and only because I couldn't be bothered to layan all those constant calls from the ward had I admitted him here) and there were no APO, no APH or PPH or DKA or severe AEBA. In fact, it was like the whole of Tanah Merah shunned the hospital that night! There were of course all those cold cases (one week abscess and you come at 10 at night? Get real la brader...) which I didn't have to attend to, but I was in bed by 11 pm.
Even managed to watch this silly (yet starring the oh-so-gorgeous-and-charming Fahrin) malay offering on TV.
Didn't guarantee me a satisfying sleep though. I was awake at half two, and then 2 hours later. Somehow the labour room nurse decided that it was VITAL for her to inform me at 5 am (?!) of the antenatal cases which I have to clerk (they usually leave it to some much saner time when I'm actually awake). By half 5 I was tossing and turning in bed, and five minutes later surrendered all efforts and went for my shower.
Which of course meant that I was nodding off at the lectures 5 hours later.
Seriously, I think I even snored.
On a more grim note, my condolences to a colleague who lost her mother so suddenly on Friday. I have no words, for I do not have any inkling to what you may be experiencing this moment and I shall not pretend to do so.
Al Fatihah.
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