I am fine today.
InnerTalk Story: Part 6 of 6
You might feel that I got nothing to do and thus ‘think too much’ (没事做，胡思乱想). Since I am listening to the CD day and night now, if it works, my subconscious will be programmed very soon to believe whatever InnerTalk said. Before that happens, I better exercise my ‘critical thinking’ a little bit.
Please let me know if you would like to try some of the titles. I can let you try and if they are helpful to you, you can then purchase them from InnerTalk. I have 22 titles, including Cancer Remission that I am listening now (while writing this blog and sleeping later), and please don’t ask me where I get them because I already ‘forgot’ where I got them. “I just turn on my computer and realize that they are there!” Incredible, isn’t it?
If you want to find out more about subliminal messages, click here. The InnerTalk web site can be accessed here.
I am sorry if you are an InnterTalk agent. This is just my opinion, and I do not deny the effectiveness of this technology at all. If you ask me, “Do you believe in this technology?” The answer is, “I don’t know.”
See you next post :-)
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Day +147
I am fine today. Continue from yesterday...
InnerTalk Story: Part 5 of 6
If the technology works as claimed, you and I have very reason to worry about its misuses. How do we know the messages embedded in the music are not harmful to us? Since it is ‘pushed’ into our subconscious through the InnerTalk technology, bypassing our conscious reasoning, it is impossible for us to evaluate the content of the messages. For instance, one can embeds a message, “Give me all your money” into the music and share the music with you. Then you will subconsciously give all money to the one who exploits you through this technology.
In order for the technology to be used securely, we need an independent body to develop a computer program that will reverse the message manipulation process to restore them to their original form. The program should be released under open source license so that anyone can examine the algorithm to make sure that no undesirable manipulation is being done while restoring the messages. I am sure embarking on this project will make you famous throughout the world. Just imagine a search in Google on InnerTalk produces 81,300 links, and most of these sites mentioned the InnerTalk creator, Dr. Eldon Taylor. With the successful implementation of InnerTalk messages restore program, you will definitely find your name into these 81,300 sites easily, along side with Dr. Eldon Taylor :-)
To be continued and see you next post :-)
InnerTalk Story: Part 5 of 6
If the technology works as claimed, you and I have very reason to worry about its misuses. How do we know the messages embedded in the music are not harmful to us? Since it is ‘pushed’ into our subconscious through the InnerTalk technology, bypassing our conscious reasoning, it is impossible for us to evaluate the content of the messages. For instance, one can embeds a message, “Give me all your money” into the music and share the music with you. Then you will subconsciously give all money to the one who exploits you through this technology.
In order for the technology to be used securely, we need an independent body to develop a computer program that will reverse the message manipulation process to restore them to their original form. The program should be released under open source license so that anyone can examine the algorithm to make sure that no undesirable manipulation is being done while restoring the messages. I am sure embarking on this project will make you famous throughout the world. Just imagine a search in Google on InnerTalk produces 81,300 links, and most of these sites mentioned the InnerTalk creator, Dr. Eldon Taylor. With the successful implementation of InnerTalk messages restore program, you will definitely find your name into these 81,300 sites easily, along side with Dr. Eldon Taylor :-)
To be continued and see you next post :-)
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Day +146
I am fine today. Just continue from yesterday...
InnerTalk Story: Part 4 of 6
Furthermore, if the warning is true, then you have very reason to worry about the money in your bank account which is kept the same way as the audio CD. If the bank backup your account information by copying them to another disk, and degradation as mentioned would occurs, your balance of RM1,000,000.00 might becomes RM0,000,000.00 :-(, because the 1 in front change to 0 due to degradation. This should never happens.
This shows that they are ‘cheating’. If they cheat on this, can they cheat on others, including the claims that the technology is effective?
Their web site also gave many testimonies about the effectiveness of their products. At the first glimpse, these testimonies are very convincing. But I advice you never accept testimonies purely in determining whether a product is effective. Testimonies only tell you the positive side (success) of the stories; they never tell you the negative side (failure) of the stories. For example, two tennis players A and B, both listening to the title “Excel in Tennis” compete in a tennis tournament. If A wins, they will say A wins because he listened to the CD and forget about B totally, who also listened to the CD and lose. If B wins, they will instead accept testimonies from B and forget about A totally. In this way, testimonies are a ‘sure win’ (包赢) way to advertising products and it can be very subjective and misleading, either intentionally or unintentionally. Beware!
To be continued and see you next post :-)
InnerTalk Story: Part 4 of 6
Furthermore, if the warning is true, then you have very reason to worry about the money in your bank account which is kept the same way as the audio CD. If the bank backup your account information by copying them to another disk, and degradation as mentioned would occurs, your balance of RM1,000,000.00 might becomes RM0,000,000.00 :-(, because the 1 in front change to 0 due to degradation. This should never happens.
This shows that they are ‘cheating’. If they cheat on this, can they cheat on others, including the claims that the technology is effective?
Their web site also gave many testimonies about the effectiveness of their products. At the first glimpse, these testimonies are very convincing. But I advice you never accept testimonies purely in determining whether a product is effective. Testimonies only tell you the positive side (success) of the stories; they never tell you the negative side (failure) of the stories. For example, two tennis players A and B, both listening to the title “Excel in Tennis” compete in a tennis tournament. If A wins, they will say A wins because he listened to the CD and forget about B totally, who also listened to the CD and lose. If B wins, they will instead accept testimonies from B and forget about A totally. In this way, testimonies are a ‘sure win’ (包赢) way to advertising products and it can be very subjective and misleading, either intentionally or unintentionally. Beware!
To be continued and see you next post :-)
Monday, November 27, 2006
Day +145
My Blood Count Today:
Red Blood Count (RBC) = 118(Normal 130-180)
Platelet = 120(Normal 150-450)
White Blood Count (WBC) = 3.7(Normal 4 - 11)
Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) = 2.553 (Normal 1.5 - 8.0)
Potassium = 4.6(Normal 3.5 - 5.2)
I am fine today. I went to UH to do follow-up this morning. All counts improved :-) Doctor also cut down my Ciclosporin intake from 75mg/day to 50mg/day. Now back to the InnerTalk story…
InnerTalk Story: Part 3 of 6
Their brochure listed many independent research works that make the method scientifically proven, but not a single reference was given. They should at least give us an idea where and when the works had been published, so that it would be easier to verify their claim. They also claimed these researches were done in collaboration with Universities such as University of South California, Stanford University, Bremen University and etc. But if you search the universities web site for InnerTalk relevant works, you find none.
There is a warning labeled on the CD, “Warning: This is a thought modification program. Do not attempt to make duplicate from this CD since the subliminal contents of the resulting copy would be severely degraded; and all guarantees will be void.” What they mean is that if you ‘pirate’ the CD, the quality of the message might degrade or change, resulting in your subconscious incorrectly programmed. For example, the message “I am slim” might become “I am fat”. As I studied electronic and computer engineering, and later computer science, I can confidently tell you that the first part of the warning is far from truth. It is their way of threatening you from duplicating their product in an effort to protect their profit.
The audio CD was prepared using digital technology which uses a combination of discrete value 1 and 0 to present information. The computer or CD player also comes with every robust error detection technology. So if a message “11011001” becomes “10011001”, the computer will be able to detect the mistake and correct it. So it is impossible the quality will degrade. I can also tell you that they themselves do not abide to this warning because their US counterpart is selling some CD titles in mp3 format. When we convert the original audio CD to mp3, the conversion algorithm purposely throw away portions of signal which our ear could not detect to reduce the size of music file. Who knows the portion that is thrown away is not the vital message that we intend to send to our subconscious mind?
To be continued and see you next post:-)
Red Blood Count (RBC) = 118(Normal 130-180)
Platelet = 120(Normal 150-450)
White Blood Count (WBC) = 3.7(Normal 4 - 11)
Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) = 2.553 (Normal 1.5 - 8.0)
Potassium = 4.6(Normal 3.5 - 5.2)
I am fine today. I went to UH to do follow-up this morning. All counts improved :-) Doctor also cut down my Ciclosporin intake from 75mg/day to 50mg/day. Now back to the InnerTalk story…
InnerTalk Story: Part 3 of 6
Their brochure listed many independent research works that make the method scientifically proven, but not a single reference was given. They should at least give us an idea where and when the works had been published, so that it would be easier to verify their claim. They also claimed these researches were done in collaboration with Universities such as University of South California, Stanford University, Bremen University and etc. But if you search the universities web site for InnerTalk relevant works, you find none.
There is a warning labeled on the CD, “Warning: This is a thought modification program. Do not attempt to make duplicate from this CD since the subliminal contents of the resulting copy would be severely degraded; and all guarantees will be void.” What they mean is that if you ‘pirate’ the CD, the quality of the message might degrade or change, resulting in your subconscious incorrectly programmed. For example, the message “I am slim” might become “I am fat”. As I studied electronic and computer engineering, and later computer science, I can confidently tell you that the first part of the warning is far from truth. It is their way of threatening you from duplicating their product in an effort to protect their profit.
