.... of sickness and being sick.

Falling sick these days is a luxury. One of Your Sincerely's ( YS') siblings was hale and hearty but had a growth on his head and was pestered to take action. As you know, growths on the body are very, very unwelcome and in them lurk suspicions. You cannot live in peace until a biopsy is done and the verdict read out "benign" or "not guilty."

Y S' sibling checked in one of the supposedly best private hospitals in KL and he was probed by one specialist after another. From an ordinary surgeon, to a cardiologist, neurosurgeon, etc.etc. and the list is, of course, proportionate to the bill. ( You may have to be readmitted after seeing the bill. LOL) Being a top notch private hospital, it has to do a good and through job, so the poor patient is passed on to one specialist after another. One may enjoy the relay if he is on Medical Card but certainly not if you are forking out the expenses from your own shallow pockets.

Y S has a soft heart to see his hair shaved and so many tubes and hoses poked into his body since he was fine the day before he stepped into the hospital. Y S was told that he had taken several pints of blood transfusion. When one is hospitalized for curative treatment, the pain is bearable because one is seeking a cure. However, if one is in for preventive treatment, then the pain takes another dimension. However, the former might be too late for some patients and they are always blamed for not seeking treatment earlier. The latter saves life but need lots of reassuring and counseling to be properly accepted. He is lucky to have a good and caring wife to harp on him to get to the hospital. How many of us have such wives? Think.

The moral of it all is to take a breather once in a while and evaluate one's health. Y S even takes time going through the morning toilet ritual. Don't be in such a great hurry to get rid of your waste. It is part of your body, your system. Take a good look, study its colour, texture etc. Look out for any abnormalities and tell tale signs. These are all warning signs of the status of your system. They are like the red lights on your car dash board. Don't wait until they blink, blink and blink. Then it is too late.

Stretched bows were unstrung after a hunting sessions in the days of Robin Hood. Machines have to be switched off and allowed to cool down after use. Human bodies need the same. But, the folly of humanity is that everyone thinks that he is a "superman." Many brag of their ability to overwork (like the overdrive in our cars) . We overstretch our endurance and the damage accumulates and accumulates, waiting for a breakdown. What about maintainance service for the human body. The classic response is "OH, No time." Well, for those who have no time to exercise, they may have to find time to fall sick!

Life is a many splendoured thing. Live on.