Giver of Life

Testimony by T. W. Hao

I was born into a Christian family. Everybody assumed I was a well-behaved child. But this is not true until I believe and accepted Christ. Since kindergarden I was a very very rebellious child who likes to break the rules. I liked to bully girls and was constantly picking on a fight with the boys. As a consequences, my teacher, frustrated with me, decided to send me away from the ‘excellent’ class as she was worried that I may have a negative influence on the well-behaved children.

Then, I enter into primary school. I started to smoke, gamble, fight, and even steal my parents’ money to buy story books I fancy. I stole books from book exhibitions. My neighbours also thought that my future was gone. By the time I graduated from primary school, my elder sister decided to bring me to church. Initially I was reluctant to attend because I could not stand the boring sermons by the preachers. With my attitude at that time, it was astonishing that I would have the patience to give it another try,but I suspect it was the work of Holy Spirit, that I have the patience for attending the biblical teachings conducted in the church. All of a sudden, I begin to experience a 180 degree change in my life. I became enthusiastic to care and help other people. I do not steal anymore and I even admit my small faults like breaking an egg to my mother. My mother was surprised and touched by the new change in me and encourage me to go to church more often.

However, in secondary school, I became decadent once again. The reason was – all the youth attending at that time were females and I was embarrassed and shy to go to church to mix with them. I was dissatisfied for a few years. Then arrive to the second turning point of my life when I was in matriculation, and my friends invited me to join their Christian gathering, which was conducted weekly. I joined their activities and was again touched by the Holy Spirit. I attended every gathering there and went to church regularly even if the members of the church consists mostly of girls as I do not feel embarrassed in front of them anymore because I know we are brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.

I was baptized 3 years ago, now I am most happy and relaxed when I go to church and I am drawing closer to God day by day. If it wasn’t because of Jesus, I think I will not be here in USMKK. If it wasn’t because of Jesus, I think you would have seen my photo in newspaper photographed as gangster, thief, robber and any other law-breaker. Jesus Christ is the Giver of my life because He turned my life and gave me a new life. How about you, who is your Giver of life?

A Word From An Ex-Advisor

Heart to heart with Asso. Prof. Dr. Phua Kia Kien

The PPK of CF as we call today, was already in existence in May 1986 when I first reported for duty as a lecturer in the department of Chemical Pathology, PPSP. Dr. Low Heng Chin, who joined the Department of Community Medicine in July 1984, had taken over responsibility for a small group of Christians at PPSP in the Penang Campus when Dr. Graham McCall (from the Department of Surgery) was transferred to the Kelantan Branch campus in 1985. The 2 CFs continued to exist as 2 separate groups until June 1990 when the two halfs of the Medical School finally merge to form PPSP as we know it today. Through the encouragement of Graham and Jenny McCall and the perseverance of the Christian student leaders then, the group was first registered as the Persatuan Pelajar Kristian Kubang Kerian (PPK KK) toward the end of 1989, which was also the year the McCalls returned to UK. By the grace of God the group grew in size as Dr. Low and I remain faithful to the calling. With the merging of the 2 halfs of PPSP and the opening up of new courses for diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology (1992) and Nursing (1994), there were more students at the new PPSP complex in Kelantan. Later, it was called the ‘Health Campus’ (HC) when new schools, ie. School of Dental Sciences and School of Health Sciences, were formed in 1998 and 1999, respectively; and with it a rise in the Christian student population.

In its infancy the group was besieged with many problems, but by God’s grace, the CF survived and now stands as a towering witness to the power and wisdom of a might God. As part of the requirements of USM, Dr. Nick Jackson and I were appointed advisors to the CF. This we were willing to do as it would further the cause of the CF. There we serve as conduits for the CF to channel our request to the authorities. We were indeed blessed with facilities and opportunities that allow us to have an impact on the community in the HC. Personally, I felt much blessed by the comradeship of Dr. Nick and Dr. Alison Jackson (Department of Community Medicine). They not only took the burden off my shoulders sharing in the teaching ministry at the CF which Dr. Low’s passion and love for the students had sustained us for 5 years, but also encouraged me by their selfless sacrifices for others. As the population grew, we moved from our home-fellowship meetings to the lecture halls. Sometimes our gatherings were small and sometimes they were large, but we desired above all to meet with the Lord every time we got together. We saw the hand of the Lord in many projects we undertook, inspite of racial polarization problems that broke up in the campus.

In 2003, after 17 years at the CF, I relinquished my duties to Dr. Tee Meng Hun when I took my Sabbatical leave. I felt it was time to pass the baton along to a younger and more suited lecturer – for the responsibility and priviledge! One of my greatest joys as a member of the CF was being able to introduce people to Jesus and to help them discover of rediscover their faith. It has been my blessing to see young people turn to Christ, from a lukewarm heart to one that is full of enthusiasm and love for Him. It is indeed a joy to see people discover their potential to serve the Lord and be willing channels of blessings for others.