The audio CD was prepared using digital technology which uses a combination of discrete value 1 and 0 to present information. The computer or CD player also comes with every robust error detection technology. So if a message “11011001” becomes “10011001”, the computer will be able to detect the mistake and correct it. So it is impossible the quality will degrade. I can also tell you that they themselves do not abide to this warning because their US counterpart is selling some CD titles in mp3 format. When we convert the original audio CD to mp3, the conversion algorithm purposely throw away portions of signal which our ear could not detect to reduce the size of music file. Who knows the portion that is thrown away is not the vital message that we intend to send to our subconscious mind?
To be continued and see you next post:-)
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Day +144
I am fine today. I attended Sunday worship in the morning and bought school uniforms for the two boys on the way back from church. The Jusco member day ends today, so I have to shop today in order to get 15% discount.
InnerTalk Story: Part 2 of 6
They have over 400 titles for you to choose from. This covers almost anything you need, from “Freedom from Junk Food” to “Natural Breast Enlargement”. But unfortunately, I could not find a title related to detoxification which a lot of health conscious people are talking about. With such CD, one no longer needs to go to the extreme to perform controversial and may be risky colon irrigation detoxification using coffee enema. Just listen to music and you will be detoxified. It is so cheap and easy, isn’t it?
The promoter at the exhibition booth asked why I wore mask. I told her my story. She then gave me a free Cancer Remission music CD. They claimed that this free CD showed that they are non-profit organization, but selling a CD at RM139, who will not doubt that, they are non-profit organization?
The promoter also enquires about my financial situation. I was so touch by her kindness initially; I thought she was going to assist me financially. After telling her that my financial situation is manageable, she said it would be better for me to purchase a dual CD set titled “Accelerated Healing & Well Being” which cost RM249. Of course I declined her suggestion gracefully. I dared not tell her that in fact someone already copied the CD for me free of charge a few months ago ;-)
To be continued and see you next post :-)
InnerTalk Story: Part 2 of 6
They have over 400 titles for you to choose from. This covers almost anything you need, from “Freedom from Junk Food” to “Natural Breast Enlargement”. But unfortunately, I could not find a title related to detoxification which a lot of health conscious people are talking about. With such CD, one no longer needs to go to the extreme to perform controversial and may be risky colon irrigation detoxification using coffee enema. Just listen to music and you will be detoxified. It is so cheap and easy, isn’t it?
The promoter at the exhibition booth asked why I wore mask. I told her my story. She then gave me a free Cancer Remission music CD. They claimed that this free CD showed that they are non-profit organization, but selling a CD at RM139, who will not doubt that, they are non-profit organization?
The promoter also enquires about my financial situation. I was so touch by her kindness initially; I thought she was going to assist me financially. After telling her that my financial situation is manageable, she said it would be better for me to purchase a dual CD set titled “Accelerated Healing & Well Being” which cost RM249. Of course I declined her suggestion gracefully. I dared not tell her that in fact someone already copied the CD for me free of charge a few months ago ;-)
To be continued and see you next post :-)
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Day +143
I am fine today.
I completed a long story regarding an interesting technology called InnerTalk, a subliminal and hypnosis program. I divide the story into 6 parts to save your time in reading:-)
InnerTalk Story: Part 1 of 6
Yesterday, I went to Chinese book exhibition at Mines Exhibition and Convention Centre. The organizer claimed that this is Malaysia biggest Chinese book exhibition, but I found out that it is not really big. Some famous bookshops such as Popular Bookstore and (ShangWu) 商务 did not join the exhibition.
I came across a booth that was promoting a technology called Innertalk invented by Dr. Eldon Taylor, a psychotherapist. The so called patented technology makes use of subliminal messages to program one's subconscious mind (潜意识) or deeper mind. All positive affirmative messages such as “I am a gift.”, “I am healed.”, “I love myself.”, “My cells rejuvenate.”, and so on and so forth are recorded, and then transformed to a frequency equivalent to our brainwave. They are then embedded into easy listening music similar to New Age music and ocean sound track.
They claimed that theses messages will bypass our conscious mind (our critical thinking or reasoning) and go straight into our subconscious mind. In other words, those who hear the messages have no capability to deny them. In this way our subconscious mind is programmed effortlessly. You can listen to the CD while sleeping, driving, reading and doing anything because the messages will sneak into your deeper mind without your knowledge. For example, if you want to lose weight, just purchase their CD titled “Weight Loss Now” and repeatedly listen to the music and the ocean sound track. There are 86 messages embedded in the music or ocean sound track in this title, some examples of the messages are, “I am slim, thin, clean and healthy” “I like fruits.”, “I like vegetables.”, “I leave some food on the plate.” and so on and so forth. What an effortless (lazy man) way of reducing weight!
To be continued and see you next post :-)
I completed a long story regarding an interesting technology called InnerTalk, a subliminal and hypnosis program. I divide the story into 6 parts to save your time in reading:-)
InnerTalk Story: Part 1 of 6
Yesterday, I went to Chinese book exhibition at Mines Exhibition and Convention Centre. The organizer claimed that this is Malaysia biggest Chinese book exhibition, but I found out that it is not really big. Some famous bookshops such as Popular Bookstore and (ShangWu) 商务 did not join the exhibition.
I came across a booth that was promoting a technology called Innertalk invented by Dr. Eldon Taylor, a psychotherapist. The so called patented technology makes use of subliminal messages to program one's subconscious mind (潜意识) or deeper mind. All positive affirmative messages such as “I am a gift.”, “I am healed.”, “I love myself.”, “My cells rejuvenate.”, and so on and so forth are recorded, and then transformed to a frequency equivalent to our brainwave. They are then embedded into easy listening music similar to New Age music and ocean sound track.
They claimed that theses messages will bypass our conscious mind (our critical thinking or reasoning) and go straight into our subconscious mind. In other words, those who hear the messages have no capability to deny them. In this way our subconscious mind is programmed effortlessly. You can listen to the CD while sleeping, driving, reading and doing anything because the messages will sneak into your deeper mind without your knowledge. For example, if you want to lose weight, just purchase their CD titled “Weight Loss Now” and repeatedly listen to the music and the ocean sound track. There are 86 messages embedded in the music or ocean sound track in this title, some examples of the messages are, “I am slim, thin, clean and healthy” “I like fruits.”, “I like vegetables.”, “I leave some food on the plate.” and so on and so forth. What an effortless (lazy man) way of reducing weight!
To be continued and see you next post :-)
Friday, November 24, 2006
Day +142
I am fine today. Continue from yesterday...
In order to prevent infection due to these enemies, I have to take the following drugs:
1. Sporanox, four pills taken twice daily, to prevent fungus infection.
2. Valtrex (Valaclovir), 3 tablets taken three times daily, to prevent virus infection.
3. Penicillin, 4 tablets taken twice daily, to prevent bacterial infection.
4. Bactrin(Co-Trimoxazole), 8 tablets taken twice weekly, to prevent bacterial infection.
5. Norvasc (Amlodipine), stopped taking, to reduce blood pressure.
6. Supradyn, multivitamin and mineral supplement
Since I am already taking oral forms of anti-bacterial, anti-virus and anti-fungus drugs, if I get infection again, I have to be admitted to hospital to be treated with intravenous drugs. That is why I have to be very careful.
The most expensive drug is Valtrex which costs RM11.30 per tablet and I believe the total cost of the drugs should be more than RM1500 per month. However, I am glad to have them free of charge.
Now I show you the real picture of the drugs that I take, from left to right on the back row: Ciclosporin, Sporanox, Valtrex, Supradyn; on the front row: Card Holder (Not drug, I don’t eat this), Penicillin and Bactrin. Click on the picture to get a larger and clearer view.
Since I consume many Supradyn, I got a lot of card holders. Let me know if you posses too many credit cards and don’t know how to keep them. I can always provide the card holders for you free of charge.
See you next post :-)
In order to prevent infection due to these enemies, I have to take the following drugs:
1. Sporanox, four pills taken twice daily, to prevent fungus infection.
2. Valtrex (Valaclovir), 3 tablets taken three times daily, to prevent virus infection.
3. Penicillin, 4 tablets taken twice daily, to prevent bacterial infection.
4. Bactrin(Co-Trimoxazole), 8 tablets taken twice weekly, to prevent bacterial infection.
5. Norvasc (Amlodipine), stopped taking, to reduce blood pressure.
6. Supradyn, multivitamin and mineral supplement
Since I am already taking oral forms of anti-bacterial, anti-virus and anti-fungus drugs, if I get infection again, I have to be admitted to hospital to be treated with intravenous drugs. That is why I have to be very careful.
The most expensive drug is Valtrex which costs RM11.30 per tablet and I believe the total cost of the drugs should be more than RM1500 per month. However, I am glad to have them free of charge.
