Cath Lab & Happy New Year (1 Muharram 1426)

assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh and hello...

this morning i went to the cardiac catheter lab as part of my student selected components (ssc) attachment... i'm doing clinical cardiology under dr lawrence cotter, the undergraduate dean at manchester royal infirmary (mri).

i watched 3 procedures, the first two were left ventricle & coronaries (lv & c) angiograms. both patients had strictures in their coronaries; the first one had a narrowed left main stem, just before the junction of the circumflex and the left anterior descending arteries. he will be referred for a coronary artery bypass graft (cabg) or 'bypass' in a few days time. the second patient had few constrictions in his right coronary and circumflex arteries. both procedures took about 15 minutes.

the third patient came in to have a single-lead pacemaker inserted. the procedure was completed after an hour. it was a very useful and interesting session for me, watching all the doctors, nurses and radiographers cooperate with each other inserting catheters, doing x-rays, injecting sedatives, antibiotics and anaesthetics, etc. while this 'one particular rather-blank-looking student' just stood there alone. well, i wasn't alone all the time, in fact, i was constantly being explained about the procedures which was carried out.

i went shopping after lunch. bought myself a pair of football boots and another pair of turf shoes, both being umbros. accidentally slept in the bus on the way back home and as a result i had to get off 2 stops away from the one near my house. medics rugby training at 6pm in carrington, and malaysian football training at 10pm (indoor, jjb soccerdome). and ward round tomorrow at 8am!!! may Allah gives me strength.

at the moment i'm reading an autobiography called "alias Chin Peng: My Side of History". it's about Chin Peng, obviously. i first realized the existence of this book during summer break 2003. i was looking for a man utd mag in the mph, midvalley megamall when i saw this book about the former sec gen of the malayan communist party, which was priced at rm70. didn't have that much cash last time, so i had to wait for 1 and a half years to buy it from amazon.co.uk for nearly £20. i've read half of it but based on my present timetable, it might take me another month or two to finish it.

anyway, i like to take this opportunity to wish all brothers and sisters out there a happy new year. may Allah bestows prosperity upon us and everyone around us. and may we all have enough patience to go through all the tests and tribulations that were destined for us.