Over the years, I have seen many CF members come and go, and many have left behind a legacy of the love and faithfulness of an endearing God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who paved the way for this small group to grow and prosper even in the midst of real challenges. Indeed, many can testify that it is through those trials and tribulations that we grew as a community as remain faithful to the cause of the Gospel Message. To those of you who are new to CF of you have just joined as a student, do rest assured that God has provided the best for you, and you are precisely where you should be at this time of your life. Open your heart to the opportunities and possibilities around you that calls you to be His messenger. For it is in answering this call, to be His ambassador in this campus, that we will most satisfaction. If you have not been going to the CF, may I encourage you to do so, for there you will find enduring friends that will last a life time! Trust me, for I have been there….

Experiencing God in Christmas

Testimony by L. B. Liang

Hi brothers and sisters,
First of all, for those who have never heard of me, I am Lau Bik Liang, a 4th year medical student from Sibu, Sarawak.

Christmas night is coming soon. This is the biggest event for CF. I have been through three meaningful Christmas nights in USMKK that has brought me a lot of good memories.

In my first year, I was so excited about Christmas night that I wished to participate in a lot of performances. However I ended up with only joining choir. Haih… Maybe I really am not a talented person, haha! Never mind, I still enjoyed myself during that Christmas because I found something special about CF – love among brothers and sisters. CF had given me a sense of belonging and we are all like in a big family with lots of care and encouragement from each other. During that time, we spent a lot of time and effort in practicing choir. Despite feeling exhausted, we got support from each other. Besides that, many Christians who seldom turn up for routine CF meeting also came to help for Christmas night. There was a great deal of fellowship among us. It was a warmth Christmas night for me staying so far away from my family

The following year, I was surprised to be asked to take charge of Christmas night choir. In the beginning of our practice, we faced problems like a lack of musicians and song selections. We have a very limited number of musicians as compared to now during that time and most of the musicians were final year students who were very busy in their study. Thus, I feel quite stress at that time. Thanks to the Christmas night committee that year who prayed continuously for these matters and we finally got the musicians. I think God had answered our prayers and that’s why most of our problems were solved. Prayer is great!

Last year’s Christmas was a struggle to me, the most struggling, in fact. I actually felt bored after serving two years in Christmas night. However, David (our previous CF president) came to my room and asked me to become vice president for the Christmas night committee. At first I rejected because of my Pro 2 exam. I wished to focus more on my studies since that was my Pro 2 exam year. Previously we rarely see a Year 3 medical student taking such a heavy job in any CF event. Thus, that discouraged me in taking the position as the vice chairman for Christmas night. The thought of worrying about “others would have a chance to study much more than I do as they continued to stay in their room” had ruminated in my mind. Thank God that in the end, I did agree to become vice president and my results was considered good enough for me to enter my 4th year. Haha! I think this was the first time I struggle to participate in God’s work and I am glad that I had chosen the correct pathway

This coming Christmas, I wish I can continue to involve in the work of God and experience God’s work on me. For those brothers and sisters who still hesitate to help in Christmas night, please hurry to lend a helping hand. I am sure God will make this a special Christmas for you as He had made it for me in the past three years.

May God bless you all!!!

Prayer Meet

Today, life was as usual. Except that I went for prayer meet. What a unexpected decision. CF has its prayer meet, every sat, 6-7pm but most of the time im doing my regular exercise at this time. Today was a bit different, I went for archery at 5pm with Arvind (the coolest macha in USMKK). We finish playing about 6pm. I was in my room at that time when I decided to go prayer meet. Its been a long long long time since I prayed with people. Kinda miss that feeling. Arrived at the prayer meet, saw those commited ones there, Gabriel, Carl, Patrick and Sze Hua. Im amazed by their commitment to prayers but at the same time I felt a bit out there already. Maybe because I long long time didn’t join in CF activities.
During the prayer meet, Gabriel prayed for our CG. I was so grateful to him. Our CG is realy dying and the members are getting less and less interested in CG. Sometimes I just feel like giving up. My actions even seems to show that I had already given up on our CG. No matter what I do, the members will never understand. I began to lose motivation in continuing the CG. Takde semangat edi…
Dunno why, recently I began to lost sense of belonging in church. Owiz feel alone… I already stop attending the MYF in church and soon will stop serving as guitarist in Methodist Church. Will I feel more lost next time? I remember once I talked to Thung Guan over the Msn. He also felt the same at Methodist Church, He owiz feel lonely and it gets worse year after year. Especially when Li Ying in not around, He felt out of place. He shared with me and suggested me to change church. But where should I go? Im very amazed and impressed with the close relationships that some of our frens in Methodist church enjoys. I feel happy for them. But I don’t have a belonging there.
Tomorrow is gonna b a new day. I hope for something meaningful tomorrow.