Now I show you the real picture of the drugs that I take, from left to right on the back row: Ciclosporin, Sporanox, Valtrex, Supradyn; on the front row: Card Holder (Not drug, I don’t eat this), Penicillin and Bactrin. Click on the picture to get a larger and clearer view.
Since I consume many Supradyn, I got a lot of card holders. Let me know if you posses too many credit cards and don’t know how to keep them. I can always provide the card holders for you free of charge.See you next post :-)
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Day +141
I am fine today.
Many people asked me what medicine I am taking now. So I will give you some picture (I mean real picture tomorrow) about the medicine that I consume everyday.
The most important drug that I am taking now is called Ciclosoprin. It is used to prevent Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD). I met some kidney transplant patients who are also using this drug to prevent rejection. I explained quite clearly (I think) the differences between GVHD and rejection on my blog Day +132.
Ciclosporin is an immunosuppressant drug widely used post-allogeneic organ transplant to reduce the activity of the patient's immune system and so the risk of organ rejection. In other words, it carries a message to the immune system, “Good boy, don’t attack them, they are friends.” This prevents the immune system to attack the organs.
However, this message might also make the immune system makes friend with real enemies such as bacterial, virus and fungus, resulting the patient getting infection easily.
To be continued and see you next post :-)
Many people asked me what medicine I am taking now. So I will give you some picture (I mean real picture tomorrow) about the medicine that I consume everyday.
The most important drug that I am taking now is called Ciclosoprin. It is used to prevent Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD). I met some kidney transplant patients who are also using this drug to prevent rejection. I explained quite clearly (I think) the differences between GVHD and rejection on my blog Day +132.
Ciclosporin is an immunosuppressant drug widely used post-allogeneic organ transplant to reduce the activity of the patient's immune system and so the risk of organ rejection. In other words, it carries a message to the immune system, “Good boy, don’t attack them, they are friends.” This prevents the immune system to attack the organs.
However, this message might also make the immune system makes friend with real enemies such as bacterial, virus and fungus, resulting the patient getting infection easily.
To be continued and see you next post :-)
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Day +140
I am fine today.
I started to jog since last Saturday, completing a distance of 7.5km in about half an hour every morning, just like what I did before I was sick.
The doctor said it is alright for me to jog, so I purchased a new pair of shoes, and started to enjoy jogging again. It had been almost one year I could not jog. A senior woman along the way asked me why I was ‘missing in action’ for such a long time. I told her my story.
Someone advised me not to jog, but to do some lighter exercise such as Qigong(气功) and Taijiquan(太极拳). May be they thought that jogging is too vigorous for people like me. However, I am not the only one who jog after transplant. A patient told me he jogged for one hour after transplant. I forgot to ask him how long after transplant he did this.
It is quite difficult for me to sweat without jogging, and since many people believe that sweating is part of detoxification process, I must jog to discharge tons of toxic that was accumulated within my body due to Leukaemia treatment, so that eventually I will be toxic-less like you:-)
Apart from detoxification, jogging could reduce high blood pressure and bad cholesterol. My blood pressure now is within normal range, so I stopped taking Novarsc, a drug used to reduce blood pressure. Another thing I am very sure about jogging is that it makes you slim (Not I jog, you slim. It is you jog, you slim). If you feel that you are not slim enough, start to jog today. I guarantee it is effective. If you are too lazy to wake up half an hour earlier to jog, I can provide morning call service for you free of charge, and if the morning call does not work, I can bring a ‘rotan’ (cane) to your house to wake you up and then proceed to jog with you. But the later service requires some charge. Let me know, if you need this service, I can give you a quotation :-)
See you next post :-)
I started to jog since last Saturday, completing a distance of 7.5km in about half an hour every morning, just like what I did before I was sick.
The doctor said it is alright for me to jog, so I purchased a new pair of shoes, and started to enjoy jogging again. It had been almost one year I could not jog. A senior woman along the way asked me why I was ‘missing in action’ for such a long time. I told her my story.
Someone advised me not to jog, but to do some lighter exercise such as Qigong(气功) and Taijiquan(太极拳). May be they thought that jogging is too vigorous for people like me. However, I am not the only one who jog after transplant. A patient told me he jogged for one hour after transplant. I forgot to ask him how long after transplant he did this.
It is quite difficult for me to sweat without jogging, and since many people believe that sweating is part of detoxification process, I must jog to discharge tons of toxic that was accumulated within my body due to Leukaemia treatment, so that eventually I will be toxic-less like you:-)
Apart from detoxification, jogging could reduce high blood pressure and bad cholesterol. My blood pressure now is within normal range, so I stopped taking Novarsc, a drug used to reduce blood pressure. Another thing I am very sure about jogging is that it makes you slim (Not I jog, you slim. It is you jog, you slim). If you feel that you are not slim enough, start to jog today. I guarantee it is effective. If you are too lazy to wake up half an hour earlier to jog, I can provide morning call service for you free of charge, and if the morning call does not work, I can bring a ‘rotan’ (cane) to your house to wake you up and then proceed to jog with you. But the later service requires some charge. Let me know, if you need this service, I can give you a quotation :-)
See you next post :-)
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Day +139
I am fine today. Continue from yesterday…
Using services from the data recovery company is beyond my option now. Just like there is something like Alternative Medicine, I was thinking of ‘Alternative Data Recovery’; ‘natural’ approaches that does not disturbed the hard disk much. Firstly, I laid hand on the hard disk, praying and blessing it in front of my wife and children :-). Then I heated the hard disk under the sun for half an hour and then quickly brought the hot hard disk back, fixed it up and connected it to the computer, but it did not work. Someone told me to cool the hard disk inside the refrigerator, but I did not try it. The next thing I did was to connect the hard disk as an internal drive to my nephew desktop. It worked!
I was so happy to have the precious data back again. Finding something that was lost is definitely a rejoicing experience. One of the parables that Jesus told was called the Parable of the lost Son (Luke 15:11-32). It talked about a man who had two sons. The younger one demanded the father to give him his share of estate and then squandered his wealth in wild living. He was hungry and even longed to fill his stomach with the foods that pigs were eating. Finally he realized the goodness of his father and turn to his father again. The father was so happy to see the son coming home. He said, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” When we repent from our sin and turn to God, there is rejoicing in heaven such as this :-)
Anyway, I later found out that the hard disk is still healthy but the external USB hard disk casing is faulty.
Have a nice day and see you next post :-)
Using services from the data recovery company is beyond my option now. Just like there is something like Alternative Medicine, I was thinking of ‘Alternative Data Recovery’; ‘natural’ approaches that does not disturbed the hard disk much. Firstly, I laid hand on the hard disk, praying and blessing it in front of my wife and children :-). Then I heated the hard disk under the sun for half an hour and then quickly brought the hot hard disk back, fixed it up and connected it to the computer, but it did not work. Someone told me to cool the hard disk inside the refrigerator, but I did not try it. The next thing I did was to connect the hard disk as an internal drive to my nephew desktop. It worked!
I was so happy to have the precious data back again. Finding something that was lost is definitely a rejoicing experience. One of the parables that Jesus told was called the Parable of the lost Son (Luke 15:11-32). It talked about a man who had two sons. The younger one demanded the father to give him his share of estate and then squandered his wealth in wild living. He was hungry and even longed to fill his stomach with the foods that pigs were eating. Finally he realized the goodness of his father and turn to his father again. The father was so happy to see the son coming home. He said, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” When we repent from our sin and turn to God, there is rejoicing in heaven such as this :-)
Anyway, I later found out that the hard disk is still healthy but the external USB hard disk casing is faulty.
Have a nice day and see you next post :-)
Monday, November 20, 2006
Day +138
I am fine today.
My computer became unstable and slow a few days ago. It also reboots by itself once in a while. So I decided to reformat my hard disk and reinstall all the necessary software again on last Friday. I transferred all important data to an external USB hard drive first before reformatting the hard disk. The freshly installed Windows XP Professional failed to activate through the internet even though it is a Genuine Windows (OEM license comes with notebook). It failed to be activated through the telephone as well. Finally I was forced to call Microsoft representative to give them a 54 digit installation ID and they gave me 42 digit confirmation ID to activate the Windows. What a relief! But wait.
The USB hard disk could not be detected! I tried my very best to wake it up by fixing the cables firmly, shaking and finally comforting it. It just stay quietly there (无动于衷):-( The hard disk still works well before I powered off the computer for hard disk reformatting. I regretted for not backing the data.
It looks like the hard disk was facing some electronic problem. If this is the case, the platters of the hard disk that is used to keep the data should still be in good condition. If we can transfer the platters to other hard disk, it is possible to recover the data. I described my hard disk problem to a local data recovery company called MDR. The cost is: Diagnosis = FOC, Recovery = RM600-RM700. I felt it is too expensive, so I called another company. Do you know what the cost is? Diagnosis = RM150, and data recovery 1GB = RM150. I have 120GB of data on the hard disk, so it would cost me RM18150 to recover data. This amount almost made me ‘terpelanting’ (fell flat on the floor).
