Hospital Family Day

Here goes, papa said i look like him, mami said i look like her, other people have split opinions, and I just don't have a clue!!

Coming towards the end of my housemanship, I just couldn't foresee what my future holds. Having a family, I simply knew what I had to become, a stable bread winner to hold the financial pillar to not only lead a comfortable life, but also to enable a quality education and upbringing.

In the advent of my second child, and Nana reaching 15months old, its never too early to plan and prepare. What more with the new house around the corner (I wish it was a corner house), our current combined salary just doesn't cut it. So papa has to seek extra income elsewhere within the boundaries of the law, by bending it a lil' bit, and hope to make ends meet.
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Will tell you more later..

A busy day in emergency operation theater with back-logged cases from few days.

Orthopedic surgeons performing total knee replacement taking extra precautionary sterility method.

I had completed all the other housemanship posting except for one, which was Emergency department. Instead of going there, I was summoned to Anesthesiology department, where I was spared the relentless shift system of emergency department in HTJS. Here we hone our trades in operation theatre, where we learn how to anesthetize patient before undergoing a surgery. Other than that, we (try to) learn ventilator support for intensive care patient and carry out pre-operative assessment and measures for both elective and emergency operative cases.  

Papa, while you're working and missing me, mami took picture of me to show you Nana is ok.

...except that its kinda dark in grandpa's car and i can't quite see.

If papa was working weekend, grandpa and grandma would drop by to visit their granddaughter and sometimes bring the family to visit great grandma in Port Dickson or rarely relatives in Muar. At the front of grandpa's grand Toyota Camry, Nana sits like a queen and gets 1st class treatment. She has direct assess to the air-con and even gets to wear shades. I would request Mami to send me pictures of Nana because I was already missing my daughter and wanted to know what fun she was having.

Hmmm, so many unfamiliar faces but they all know my name..

Not that I'm missing anything, rather this would be great exposure for Nana to socialize and (try to) interact. After all, Nana would be the center of attraction among all the grown-ups since she is one of the 1st great grand child among my in-law. In my absence due to work-call, she will do well to represent me. Furthermore even if I'm not there to control her, surely a toddler would be forgiven for misbehaving, which Nana is not capable of besides just being moody.Next day, they would all return after spending the night.

I love dressing up real smart and going on an excursion in papa's big and comfy car

Huh~~, tired, and hungry and don't know what to eat.

Oh Wow~, whats that? Melaka's famous Mee Laksa

Given the less hectic and demanding nature of anesthesiology, the department has been able to hold their annual family day event. Thanks to the thoughtfulness (& perhaps empathy) of the long-standing head of department and other anesthesiologist bosses, they made it a point to commemorate and appreciate the contributions of all departmental staffs by raising sufficient funds to not only organize the event but also provide tele-match & lucky draw prizes.

Commendable attempt to make working under government health care more bearable. In my whole 2 years of health service and after completing nearly all my training rotation, this is the 1st time I'm attending a family day. Along the way there were some talk from previous departments of organizing one which never materialize.

Still haven't had enough of Melaka's food, I could still taste it on my fingers.

It doesn't have to be KFC to be finger licking good.

So here we are!!! HTJS Anesthesiology Department Annual Family Day 2014. I'm excited and can foresee it will be great fun because I don't have a yardstick from previous experience to compare it with. In fact, its our 1st time, Karling, Nana and me! We drove down 1 day earlier to visit Melaka and brought Nana for sight seeing. After satiating Mami's chicken rice ball and laksa craving, we spent the night in Melaka, then headed out to Waterworld Famosa Resort at Alor Gajah the next morning.  

Mirror mirror in the camera, who's the most charming girl of them all.

Look at me, I'm practically sitting on mami's tummy..haha.

The venue was about half an hour from Melaka city centre. All the familiar faces arrived at nearly the same time. Nana was still dazed and initially apprehensive of the strangers she encountered but later warmed up a little to our acquaintances. Her cheerful self gradually emerged to smile her charming sun burst smile in front of the various cameras. 

Hi there stranger, have you seen my papa and mami?

Papa papa I was lost, and this cute little jie jie found me. And I didn't cry~

Occasionally we placed her down to walk around and explore the place. With the new purple toddler shoes she rarely wears, Nana stamped her foot prints on the artificial beach as she felt the gritty sensation of fine sand entering her shoes. Besides staring up at the towering strangers who acknowledged her,  Nana would welcomed certain warm friendly personalities to carry her in their arms. I don't feel for once she had to endured any boring moments. 

The last time papa played tug of war was when he was 12 yrs old.

The level of fun is currently pointing downward.

While mami couldn't participate in any tele-match, Papa was eager to jump into some action. Big letdown was the only activity worthy enough for me to twitch a muscle was the tug of war. The other games were child play. That means I get to play with Nana and join her in adventure and discovery in "foreign land". Other bulk of the time was joining in the formality of socializing and not getting on a pregnant mami's nerve.

Then came prize giving ceremony. Up for grabs were DVD players and the usual home utensils and electrical appliances. Thanks to the generous donation of funds from both sponsors and organizer, nearly every1 didn't leave empty handed. Even i won 2 prizes in the form of a tupperware and jar & cups set. Hospital anesthesiology family day was over in a whisk,so it was down to free time at the water theme park.
  

Papa, could the pirates have buried their treasure underneath here?

Papa sure wished there was an instant way of getting rich fast.

It was the 1st time we donned Nana in her swimming suit and my did she look adorable and sexy at the same time. She was a bit apprehensive of the splashing water at the wave pool but after some coaxing wild horses cant stop her from having a whale of a time. Nana had both papa and mami's undivided attention and company.

Of course mami was too big to be clad in her swimming suit. Peter might already be feeling a little crampy inside mami's uterine sac and commenced the countdown to less than 2weeks. But that didn't stop mami from getting wet and being good sport. She got onto the float together with Nana as i pushed them around the leisure pool.

Mami, is this place what they call as a tropical paradise?

So much fun with just papa, mami and me!!

Nana was a squealing machine who couldn't get enough of the water. She didn't mind the splashing water getting into her eyes and would brace herself for more. Somehow in the presence of both mami and me, she was more courageous in being adventurous. At 15months old Nana was easily the youngest child playing in the pool and we kept her secured within our sight and grasp, all while submerging ourselves in a fulfilling quality family time.

I am, the most charming baby of them all.

Papa and mami, u are squeezing me like sandwich.

Pictures speak a thousand word. Somethings in life can't be bought and a close-knitted family bond is one of them. The youth of a child is a joy to behold and cherish, its somehow a second chance handed from God to rectify the mistake and void from my past. The things i wished i had done or haven't done, I could see them being realized in my little ones. Nana could possess, or become the best of both papa and mami's world, being the apple that didn't fall too far from the tree.

In many ways Nana is living my dream, i'm giving her what i never had and protecting her from enduring the less than ideal childhood experience that would eventually shape her personality. The best form of investment to a child's future is my time and companionship, to be a stern yet gentle at the same time fatherly figure, to complement a mother's love, so that Nana can be whole and complete.

...a turbulent time ahead, sacrifices has to be made, I have to be an anchor to steady the ship in the eye of many storms to come.

....so that my sweetheart can be at peace.