Whoa, didn't realize I haven't posted in 3 days -- again. Where does the time go?!

Well, thanks to everyone who posted their philosophies on love, and life. I enjoyed reading them, and although some of it applies to my own experiences, most of it doesn't. Maybe I'm just one of those who don't really belong in any category, or perhaps my life is just really messed up. :P In any case, my birthday has come and gone, and though there weren't any fireworks or hard partying, I must say it's one of my happiest. I'm a step closer to taking my Part 2 exams; I've got a nice winter holiday coming up on the side, with the prospect of meeting some old friends; I've also made a lot of other new friends in the past year, both local and foreign ( a number of whom are from the Clay Aiken chat room :D ), my mom's doing really well after her surgery, and I've never enjoyed writing more than in the past 3 months. Plus, getting baptized is the best thing that ever happened to me, and the people who helped me rediscover my faith know who they are, so thank you!

Anyway, on to a less self-absorbed topic. :)

Was meaning to post on "True Courage" a few days ago, but I didn't get the opportunity till now. If you're not Singaporean, or don't watch local TV much, this is a new 4-part series on real-life stories revolving around the SARS outbreak in our country, and is shown on Channel 5 every Tuesday night at 8:30pm -- clashing with Whose Line Is It Anyway? on cable, but I decided to tune in out of curiosity.
Brought to us by the same people behind "True Files" ( a less-than-gripping series on some of the more infamous crimes / criminals in Singapore ), "True Courage" is actually not too bad. The first episode dwelled on the index case cum super-spreader ( notice how they tactfully changed the tag, which was originally "super-infector", thanks to the insensitive media ), and the later half of the programme featured the life of Dr. Alexandre Chao, with a very heartwrenching appearance by his widow, Dr. Koh Woon Puay.

The acting was below-par, but I never expect anything good from locals, so the main draw for me was definitely the storylines. Sometimes, what you read from the papers or hear from others in the know can never quite compare to watching it depicted on TV, and the super-spreader's ordeal is indeed a very tragic one. However, I'm not sure how long it will take all of us to get over Dr. Chao's death. It seems every time there's another article or interview about him, we find out something new to admire or appreciate, making his passing additionally painful.

My main complaint is, of course, the accuracy of their portrayals of patients in the ICU setting. Call me obsessive, but it really doesn't take much effort to make a scene more believable. For example, who defibrillates a patient without defibrillator pads anyhow? And why weren't any of these "critically ill" cases "intubated" ( which is the norm for any ICU )? Heck, they weren't even on oxygen! The show's producers may think this isn't important, but I find it annoying and laughable. If you want to make it a respectable programme, at least pay some attention to details. The reason I love "Chicago Hope" and "ER" so much is because they really go all out to simluate actual conditions in the hospitals, with real doctors acting as behind-the-scenes consultants. Surely the producers of "True Courage" will be able to find some willing medical professionals who can better advise them on their show, or do they just not care anymore?

Did everyone get their copy of an article from The Globe and Mail recently, on the new SARS epidemic in Toronto? Here's a piece where reporters' comments are scathing, and most obvious in the screaming headline: "New SARS outbreak linked to lax precautions". Makes me thankful for once that the Singapore media isn't given such freedom to criticize, especially when high-ranking politicians are at the helm. :)

The ER remains a heady mix. Just the other night, I saw a drunkard who has a possible history of some psychiatric illness. He was pushed straight into resus after being dropped off by a taxi-driver who found him unconscious, and appeared to be throwing a fit when he first came in -- twirling his head, almost falling off the wheelchair. However, after a few of us tiny females hauled him onto the trolley bed, he suddenly became fully lucid, and whipped out his handphone to call the police, claiming that we're ill-treating him! We were all so dumbstruck we just stood there and gawked at him. Then later, a nurse called in the police post officers, who couldn't pacify him, so he just got off the bed and walked out of the ER. But wait, less than a half hour later, he was back, and this time, one of my other colleagues on night shift got saddled with him ( poor thing! ). For some strange reason, the man was more willing to stay for investigation and treatment this time round, though he was still quite a handful. Glad I didn't have to see him again.

Last night, I had my first case of a child with a scalp laceration, and stitching her up was no easy task. She's a really sweet little girl, and was very compliant with my examination and going through X-rays. But like all kids, the operating theatre freaked her out, and even with her father standing by, she kept screaming and crying and struggling. Man, children nowadays are really strong! Must be all the good food they're getting! Took me 10 minutes to get her to settle down, but the suturing took less than 5, and I was outta there as soon as I could, 'cos I had some more patients waiting. It was rather fun though. I'm not partial to kids in general, but sweet-talking them once in a while is okay. :D

Will be on afternoon again today in the resus area. Hoping for a quiet time, 'cos the hospital keeps running short of beds. Wish me luck!