To be continued and see you next post :-)
My computer became unstable and slow a few days ago. It also reboots by itself once in a while. So I decided to reformat my hard disk and reinstall all the necessary software again on last Friday. I transferred all important data to an external USB hard drive first before reformatting the hard disk. The freshly installed Windows XP Professional failed to activate through the internet even though it is a Genuine Windows (OEM license comes with notebook). It failed to be activated through the telephone as well. Finally I was forced to call Microsoft representative to give them a 54 digit installation ID and they gave me 42 digit confirmation ID to activate the Windows. What a relief! But wait.
The USB hard disk could not be detected! I tried my very best to wake it up by fixing the cables firmly, shaking and finally comforting it. It just stay quietly there (无动于衷):-( The hard disk still works well before I powered off the computer for hard disk reformatting. I regretted for not backing the data.
It looks like the hard disk was facing some electronic problem. If this is the case, the platters of the hard disk that is used to keep the data should still be in good condition. If we can transfer the platters to other hard disk, it is possible to recover the data. I described my hard disk problem to a local data recovery company called MDR. The cost is: Diagnosis = FOC, Recovery = RM600-RM700. I felt it is too expensive, so I called another company. Do you know what the cost is? Diagnosis = RM150, and data recovery 1GB = RM150. I have 120GB of data on the hard disk, so it would cost me RM18150 to recover data. This amount almost made me ‘terpelanting’ (fell flat on the floor).
To be continued and see you next post :-)
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Day +137
I am fine today. I will conclude my salted fish story today.
You might think that I am finding excuses to eat salted fish (强词夺理、自欺欺人、自圆其说), but there is scientific report that certain type of mouse (SR/CR mouse or cancer-resistant mouse) developed immunity against cancer after being injected with cancer cells. The younger the mouse being injected with cancer cells, the better the chance it would develop immunity against cancer. Therefore, over-controlling our children on what foods they should take might not necessary be a good idea (I don't say we don't care what they eat at all), they might thus miss the chance to be naturally vaccinated. I study the report quite carefully in the ward during bone marrow transplant. The report can be found here. You just need to read the section "A Big Surprise: Cancer Resistance in These Mice is Dependent on Age".
If any of you managed to confirm the hypothesis that salted fish could act as a vaccine against cancer and get Nobel Prize of Physiology and Medicine later, don't forget to mention my name :-)
See you next post :-)
You might think that I am finding excuses to eat salted fish (强词夺理、自欺欺人、自圆其说), but there is scientific report that certain type of mouse (SR/CR mouse or cancer-resistant mouse) developed immunity against cancer after being injected with cancer cells. The younger the mouse being injected with cancer cells, the better the chance it would develop immunity against cancer. Therefore, over-controlling our children on what foods they should take might not necessary be a good idea (I don't say we don't care what they eat at all), they might thus miss the chance to be naturally vaccinated. I study the report quite carefully in the ward during bone marrow transplant. The report can be found here. You just need to read the section "A Big Surprise: Cancer Resistance in These Mice is Dependent on Age".
If any of you managed to confirm the hypothesis that salted fish could act as a vaccine against cancer and get Nobel Prize of Physiology and Medicine later, don't forget to mention my name :-)
See you next post :-)
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Day +136
I am fine today. I would like to continue the salted fish story.
Many people believe that salted foods cause cancer, and I believe too. However, we could not establish an equation such that "salted food = cancer". The other factors might counts. If the salted foods are prepared properly and we don't consume it too much, it might even be beneficial to us.
Firstly, we all agree that less people were diagnoed with cancer last time compared to nowadays. However, people at that time might ate more salted food than many of us today because at that time there was no regfrigerator and thus people had to use salt to preserve foods. I believe they prepared the salted food well, using fresh ingredient and salt only, and without adding in unhealhty chemicals. So the resulting preserved foods were 'healthy'.
Secondly, even though salted foods might cause cancer, but it did not cause much harm to people last time because they were 'vaccinated' against cancer by eating salted foods. The reason behind this is the same as OPV (Oral Polio Vaccination) that I mentioned yesterday. A small acount of well prepared salted fish like the one that I ate yesterday is equivalent to a dose of weakened polio virus. After consuming it, my immune system was trained to recognize the cancer causing agents, if any, in the salted food. So if I consume too much salted foods later, my body will be smart enough to recognize the cancer causing agents and thus neutralize it.
To be continued tomorrow.
See you next post :-)
Many people believe that salted foods cause cancer, and I believe too. However, we could not establish an equation such that "salted food = cancer". The other factors might counts. If the salted foods are prepared properly and we don't consume it too much, it might even be beneficial to us.
Firstly, we all agree that less people were diagnoed with cancer last time compared to nowadays. However, people at that time might ate more salted food than many of us today because at that time there was no regfrigerator and thus people had to use salt to preserve foods. I believe they prepared the salted food well, using fresh ingredient and salt only, and without adding in unhealhty chemicals. So the resulting preserved foods were 'healthy'.
Secondly, even though salted foods might cause cancer, but it did not cause much harm to people last time because they were 'vaccinated' against cancer by eating salted foods. The reason behind this is the same as OPV (Oral Polio Vaccination) that I mentioned yesterday. A small acount of well prepared salted fish like the one that I ate yesterday is equivalent to a dose of weakened polio virus. After consuming it, my immune system was trained to recognize the cancer causing agents, if any, in the salted food. So if I consume too much salted foods later, my body will be smart enough to recognize the cancer causing agents and thus neutralize it.
To be continued tomorrow.
See you next post :-)
Friday, November 17, 2006
Day +135
I am fine today.
My mother-in-law brought a lot of foods from Sarawak. Many of them are home made foods: salted fish, dried prawn, dried shrimp, prawn cracker, white peppers and fish floss. She also brought sea weeds, Mee Sua (长寿面) and many other things.
Before she went back to Sarawak, I told my wife that I miss salted fish very much. It had been about two years we did not eat salted fish, and now I don’t dare to eat salted fish purchased from the market because we don’t know whether they are fresh, how they are made, and what unhealthy ingredients had been used. Knowing this, my father-in-law made some salted fish for us using fresh mackerels. The only ingredients used were salt and fresh fishes. The fishes were properly covered while they were being dried under the sun to prevent flies from laying eggs on it. So we can say that the resulting salted mackerels are ‘healthy’ unhealthy food.
I ate a small piece (2cm x 1cm) of salted fish this afternoon. It was so delicious :-)
To be continued tomorrow and see you next post :-)
My mother-in-law brought a lot of foods from Sarawak. Many of them are home made foods: salted fish, dried prawn, dried shrimp, prawn cracker, white peppers and fish floss. She also brought sea weeds, Mee Sua (长寿面) and many other things.
Before she went back to Sarawak, I told my wife that I miss salted fish very much. It had been about two years we did not eat salted fish, and now I don’t dare to eat salted fish purchased from the market because we don’t know whether they are fresh, how they are made, and what unhealthy ingredients had been used. Knowing this, my father-in-law made some salted fish for us using fresh mackerels. The only ingredients used were salt and fresh fishes. The fishes were properly covered while they were being dried under the sun to prevent flies from laying eggs on it. So we can say that the resulting salted mackerels are ‘healthy’ unhealthy food.
I ate a small piece (2cm x 1cm) of salted fish this afternoon. It was so delicious :-)
To be continued tomorrow and see you next post :-)
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Day +134
I am fine today. I received a good news from my third sister (my stem cell donor) that his youngest son Raymond achieved 7A for his UPSR (Primary School Achievement Exam). I hope this achievement can be passed through her stem cell through my body to all my children :-)
My wife and I brought our baby Aaron for vaccination this morning. There are six types of diseases he was vaccinated against: DPT, HIB (Haemophilus Influenzae Type B), OPV (Oral Polio Vaccination) and Hepatitis B.
Just like we have those convenient 3-in-1 packages for various types of drink such as Milo and coffee, DPT consists of a mixture of three vaccines: Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus. All six vaccines are administered through two injections and one oral drop. The nurse told me that these vaccines cost more than RM200 in private clinic, but the hospital gives it free to everyone. "Untunglah saya!” (I gain) :-)
The OPV vaccine consists of live but weakened polio virus. In fact before the use of live virus, killed or inactivated virus was used. The live-virus version gain popularity later because of one very interesting effect: it can 'infect' other, non-vaccinated individuals with whom the vaccinated person has close contact and transfer some immunity to them.
This is really a fantastic idea because those who are close to the baby will be 'rewarded' with secondary polio vaccination free of charge. Since there are many members in my family, I 'untung' (gain) a lot :-)
However, because my immune system is weakened intentionally by the GVHD prevention drug called Ciclosporin, this free secondary vaccination becomes dangerous to me. In other words, the live-virus released from the baby through body secretion might cause me polio (real one, no joke!):-( Therefore, I have to 'ban' myself from holding him or take care of him for 6 weeks.
Fortunately, my mother-in-law came back from Sarawak today. She would be able to help my wife to take care of the baby. No special arrangement had been made for her to return today. What a coincidence? Thank God for this.