Interaksi and Intergrasi Persatuan Photos

Its been a very long time since i updated this blog. Poor internet connection in campus really really frustrates me a lot, plus the busyness studying and ward work at HUSM. Now that Im having Hari Raya break, this is really a good opportunity for me to post blogs on my life from since Convo break til now. Wow! Wat a long period!!! Many ppl actually tell me that they viewed my blogs but sometimes i do wonder why they didnt post any comment here…

One eventful event in campus recently (not really recently la…) was the Hari Interaksi dan Intergrasi Persatuan. It was a day for all the societies in USMKK to participate in common activities such as choir presentation, futsal and sukanneka. Im really glad that CF took part in it, it shows that CF is not just another closed society but a society tat plays a role in campus events. I do really hope tat
CF can continue to play a significant role in building up lives within and outside USMKK. I was involved in the sukaneka and futsa. In futsal, we drew once and lost twice. Though didnt qualify for semifinal, we really had a nice time ‘fellowshiping’. The girls came in to watch our last game and supported us. Wow, how touched! But 1 good news we got, CF won the sukaneka event. Thanks to God

Paediatric Short Case

Today I had my Paediatric Posting short case exam. I got a case of a child with severe cyanosis, and polycythamic. Clinical findings was fingers and toes clubbing, peripheral cyanosis, red conjunctiva suggestive of polycythaemia. On auscultation of the chest, I only found loud P2. There was no murmur, and no signs of heart failure. My initial diagnosis was pulmonary atresia, that was a bad step! I shouldnt have said that, the doctor asked me questions on pulmonary atresia and I couldnt answer. The she go on asking me questions on cyanotic heart diseases which I manage to answer some. But finally I came to a diagnosis of complex cyanotic heart disease.

Tomorrow I gonna have my MEQ exam at 4pm at Paediatric department. My supervisor wants to see me at 2pm tomorrow, I wonder is he gonna ‘hantam’ me as he usually does. This posting has really been stressful for me. With me being the group leader, so much responsibilities, sometimes when I make little mistakes, I got terrible ‘hantaming’ by the lecturers.

Just recently I almost quarrel with one of my groupmates over some clinical session. We wanted that particular lecturer cuz he haven taught us before during posting, but this guy insisted on having him instead. When I insisted on having that lecturer, he show me a sour face. Then after tat I decided to give in, I let him have that lecturer. That particular night, I was so frustrated and irritated. But now I decided to put this behind me, and look forward. Anyway I already to accept everyone in my group regardless of who they are. I have to keep on reminding myself, tat Im a christian, and should learn to be gracious to ppl.

Today i played badminton with a 1st yr medic gal. She is a thin and tall sweet gal from nurani. We knew each other for bout a month and I enjoy her company. Many time we met and talk, but rumours about us are spreading like hot goreng pisang! Many ppl are asking her wat is her relation with me. Fortunately she edi has a bf, otherwise ppl will be thinking that Im dating her. Gossips bout me in campus is not something uncommon. But im not worried, one day they get tired, they wil stop gossiping edi.

Tomorrow got CF, I wonder whether shud I go o not? Really feel malas wanna go…

CF Welcoming Night…

CF welcoming nite was over bout 2 hours ago. Year in, year out, they organize this specially for the 1st years beginning of the semester. I edi cant remember the previous CF welcoming nite, so much events and memories.

Every year I see new students, and for the past 3 years, I was among the first few seniors who see the first years as they stepped in USMKK. (What to do, Im PPMS ma…) I see them coming with hopes, dreams, inspirations. But as the years go on, as I see some of them grow older and more matured, changes happens. People gets less excited bout campus life, less excited bout studies, less excited bout CF, etc etc. We dont blame them, maybe they have found other purposes in campus. Even me myself, sometimes lost motivation in CF events. Old edi gua…

But I know clearly, seniors have to set a good example for juniors to follow. And its through this CF events that we get to relate to the juniors, show to them what campus life is all about. How they can find God in this stressful and lifeless place, is through our sharing to them. Only when we learn to sacrifice, then they will learn to do the same to the younger ones, and the cycle goes on. There may be times we fail, but as long we gets up, and put our focus on God, the fruits will come.

Last friday, during the Cell leaders meeting, I ‘hantam’ all other Cell leaders. I told them, if you all just become Cell leaders for 1 year and then quit, you all are gonna bring more harm and good to your members. It was actually the previous Cell leaders who quitted after just 1 year of serving, but I was reminding this new Cell leaders, that if they follow the footsteps of those Cell leaders who quit after 1 year, the members are the ones who will find it difficult to cope with new Cell groups. And because of this problem, CG members are owiz changing every year.

