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Friday, January 16, 2009
i just had an appointment at CGH and had the chance to meet 3 interesting people that managed to make a mark in my memory.
Amusing Character 1
this guy's a quirky 50-odd-year-old rehabilitation doctor. dr lee had a very heavy slang and i had some trouble understanding him. but he had a lot of energy and enthusiasm uncommonly seen in old doctors. he would actually surf the net within his office just to show me diagrams of what he thought my condition to be and demonstrate how to do the therapy exercises there! it was good entertainment and it was fun to relate to him my lifestyle and giving him details of my injury :)
from his observations he postulated that it could be spinozackosacko =S forgot the proper name of it heh. this condition is said to be found mostly in young and active people who don't know their limits and go on chionging without stretching properly.(sounds like my ocs days) he said there may be a slight disconnection in the spine that is usually not a worry, but my constant hyperextention of my back, probably from field pack carrying and climbing, worsened it.
so i'm now scheduled for a CT scan to confirm his views as the x-ray results beared no fruit. i am told to lay off climbing for the moment, and spend more time swimming and strengthening my core.
Heartwarming Charcter 2
this lady came up to speak to me while i was waiting outside the doctor's clinic after the x-ray results came back. she wanted to give him a new year card! 6 months ago, she had a stroke. other than her walking stick, this pleasant, smiling lady had no trace of having had it. she sat there to express her adulation for the doctor who she saw after 3 months into her hospital stay in an A class ward, complaining about the life of seeing but doctors and nurses everyday.
this dr lee merely saw her for a few sessions and thereafter referred her to the TCM section of CGH. 3 months on, i see the lady before me with but a slight limp when she walks. this same lady limped all the way from home just to deliver a card to this doctor.
Sincere Character 3
after my consultation i had to go the the orthopedics to get a waist band. he didnt have what i needed at first, and said he could order it for me at 30 dollars. i asked if it could be charged to the army but he said no. then he said he could make it for me for 20 dollars so i took it.
it was really cool that half the shop was actually a workshop with tools hanging everywhere! apparently he sculpted lots of those artificial limbs manually for patients.
within 10 min he cut up a band and velcro and sewed up a waist band for me. he talked about how his daughter was 33 and youngest son was 24 and we found out we lived near to each other. lol random talk. then another man, an old customer, came in and greeted him.
in the end, he charged me 15 dollars for the band and took my number, saying he would enquire about customer satisfaction.
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if i were in their position, i wonder how much of my personal information i would share to a random stranger. it is common for people to fear how they are judged before another and i would think twice before i want to give bytes of info that may give an unintended impression. everything that is said and done seems so scripted to make things look good.
things like "i just won 20 bucks at mahjong!" may make people think i'm a mahjong junkie. "shiok ah 8 to 5 job in army" may make people think i'm a slacker. "i'm an officer" makes people have a generally good impression.
will i ever be forthcoming to a complete stranger? maybe the hospital environment made everyone more caring in this case.
i think i need to see the world more!
+ graham + 9:40 PM