See you next post :-)
My wife and I brought our baby Aaron for vaccination this morning. There are six types of diseases he was vaccinated against: DPT, HIB (Haemophilus Influenzae Type B), OPV (Oral Polio Vaccination) and Hepatitis B.
Just like we have those convenient 3-in-1 packages for various types of drink such as Milo and coffee, DPT consists of a mixture of three vaccines: Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus. All six vaccines are administered through two injections and one oral drop. The nurse told me that these vaccines cost more than RM200 in private clinic, but the hospital gives it free to everyone. "Untunglah saya!” (I gain) :-)
The OPV vaccine consists of live but weakened polio virus. In fact before the use of live virus, killed or inactivated virus was used. The live-virus version gain popularity later because of one very interesting effect: it can 'infect' other, non-vaccinated individuals with whom the vaccinated person has close contact and transfer some immunity to them.
This is really a fantastic idea because those who are close to the baby will be 'rewarded' with secondary polio vaccination free of charge. Since there are many members in my family, I 'untung' (gain) a lot :-)
However, because my immune system is weakened intentionally by the GVHD prevention drug called Ciclosporin, this free secondary vaccination becomes dangerous to me. In other words, the live-virus released from the baby through body secretion might cause me polio (real one, no joke!):-( Therefore, I have to 'ban' myself from holding him or take care of him for 6 weeks.
Fortunately, my mother-in-law came back from Sarawak today. She would be able to help my wife to take care of the baby. No special arrangement had been made for her to return today. What a coincidence? Thank God for this.
See you next post :-)
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Day +133
I am fine today. Nobody comes to my house today to seek explanation on the differences between the GVHD and rejection. I am forced to conclude that this approach of earning delicious food does not work at all :-(
But this also means that all of you are very clever because you are able to understand the differences clearly. On the other hand, I am also very clever because I managed to explain such a “difficult topic” in such a “crystal clear” manner that everybody could understand it.
Even though I miss all anticipated delicious foods, I am still very happy because I just realize that “you are clever, I am clever and everybody is clever!’. Since cleverness is better than delicious foods, I am now happier than yesterday :-)
This is an example of positive thinking, and I sincerely wish you happy everyday :-)
“A cheerful heart is a good medicine…” Proverb 17:22
「 喜 樂 的 心 乃 是 良 藥 ... ... 。 」 （箴十七22）
See you next post :-)
But this also means that all of you are very clever because you are able to understand the differences clearly. On the other hand, I am also very clever because I managed to explain such a “difficult topic” in such a “crystal clear” manner that everybody could understand it.
Even though I miss all anticipated delicious foods, I am still very happy because I just realize that “you are clever, I am clever and everybody is clever!’. Since cleverness is better than delicious foods, I am now happier than yesterday :-)
This is an example of positive thinking, and I sincerely wish you happy everyday :-)
“A cheerful heart is a good medicine…” Proverb 17:22
「 喜 樂 的 心 乃 是 良 藥 ... ... 。 」 （箴十七22）
See you next post :-)
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Day +132
I am fine today. I would like to explain the differences between the Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) and rejection.
The new immune system that is established by “borrowing” my sister stem cell is called graft. If this graft discovers that my body’s (host’s) organs are not the same as my sister’s, it will launch an attack on the organs (喧宾夺主) resulting in GVHD. On the other hand, rejection happens on patients who undergo organ transplant. When the host (organ recipient) immune system discovers that the transplanted organ is not belonged to it, it will launch an attack on the new organ in an attempt to get rid of it, resulting in rejection.
In other words, GVHD is like you invited a new guy into your house as new owner (graft) and he tried to kick off somebody (host organs) from the house, while rejection is like you bring in somebody into the house and the owner of the house don’t like him and wanted to kick him off.
See the differences? If you still cannot see the differences. Just read the FAQ(Frequently Asked Questions) below.
1. Who is the bad guy? (A useful and good "bad guy")
GVHD: New immune system borrowed from someone. (different owner)
Rejection: Own immune system. (owner still the same)
2. What the bad guy attacks?
GVHD: Possibly more than one organ such as liver, kidney and skin.
Rejection: Only the transplanted organ.
3. Who might experience this?
GVHD: Allogeneic bone marrow or stem cell transplant patients.
Rejection: Organ transplant patients.
Now you understand the differences? If you still don’t understand, I can only say, “Alamak! How am I going to explain?”(天啊！如何解释？). Never mind-lah, just treat everything as rejection-lah; else you can come to my house bringing something delicious and I guarantee that I will make you understand the differences.
I told my wife I am so happy with this post because now I imagine a lot of people bringing delicious foods to me tomorrow :-)
See you next pots :-)
The new immune system that is established by “borrowing” my sister stem cell is called graft. If this graft discovers that my body’s (host’s) organs are not the same as my sister’s, it will launch an attack on the organs (喧宾夺主) resulting in GVHD. On the other hand, rejection happens on patients who undergo organ transplant. When the host (organ recipient) immune system discovers that the transplanted organ is not belonged to it, it will launch an attack on the new organ in an attempt to get rid of it, resulting in rejection.
In other words, GVHD is like you invited a new guy into your house as new owner (graft) and he tried to kick off somebody (host organs) from the house, while rejection is like you bring in somebody into the house and the owner of the house don’t like him and wanted to kick him off.
See the differences? If you still cannot see the differences. Just read the FAQ(Frequently Asked Questions) below.
1. Who is the bad guy? (A useful and good "bad guy")
GVHD: New immune system borrowed from someone. (different owner)
Rejection: Own immune system. (owner still the same)
2. What the bad guy attacks?
GVHD: Possibly more than one organ such as liver, kidney and skin.
Rejection: Only the transplanted organ.
3. Who might experience this?
GVHD: Allogeneic bone marrow or stem cell transplant patients.
Rejection: Organ transplant patients.
Now you understand the differences? If you still don’t understand, I can only say, “Alamak! How am I going to explain?”(天啊！如何解释？). Never mind-lah, just treat everything as rejection-lah; else you can come to my house bringing something delicious and I guarantee that I will make you understand the differences.
I told my wife I am so happy with this post because now I imagine a lot of people bringing delicious foods to me tomorrow :-)
See you next pots :-)
Monday, November 13, 2006
Day +131
My Blood Count Today:
Red Blood Count (RBC) = 116(Normal 130-180)
Platelet = 102(Normal 150-450)
White Blood Count (WBC) = 3.5(Normal 4 - 11)
Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) = 1.925 (Normal 1.5 - 8.0)
Potassium = 4.8(Normal 3.5 - 5.2)
I am fine today. I went to UH to do follow-up this morning. The white blood count and ANC dropped while the rest of the counts improved. Anyway, the ANC is still within normal range.
Two weeks ago (my blog Day +117), I mentioned that eating Pizza might help to improve my white blood count; a very good increase from 2.8 to 4.2. It looked like this assumption was quite accurate because I did not eat Pizza for the past two weeks, therefore my white blood count dropped from 4.2 to 3.5 this time. After we had the Pizza two weeks ago, I “ban” my family from eating Pizza for two months, but now I think I should uplift the “ban” earlier. A wonderful news for everyone in the family, isn’t it? :-)
On my way back from the hospital this afternoon, my wife phoned me saying that we are running out of rice. Since I was diagnosed with this disease, my family practices “One Country, Two Systems”(一国两制) policy, just like the relationship between China and Hong Kong. I eat brown rice, and the rest of my family members eat normal rice. My wife did not tell me which type of rice to buy, so I assumed that it must be normal rice. I purchased one pack of normal rice home, and the maid treated this pack of normal rice as brown rice and cooked it separately from the normal rice. In the end, she cooked the same normal rice separately, one for me and the other for the rest of my family. This is the powerful result of assumption; I assumed that my wife meant normal rice, and my wife assumed that I knew which rice she meant. The saying “husband and wife are one minded” (心有灵犀一点通) might not work every time (有时一点也不通) :-(
See you next post :-)
Red Blood Count (RBC) = 116(Normal 130-180)
Platelet = 102(Normal 150-450)
White Blood Count (WBC) = 3.5(Normal 4 - 11)
Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) = 1.925 (Normal 1.5 - 8.0)
Potassium = 4.8(Normal 3.5 - 5.2)
I am fine today. I went to UH to do follow-up this morning. The white blood count and ANC dropped while the rest of the counts improved. Anyway, the ANC is still within normal range.