Its not that I purposely wanna ‘hantam’ them but this problem of Cell leaders quitting has been a chronic one. I felt the need to voice this out and solve it once and for all. But, anyway, I really thank God that this year will be my last year serving as Cell leaders. Even after graduate, I will not be a Cell leader in church for some time. Really ‘traumatised’ edi…

Anyway, back to CF welcoming nite… I really had a nice time playing those childish games, as if im back in 1st year… But some juniors were like saying I look too serious during the nite. But sadly, the pretty murni girl did not come…

News from Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

I have been in NICU for bout 2 days. Its really terrible and saddening to see those newborns admitted to NICU. Some of them are jaundiced, some with breathing difficulties, some with Down syndrome and even some with congenital heart disease in failure. Some of them got ill due to maternal problem but some just got it without any reasons. Imagine you are a parent who just got a child and suddenly the doctor who delivered your child suspect your child to be Down syndrome. How do you feel? It really an agony to hear that, just like the world is crushing on you.

Today while oncall, I got to meet parents of a newborn in NICU. It was their first child, and the child was infected with multiple organism, both fungal and bacteria. The doctors suspected it to be immune deficiency and started the newborn on multiple antibiotics to cover fungal, gram positive and gram negative bacteria. The father seems to be in distress, asking me questions bout his child. But im doesnt really know the child and its problems, although the child seems stable currently. Then the father went on saying that some parents just throw their child away after giving birth but he and his wife has been trying hard to get a child. And when they finally got a child, it was not without problems…

I guess that’s how the world functions. Things that are easily obtained are owiz being unappreciated…

Recently Im beginning to accept those selfish kiasu coursemates of mine. My dad once said to me, these people are non-christians, many things they dun know and dun understand, we should pray for them. These kiasu ppl, I cant change their behavior, being upset over them is not going to do any better either… So now Im learning and trying to accept them as they are, hoping that one day they will realise wat they have been doing…

Neonatal Examination

These are the few tips I learned today on neonatal examination…

1. Firstly we look at the child’s general appearance. See whether the child is in respiratory distress, discomfort, pain. Also we should observe the patient’s posture and movements. (For us to do this, the baby needs to be fully undressed)

2. Find out the patient’s gestational age. If we suspect the patient’s is a pre-term baby, use the Ballard score to assess his/her gestational age. (I will share on Ballard score later…). Also we should not forget to measure his/her birthweight, length and head circumference and plot the growth chart. Take note if the patient’s birthweight/ length or head circumference is below 5th percentile or above 95th percentile.

3. Palpate both anterior and posterior fontanelle. Feel whether is it tense or not. A tense fontanelle when the baby is not crying may be due to raised intracranial pressure and cranial ultrasound should be performed to check for hydrocephalus. Also we should palpate the sutures. The sagittal suture is often separated and the coronal suture may be overriding.

4. Observe the face. Look for any syndromic facies such as flat occiput, flat nasal bridge, hypertelorism, low set ears, unslanting of palpebral brigde, cleft lips, increase intercanthal distance, small jaw. etc etc. This features could indicate Down, Edward, Patau or Turner syndrome.

5. Also look at the face for any plethoric, cyanosis, jaundice or paleness. If yes, check the haematocrit to identify polycythaemia or anaemia. Central cyanosis is best seen on tongue. Jaundice within 24 hours of birth requires further evaluation.

6. Examina the eyes, checked for red reflex with an ophthalmoscope (cataracts, retinoblastoma and corneal opacity). Inspect the palate, including posteriorly to exclude posterior cleft palate.

7. Observe patient’s breathing and chest wall movement. Look for any sign of respiratory distress such as subcostal recession and chest wall indrawing. Confirm it by counting the respiratory rate. ascultate the heart for any murmur and count the pulse rate. The normal rate in babies is 110-160 beats/min, but may drop to 85 beats/min during sleep

8. Palpate the abdomen. Feel for any intraabdominal masses which most commonly is renal in origin. The liver normally extends 1-2 cm below the costal margin, the spleen tip may be palpable, as may the left kidney.

9. Inspect the genitalia and anus. In boys, look for presence of testis in scrotum. In girls, look for labia majora and labia minora. You should be able to differentiate between the two. Also look for any fistula or discharges.

10. Palpate for femoral pulses. Femoral pulses is reduced in case of coarcation of the aorta. This can be confirmed by measuring the blood pressure in the arms and legs. Femoral pulses is increased in case of patent ductus arteriosus.

11. Assess the muscle tone by observing limb movements and on sitting the baby while supporting the head. Most babies will support the head briefly when the trunk is held vertically.

12. Whole of back and spine is observed looking for any midline defects of the skin

13. The hips are checked for development dysplasia of the hips (DDH). This is left last as the procedure is uncomfortable.

PPMS Photos