My Heart - Attack

The attack on the Sunday night a few days before the surgery stunt me. I was in Kuantan and it happened at about 11.30 pm, just when I was already in bed asleep. I felt it, woke me up and I got up as quietly as possible, trying not to wake up my wife. But she woke up. I took a glycerine pill, which I have by then was prescribed with, put it under my tongue and try to lie down on the sofa. I was very listless. And my wife seemed to be in a panicky state, there were only two of us in the flat then, asking a lot of questions which I was too sick to answer. Or was it that I did not feel like answering, not when you are in that listless condition. In the end I called the phone no. of Dr Nik Zainal, my friend and my Cardiologist in KL. I could not really remember his house tel. no. Or his hp no. But I dialed the first no. available and his wife answered. I ask as to what I should do then. She calmly told me that if I have already taken the glycerine pill, I should be all right, the pain would go away and I should then go to bed. And if the pain does not go away, then rush to the nearest hospital and get medical help. My wife panicky state did not help, she started crying (women!). And she called her sister who happens to live in Kuantan to seek solace. Anyway the pain went away and I went to bed, after telling my wife that we should go back to KL early the next morning, to see my Cardiologist and decide what to do after listening to his views.

The next morning, we packed early, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law came to the flat, I gave the keys to my other car to my brother-in-law and asked him to sell it, to pay for my surgery and hospitalisation. And he gave me a cheque for RM20,000.00 to tidy me over. Anyway this I hope will be paid back by the sales of my the other car. We left Kuantan as early as we could, arriving in KL about 2 hours later. After going back into my KL house, where my children are staying, we went straight away to see my Cardiologist, who happened to be quite free that day. He saw me and I said to him that I have decided to have the surgery. He was kind enough to allow me to ask many questions about the surgery, and after going over with him I decided that it was worth the risks. He called his friend the Surgeon, got him after some time. And the Surgeon, a Dr Lee Weng Seng was a very pleasant young man (not young really - about 50 years old but he looked young to me as I am older than him). He said he could make room for me on the Wednesday (he postponed a few other surgery, those he considered not urgent as he viewed my case as being very urgent). So Wednesday it would be, Wednesday 13 Oct. 2004.
I made arrangement to check in into the hospital on the Tuesday afternoon, got a room, Room 566 at the Gleneagle Intan Medical Centre KL. I did not know what to expect really and I did not care as I thought that a surgery may be worth the effort instead of waiting for the next heart attack which may either kill me outright or make a me a cripple. I had no other choice really and I was ready to face whatever was coming.

To shout back, e-mail: mylias@tm.net.my