Two weeks ago (my blog Day +117), I mentioned that eating Pizza might help to improve my white blood count; a very good increase from 2.8 to 4.2. It looked like this assumption was quite accurate because I did not eat Pizza for the past two weeks, therefore my white blood count dropped from 4.2 to 3.5 this time. After we had the Pizza two weeks ago, I “ban” my family from eating Pizza for two months, but now I think I should uplift the “ban” earlier. A wonderful news for everyone in the family, isn’t it? :-)
On my way back from the hospital this afternoon, my wife phoned me saying that we are running out of rice. Since I was diagnosed with this disease, my family practices “One Country, Two Systems”(一国两制) policy, just like the relationship between China and Hong Kong. I eat brown rice, and the rest of my family members eat normal rice. My wife did not tell me which type of rice to buy, so I assumed that it must be normal rice. I purchased one pack of normal rice home, and the maid treated this pack of normal rice as brown rice and cooked it separately from the normal rice. In the end, she cooked the same normal rice separately, one for me and the other for the rest of my family. This is the powerful result of assumption; I assumed that my wife meant normal rice, and my wife assumed that I knew which rice she meant. The saying “husband and wife are one minded” (心有灵犀一点通) might not work every time (有时一点也不通) :-(
See you next post :-)
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Day +130
I am fine today. I went to church this morning.
Today, I would like to explain to you what made me so determined to go for the risky bone marrow transplant.
On my blog Day +66, I mentioned that my first cytogenetic analysis indicates that my blood’s chromosome was abnormal. The abnormality is called 3q deletion whereby one of the pair no. 3 of the chromosome was shortened. Unfortunately, this type of abnormality categorized me under bad risk group.
After I was discharged from the hospital, I studied carefully a report by Tulio E. Rodriquez, MD and Patric J. Stiff, MD, Current treatment results of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for acute myeloid and lymphoid leukemia. Curr Hematol Rep. 2003 Jul;2(4):295-301. The report gave me quite a good understanding on the prognosis (long-term survival rate or percentage of 5 years disease free) of my disease.
The report said that the long-term survival rate (5 years disease free) of a high risk AML patient is 15% only. An allogeneic stem cell transplant might increase the survival rate to 40% to 60%. However, doctor also told me that the mortality rate of transplant is about 15% to 20% during transplant and 5% after transplant. So the overall mortality rate due to transplant is about 20% to 25% which make the transplant a risky procedure. Nevertheless, the significant improvement in prognosis makes the procedure worth to try.
The report also mentioned that low risk group has a 50% survival rate with chemotherapy treatment along and stem cell transplant does not bring further improvement. Thus, transplant is only recommended after a relapse for low risk group.
With these statistics in mind, I determined to go for transplant.
See you next post :-)
Today, I would like to explain to you what made me so determined to go for the risky bone marrow transplant.
On my blog Day +66, I mentioned that my first cytogenetic analysis indicates that my blood’s chromosome was abnormal. The abnormality is called 3q deletion whereby one of the pair no. 3 of the chromosome was shortened. Unfortunately, this type of abnormality categorized me under bad risk group.
After I was discharged from the hospital, I studied carefully a report by Tulio E. Rodriquez, MD and Patric J. Stiff, MD, Current treatment results of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for acute myeloid and lymphoid leukemia. Curr Hematol Rep. 2003 Jul;2(4):295-301. The report gave me quite a good understanding on the prognosis (long-term survival rate or percentage of 5 years disease free) of my disease.
The report said that the long-term survival rate (5 years disease free) of a high risk AML patient is 15% only. An allogeneic stem cell transplant might increase the survival rate to 40% to 60%. However, doctor also told me that the mortality rate of transplant is about 15% to 20% during transplant and 5% after transplant. So the overall mortality rate due to transplant is about 20% to 25% which make the transplant a risky procedure. Nevertheless, the significant improvement in prognosis makes the procedure worth to try.
The report also mentioned that low risk group has a 50% survival rate with chemotherapy treatment along and stem cell transplant does not bring further improvement. Thus, transplant is only recommended after a relapse for low risk group.
With these statistics in mind, I determined to go for transplant.
See you next post :-)
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Day +129
I am fine today. Continue my fourth chemo story…
I developed fever again on 21 April 2006(Day 18), one day after the birth of baby Aaron. This was the first time I had fever twice during chemotherapy. Even during the Bone Marrow Transplant later, I experienced one occasion of fever only. May be this is because I was too happy to have another child. Anyway the fever subsided two days later.
On 26 April 2006 (Day 23), my white blood count climbed to 1.2. Doctor discharged me from hematology ward. I was so happy to be able to visit my wife and the baby in the maternity ward. They were also “released” from the maternity ward three days later.
I stayed in the hospital for 23 days and 22 nights for this round of chemotherapy. In fact after I was diagnosed with AML, I stayed in the hospital more often than at home :-(
See you next post :-)
I developed fever again on 21 April 2006(Day 18), one day after the birth of baby Aaron. This was the first time I had fever twice during chemotherapy. Even during the Bone Marrow Transplant later, I experienced one occasion of fever only. May be this is because I was too happy to have another child. Anyway the fever subsided two days later.
On 26 April 2006 (Day 23), my white blood count climbed to 1.2. Doctor discharged me from hematology ward. I was so happy to be able to visit my wife and the baby in the maternity ward. They were also “released” from the maternity ward three days later.
I stayed in the hospital for 23 days and 22 nights for this round of chemotherapy. In fact after I was diagnosed with AML, I stayed in the hospital more often than at home :-(
See you next post :-)
Friday, November 10, 2006
Day +128
I am fine today. Continue my fourth chemo story…
My wife visited me almost everyday, bringing lunch for me and accompanied me until evening. Then my brother, nephew or sister sent dinner to me.
One the 20 April 2006 (Day 17), my wife delivered our baby boy Aaron in the maternity ward, UH. The maternity ward is very near to the ward that I was staying at that time. I could see the maternity block through the windows but was not allowed to visit my wife. This was because my white blood count at that time was only 0.4. I felt quite upset because I could not accompany my wife. What I could do was just to pray for the smooth delivery of baby and also God’s protection upon both the baby and the mother.
At about 4:00pm that day, a nurse came to tell me that the maternity ward informed her that my wife already delivered the baby. But there was no information on the condition of the baby and the mother. My wife called later in the evening to inform me that she and the baby did very well :-)
Like our elder two boys, Aaron is a G6PD deficiency boy. Since baby with G6PD deficiency could catch jaundice very easily, the doctor “detained” him and the mother for one week in the hospital for observation. Therefore, at that time, 50% of the populations (three of us) of my family were in the hospital :-(
See you next post :-)
My wife visited me almost everyday, bringing lunch for me and accompanied me until evening. Then my brother, nephew or sister sent dinner to me.
One the 20 April 2006 (Day 17), my wife delivered our baby boy Aaron in the maternity ward, UH. The maternity ward is very near to the ward that I was staying at that time. I could see the maternity block through the windows but was not allowed to visit my wife. This was because my white blood count at that time was only 0.4. I felt quite upset because I could not accompany my wife. What I could do was just to pray for the smooth delivery of baby and also God’s protection upon both the baby and the mother.
At about 4:00pm that day, a nurse came to tell me that the maternity ward informed her that my wife already delivered the baby. But there was no information on the condition of the baby and the mother. My wife called later in the evening to inform me that she and the baby did very well :-)
Like our elder two boys, Aaron is a G6PD deficiency boy. Since baby with G6PD deficiency could catch jaundice very easily, the doctor “detained” him and the mother for one week in the hospital for observation. Therefore, at that time, 50% of the populations (three of us) of my family were in the hospital :-(
See you next post :-)
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Day +127
I am fine today. Continue my fourth chemo story…
My third brother came from Bintulu, Sarawak on 14 April 2006 (Day 11). Based on our earlier experience, I would get fever around Day 14, therefore my family members requested him to come around Day 14 so that he could take care of me during fever. But he came a little bit earlier. As usual, he brought quite a lot fishes for me.
I had fever on 15 April 2006 (Day 12) this time. During last chemotherapy, my eldest sister came on the day I was having fever, and this time my third brother came one day before I had fever. I thank God that they came at the time when I most need them :-)
The fever lasted two days. On Day 16, I experienced mild pain on my left chest. The doctor did a ECG test for me and found out that my heart was well.
See you next post :-)
My third brother came from Bintulu, Sarawak on 14 April 2006 (Day 11). Based on our earlier experience, I would get fever around Day 14, therefore my family members requested him to come around Day 14 so that he could take care of me during fever. But he came a little bit earlier. As usual, he brought quite a lot fishes for me.
I had fever on 15 April 2006 (Day 12) this time. During last chemotherapy, my eldest sister came on the day I was having fever, and this time my third brother came one day before I had fever. I thank God that they came at the time when I most need them :-)
The fever lasted two days. On Day 16, I experienced mild pain on my left chest. The doctor did a ECG test for me and found out that my heart was well.
See you next post :-)
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Day +126
I am fine today.
I am very happy to receive an email from American guitarist Tony Morris, who is regularly invited to perform at White House in Washington, D.C. He hosted a weekly Classical Guitar Alive! radio program that is broadcasted over 200 radio stations across US. On March this year, I realized that the weekly program was made available for download on the Guitar Alive web site. Since then, I downloaded and keep all the programs. If you want to listen to the program, you can click here to download them. If you need the earlier programs which are no longer available for download on the web site, I am more than willing to share them with you :-)
I wrote to Tony yesterday telling him that I am from Malaysia and like to listen to his program. The message that I received from him is as follow.
Hello David,
Wow! Thanks for your kind note! I am very happy to hear that you are listening to Classical Guitar Alive! in Malaysia. Coincidentally, this week's program features an interview with a very fine Malaysian guitarist, Philip Hii. He is also a good friend of mine, and a wonderful virtuoso.
Thanks again for writing, and best wishes to you, your family, and friends,
Tony
Classical Guitar Alive!
http://www.guitaralive.org
I replied to Tony that Philip Hii is a FooChow that comes from my home town Sibu (My exact home town is Bintangor, but it is too small to be known by many people, so sometime I also say that I comes from Sibu, Sarawak; a town which is about half an hour drive from my house). Philips develops his career in US and becomes a “very fine Malaysian guitarist and wonderful virtuoso” as what Tony said. As a classical guitar enthusiast, a FooChow, Sibu-ian, Sarawakian and Malaysian, I am really proud of him :-)
See you next post :-)
I am very happy to receive an email from American guitarist Tony Morris, who is regularly invited to perform at White House in Washington, D.C. He hosted a weekly Classical Guitar Alive! radio program that is broadcasted over 200 radio stations across US. On March this year, I realized that the weekly program was made available for download on the Guitar Alive web site. Since then, I downloaded and keep all the programs. If you want to listen to the program, you can click here to download them. If you need the earlier programs which are no longer available for download on the web site, I am more than willing to share them with you :-)
I wrote to Tony yesterday telling him that I am from Malaysia and like to listen to his program. The message that I received from him is as follow.
Hello David,
Wow! Thanks for your kind note! I am very happy to hear that you are listening to Classical Guitar Alive! in Malaysia. Coincidentally, this week's program features an interview with a very fine Malaysian guitarist, Philip Hii. He is also a good friend of mine, and a wonderful virtuoso.
Thanks again for writing, and best wishes to you, your family, and friends,
Tony
Classical Guitar Alive!
http://www.guitaralive.org
I replied to Tony that Philip Hii is a FooChow that comes from my home town Sibu (My exact home town is Bintangor, but it is too small to be known by many people, so sometime I also say that I comes from Sibu, Sarawak; a town which is about half an hour drive from my house). Philips develops his career in US and becomes a “very fine Malaysian guitarist and wonderful virtuoso” as what Tony said. As a classical guitar enthusiast, a FooChow, Sibu-ian, Sarawakian and Malaysian, I am really proud of him :-)
See you next post :-)
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Day +125
I am fine today. Continue my fourth chemo story…
The first few days of the chemotherapy made me very tired. I also experienced water retention because I drank a lot of water and received quite an amount of normal saline infusion. Apart from this, I also experienced a slight fever on Day 3 of the chemotherapy.
After completing all the chemotherapy drugs on Day 5, I had an option to go home for a few days, but I chose to stay back.
I requested the nurse to move me to a single room on Day 8 of the chemotherapy because my white blood count was very low at that time. Fortunately, some empty rooms were available and the nurse was kind enough to approve my request. It was very good to stay in a single room because I did not have to share the toilet with other patients. Furthermore, I could practice my guitar in the room.
See you next post :-)
The first few days of the chemotherapy made me very tired. I also experienced water retention because I drank a lot of water and received quite an amount of normal saline infusion. Apart from this, I also experienced a slight fever on Day 3 of the chemotherapy.
After completing all the chemotherapy drugs on Day 5, I had an option to go home for a few days, but I chose to stay back.
I requested the nurse to move me to a single room on Day 8 of the chemotherapy because my white blood count was very low at that time. Fortunately, some empty rooms were available and the nurse was kind enough to approve my request. It was very good to stay in a single room because I did not have to share the toilet with other patients. Furthermore, I could practice my guitar in the room.
See you next post :-)
Monday, November 06, 2006
Day +124
I am fine today. My fourth chemo story…
After I was discharged from my 3rd chemotherapy on 13 March 2006, I was given three weeks break. During this period, the doctor did a bone marrow aspiration (BMA) to determine the percentage of blasts (cancer cell) in the bone marrow. The test confirmed that I was in complete remission (< 5% blast) with 1% of blast cells.
On 3 April 2006, I was admitted to the hematology ward to do the final round of chemotherapy. This round of chemotherapy was exactly the same as the 3rd round of chemotherapy. It was called consolidation cycle and the drug used were VP16 and Ara C over a duration of 4 days as mentioned in my blog day +110.
At that time, my wife was about 9 months pregnant with our fourth child Aaron. Our three elder children were all delivered in private hospital. But because I was sick this time, she decided to do pregnancy follow-up and delivery in UH. This would save us some cost as she entitled for medical benefit as a government servant. Furthermore, she felt that she was nearer to me and she could visit me more easily if she did the follow-up in UH.
We all wished that the baby would only “come out” after my chemotherapy, so that I could send my wife and accompany her to give birth to the baby. At the same time, we also asked my third sister and my nephew to standby. One day, my wife told my nephew that it looked like the baby was going to “come out” anytime. My nephew became very nervous. He went to sleep very early that day and set his alarm clock. I did not know what time he set the time to. May be every half an hour :-) Anyway, I believe he really prepared himself to rush my wife to maternity ward at anytime :-)
See you next post :-)
After I was discharged from my 3rd chemotherapy on 13 March 2006, I was given three weeks break. During this period, the doctor did a bone marrow aspiration (BMA) to determine the percentage of blasts (cancer cell) in the bone marrow. The test confirmed that I was in complete remission (< 5% blast) with 1% of blast cells.
On 3 April 2006, I was admitted to the hematology ward to do the final round of chemotherapy. This round of chemotherapy was exactly the same as the 3rd round of chemotherapy. It was called consolidation cycle and the drug used were VP16 and Ara C over a duration of 4 days as mentioned in my blog day +110.
At that time, my wife was about 9 months pregnant with our fourth child Aaron. Our three elder children were all delivered in private hospital. But because I was sick this time, she decided to do pregnancy follow-up and delivery in UH. This would save us some cost as she entitled for medical benefit as a government servant. Furthermore, she felt that she was nearer to me and she could visit me more easily if she did the follow-up in UH.
We all wished that the baby would only “come out” after my chemotherapy, so that I could send my wife and accompany her to give birth to the baby. At the same time, we also asked my third sister and my nephew to standby. One day, my wife told my nephew that it looked like the baby was going to “come out” anytime. My nephew became very nervous. He went to sleep very early that day and set his alarm clock. I did not know what time he set the time to. May be every half an hour :-) Anyway, I believe he really prepared himself to rush my wife to maternity ward at anytime :-)
See you next post :-)
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Day +123
I am fine. I went to church this morning. I just would like to share with you some photos today.
The moustache grew too long. I cannot be lazy anymore; else they will disturb my eating. So I shaved them.
Have you ever heard of "organic" helmet? It is so healthy compared to normal helmet. That is why Joseph and Daniel like to wear them so much :-)
Adriel would like to protect herself from haze.
Aaron said he dared to play with Python.
See you next post :-)
The moustache grew too long. I cannot be lazy anymore; else they will disturb my eating. So I shaved them.
Have you ever heard of "organic" helmet? It is so healthy compared to normal helmet. That is why Joseph and Daniel like to wear them so much :-)
Adriel would like to protect herself from haze.
Aaron said he dared to play with Python.See you next post :-)
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Day +122
I am fine today. Let me continue the story about story books.
When I was studying in primary five, someone lent me three of the Four Great Classical Novels (四大名著): Water Margin (水浒传), Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义) and Journey to the West(西游记). Another one called Dream of the Red Chamber(红楼梦) was too difficult for me to understand, so I did not read it. I was addicted in reading these novels. I remembered I always started reading the novel inside my house until it was too dark for me to see the words in the evening. Then I moved out from the house and continued reading it at the staircase outside because it was brighter there. After I could not see the words outside the house, I turned back to light up the kerosene lamp and continue reading. These books kept me busy for quite some time, so that I did not have to beg my cousin for story books.
At that time, I did not know how to use a Chinese dictionary to check the pronunciation of words. We were using Traditional Chinese ZhuYin(Bopomofo) phonetic system instead of HanYu PinYin as we use today. Unfortunately, the teacher did not teach the ZhuYin in school, so even though I managed to find the word in the dictionary, I would not know how to pronounce it. In the end, I just guess the pronunciation (有边读边，没边读中间). This is why my Chinese pronunciation is still so lousy today (一塌糊涂) :-(
Anyway, it is not fair to compare my situation with what my children have today. And there is no point for me to explain to them the difficulty that I experienced in getting story books to read and how much interest I had in reading when I was young. Nowadays, they enjoyed all sort of entertainments such as television and computer games, which are definitely more interesting than reading. Who knows if I was also given these attractive entertainments, I was still interested in reading?
See you next post :-)
When I was studying in primary five, someone lent me three of the Four Great Classical Novels (四大名著): Water Margin (水浒传), Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义) and Journey to the West(西游记). Another one called Dream of the Red Chamber(红楼梦) was too difficult for me to understand, so I did not read it. I was addicted in reading these novels. I remembered I always started reading the novel inside my house until it was too dark for me to see the words in the evening. Then I moved out from the house and continued reading it at the staircase outside because it was brighter there. After I could not see the words outside the house, I turned back to light up the kerosene lamp and continue reading. These books kept me busy for quite some time, so that I did not have to beg my cousin for story books.
At that time, I did not know how to use a Chinese dictionary to check the pronunciation of words. We were using Traditional Chinese ZhuYin(Bopomofo) phonetic system instead of HanYu PinYin as we use today. Unfortunately, the teacher did not teach the ZhuYin in school, so even though I managed to find the word in the dictionary, I would not know how to pronounce it. In the end, I just guess the pronunciation (有边读边，没边读中间). This is why my Chinese pronunciation is still so lousy today (一塌糊涂) :-(
Anyway, it is not fair to compare my situation with what my children have today. And there is no point for me to explain to them the difficulty that I experienced in getting story books to read and how much interest I had in reading when I was young. Nowadays, they enjoyed all sort of entertainments such as television and computer games, which are definitely more interesting than reading. Who knows if I was also given these attractive entertainments, I was still interested in reading?
See you next post :-)
Friday, November 03, 2006
Day +121
I am fine today. I have recovered from coughing and running nose.
Last week, I purchased 40 Chinese story books from Popular Bookshop. These books are from China. They are very cheap especially after forty to fifty percent discount.
When I brought these books home happily to show to my eldest son Daniel, he looked unhappy. “Why you buy so many?” he questioned. I said the books are for him to read. “I don’t like to read these books!” he answered. In the end, it looks like these story books bring extra burden to him :-(
Many children today fail to appreciate how fortunate they are (身在福中不知福). When I was at his age, I experienced great difficulty to find story books to read. My family could not afford to buy books. Furthermore, the primary school that I studied did not want to operate a library, even though the government supplied many story books to it. They just left piles of story books in a room to gather dust. I always drooled with envy (垂涎三尺) when I saw the books.
In the village, I had a cousin who purchased many story books. He locked all the books in a cupboard with glass doors. Unfortunately, he was quite selfish and did not like to share the books with me. Again, I always drooled with envy when I saw those nicely arranged story books in the cupboard. If his mood was good and I was fortunate, he might let me read one book after continuous begging.
To be continued and see you next post :-)
Last week, I purchased 40 Chinese story books from Popular Bookshop. These books are from China. They are very cheap especially after forty to fifty percent discount.
When I brought these books home happily to show to my eldest son Daniel, he looked unhappy. “Why you buy so many?” he questioned. I said the books are for him to read. “I don’t like to read these books!” he answered. In the end, it looks like these story books bring extra burden to him :-(
Many children today fail to appreciate how fortunate they are (身在福中不知福). When I was at his age, I experienced great difficulty to find story books to read. My family could not afford to buy books. Furthermore, the primary school that I studied did not want to operate a library, even though the government supplied many story books to it. They just left piles of story books in a room to gather dust. I always drooled with envy (垂涎三尺) when I saw the books.
In the village, I had a cousin who purchased many story books. He locked all the books in a cupboard with glass doors. Unfortunately, he was quite selfish and did not like to share the books with me. Again, I always drooled with envy when I saw those nicely arranged story books in the cupboard. If his mood was good and I was fortunate, he might let me read one book after continuous begging.
To be continued and see you next post :-)
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Day +120
I am fine today. Now continue the child specialist story…
Since no other child clinic was open, my wife brought Aaron to that clinic. I warned my wife to exercise extra caution against the specialist. My wife told me later that the clinic is really advanced. The registration, medical record and prescription are all computerized. Within minutes upon a new registration, the patient will receive a very well laminated registration card with bar code on it. When the patient comes to see the doctor again, the nurse just scans the registration card with bar code reader, all medical records are at the fingertip in a split second. Furthermore, the specialist prescribes medicine by scanning in the prescription through bar code reader. What a brilliant approach! It is a paperless and the most efficient clinic that I ever know.
Unfortunately, after the computerization process, the specialist himself got “computerized” as well :-( My wife told me that he behaved exactly like a robot. He listened like robot, talked like robot and thought like robot. After achieving a “paperless” environment for the clinic, the specialist became “emotionless”. He always put on his long, cold and serious face.
If he engaged me as his programmer, I will definitely reprogram his face so that it looks round, warm and always cheerful. I believe this would attract more patients and bring him more profit. Nevertheless, he might still want to maintain the old long, cold and serious face. Because this type of expression indicates to you how serious your child or even your condition is, and thus making the high treatment fee seems to be very reasonable to you :-)
See you next post :-)
Since no other child clinic was open, my wife brought Aaron to that clinic. I warned my wife to exercise extra caution against the specialist. My wife told me later that the clinic is really advanced. The registration, medical record and prescription are all computerized. Within minutes upon a new registration, the patient will receive a very well laminated registration card with bar code on it. When the patient comes to see the doctor again, the nurse just scans the registration card with bar code reader, all medical records are at the fingertip in a split second. Furthermore, the specialist prescribes medicine by scanning in the prescription through bar code reader. What a brilliant approach! It is a paperless and the most efficient clinic that I ever know.
Unfortunately, after the computerization process, the specialist himself got “computerized” as well :-( My wife told me that he behaved exactly like a robot. He listened like robot, talked like robot and thought like robot. After achieving a “paperless” environment for the clinic, the specialist became “emotionless”. He always put on his long, cold and serious face.
If he engaged me as his programmer, I will definitely reprogram his face so that it looks round, warm and always cheerful. I believe this would attract more patients and bring him more profit. Nevertheless, he might still want to maintain the old long, cold and serious face. Because this type of expression indicates to you how serious your child or even your condition is, and thus making the high treatment fee seems to be very reasonable to you :-)
See you next post :-)
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Day +119
I am quite fine today, with mild coughing and running nose.
My youngest son who is six months old was having fever last Thursday. This was the first time he fell sick. My wife gave him Paracetamol a few times, but the fever still came back a few hours after he took the medicine. The next day, we decided to bring him to see a doctor. Due to Deepavali and Hari Raya Aidilfitri holiday, most clinics were closed.
However, one child specialist clinic nearby my house was open. This clinic is the most “hardworking” child specialist clinic we ever know. It always closes later and opens earlier than other clinics during festive season. But many people including me dare not visit the clinic because we felt that the doctor is too commercial. He used to prescribe many strong medicine and charge very expensively. Few years ago when we brought our eldest son Daniel to have vaccination there, the doctor persuaded my wife and me to have Hepatitis A vaccination. When we later visited a GP (General Practitioner, non-specialist doctor) and requested him to give us second dose of the vaccination, the GP refused. “Who asked you to have this vaccination?” he questioned.
There was once a few people infected with a type of African Meningitis in this country. The child specialist almost convinced my sister to have the whole family vaccinated against meningitis. I believe he over exaggerated the danger of the disease. I advised my sister to seek a second opinion about this. In the end, she called a GP regarding this. The GP advised her that the vaccination was completely unnecessary. In fact, the GP didn’t even know where to get the vaccine!
We can conclude from the cases above that although it is a child clinic, its appetite is clearly beyond catching “small fish”. It is a child clinic that practices a policy called “一网打尽，大小通吃” (Catch all fish; regardless they are small or big).
To be continued and see you next post :-)
My youngest son who is six months old was having fever last Thursday. This was the first time he fell sick. My wife gave him Paracetamol a few times, but the fever still came back a few hours after he took the medicine. The next day, we decided to bring him to see a doctor. Due to Deepavali and Hari Raya Aidilfitri holiday, most clinics were closed.
However, one child specialist clinic nearby my house was open. This clinic is the most “hardworking” child specialist clinic we ever know. It always closes later and opens earlier than other clinics during festive season. But many people including me dare not visit the clinic because we felt that the doctor is too commercial. He used to prescribe many strong medicine and charge very expensively. Few years ago when we brought our eldest son Daniel to have vaccination there, the doctor persuaded my wife and me to have Hepatitis A vaccination. When we later visited a GP (General Practitioner, non-specialist doctor) and requested him to give us second dose of the vaccination, the GP refused. “Who asked you to have this vaccination?” he questioned.
There was once a few people infected with a type of African Meningitis in this country. The child specialist almost convinced my sister to have the whole family vaccinated against meningitis. I believe he over exaggerated the danger of the disease. I advised my sister to seek a second opinion about this. In the end, she called a GP regarding this. The GP advised her that the vaccination was completely unnecessary. In fact, the GP didn’t even know where to get the vaccine!
We can conclude from the cases above that although it is a child clinic, its appetite is clearly beyond catching “small fish”. It is a child clinic that practices a policy called “一网打尽，大小通吃” (Catch all fish; regardless they are small or big).
To be continued and see you next post :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
