Thread by @twt_malaysia

Ok since it's Monday noon (no mood to work), I'll start off with my first cerita, an experience which I hold very dear to my heart.

I would like to share with u the time of the East Coast floods in 2014, specifically in Kelantan.

*ini thread (always wanted to say that 😂)

Most of u will remember the EC '14 floods as 1 of the worst. 200,000 ppl were affected, 21 deaths & the effects are still seen today.

Early Dec '14, I was transferred back to Selangor after a year in N9 serving in primary health & placed in the Nephrology Department in H Serdang

News of the flood came suddenly & situation was worse than many expected. Being in Nephrology (kidney subspeciality), the concern is where do all the kidney failure patients in Kelantan go for their dialysis, as many centres were damaged by the floods. Cant operate at all.

It was decided that TUDM will fly a some of these patients out of K'tan to KL, specifically 2 hospitals, HKL and H Serdang (HSDG) to accommodate dialysis.

My dept received another request apart from arranging dialysis slots & temporary accommodation.

2nd request was to send 3 nephrology trained MOs to HUSM to help setting up a temporary dialysis centre. 3 of my more experienced colleagues were chosen but I volunteered to be put on standby. Actually I never thought I will be called to go, as I was only 2 weeks old in the dept.

So the night before those 3 MOs were prepped to go, 1 dropped out. Nobody else volunteered so I was asked if I still want to go, at around 10pm. I was having cake with my wife. Btw, this was Dec 30th, 2 days before NY 2015.

I said yes, to the amusement of my bosses.

Bear in mind, Nephrology is a dept with a very steep learning curve, I have not even begun to understand 5% of the specialty. But I thought, if nobody volunteered, I should go & help, even if it's just to lift boxes (which I did anyway over there 😂)

So next day I found myself reporting to fly to K'tan with my 2 colleagues & others from KKM, ranging from nurses to paramedics to doctors of various speciality (psychiatry were the notable ones)

Things didnt start off well actually. Apparently my name wasnt submitted to KKM & nobody knew. Therefore, I didnt have a plane ticket. I told them I will wait till it get sorted, or buy my own ticket. But I will go.

I was told to wait. I waited till 6pm.

Things were a bit chaotic & eventually around 7pm, me & another MO (the rest left in a noon flight) were told to go to a TUDM base, to fly to K'tan by a chopper!

TBH, I was a bit excited 😂

Unfortunately, we got there & was told the chopper left. What? No idea what was happening.

After some waiting again, finally, we secured a flight out at 9.10pm, Dec 31, while everyone preparing to go for a NYE party 😂

Time to lift some boxes.

I reach my accommodation near midnight, which was a boarding school nearby HUSM, I cant remember the name. Anybody? Corridor looks like this.

By now I was dead tired, I just wanted to bath and sleep.

Next day, I reported to HUSM, under Prof Azreen of the Nephrology Dept. I saw the work needed to be done & I got a bit worried.

Again, I was a very fresh nephrology MO. I was used to working in the A&E & primary healthcare, Nephro was a different ballgame.

But I was there, so might as well get to work.

Our first priority was to determine how many centres were down, how many patients are expected to come to HUSM & figure out the best way to accommodate all. Prof Azreen took charge, pretty sure he was stressed out of his head.

We had daily meetings in the bilik gerakan before we start the day to assess the situation. HUSM team was on point w everything, even tho it was chaotic.

We used the old HUSM A&E dept (they shifted to a new building) but there still wasnt enough space for all dialysis machines

So we had to spread out some of the machines around the hospital. Some around ICU, some at the new A&E, some at HDU etc. And everyday one small team will make rounds to these 'satellite' machines & patients.

The main team at the old A&E will receive the bulk of the patients, assess them as they come in to see whether how stable they are & decide on dialysis prescription. There is no 1 size fit all, each patient had to be assessed.

In the end, I think we ran 4 shifts per day, 3 hours dialysis for each patient, hundreds by the day. We worked till 9-10pm on the temporary centre & receive any emergency nephrology patients via the A&E. This is the new HUSM A&E.

Break before next part of the story. Some of u might have fallen asleep at my long my windedness.

But here are some pics of HUSM's nooks and crannies. I enjoyed walking around the hospital.

As more MOs came from all over Malaysia to help, we made a roster & even could get about a day off after 4-5 days of working.

My 1st day off, I decided to follow UPM (they send a busload of med students to volunteer, along with my boss) to the outskirts of Kelantan.

UPM was helping to pack essential items like food & clean water to send to some kampungs. I was there to help oversee the medical supplies & help set up a mobile clinic.

This was the route that day based on my GPS watch. I dont remember the distance but it was far.

To travel to kawasan pedalaman, of course we cant use regular cars.

Our rides were no other than Land Rover Defenders (sounds very cool, and it is, except backside pain sit in it the whole day)

First stop was not a kampung, but Kuala Krai hospital, just to drop supplies. The hosp was just starting to function again.

I dont have many pictures of K.Krai but if u were there, the town was decimated by the floods. Floodwater rose to the roofs & mud was everywhere.

Hospital Kuala Krai is on top of a hill. I took this at the outside warung (still no clean water but I ate anyway because they have Kelantan food 😂) Note: no diarrhoea.

Right below is the dental clinic, IIRC. None of the equipment are salvageable.

After Kuala Krai we continued inwards. The roads grew smaller, floodwater damage was evident everywhere.

Then it got even more treacherous. I held my breath when we crossed this. I wasnt really sure we were going to make it. Pakcik driver selamba je.😅

We stopped by perhaps 3-4 kampungs, depending how bad the roads were & after talking to the ketua kampungs whether they needed extra help or supplies.

Here is 1 balai raya where we decided to set up shop. That's me measuring someone's BP. U cant see, but she was pregnant.

Back in HUSM, things were picking up. Dialysis centres were slowly opening, though not 100% capacity. We slowed down our dialysis sessions, stopping some of the satellite ones around the hospital.

I had another day off, so I decided to help another NGO to scout a kampung, to assess damages & to report back what kind of help (money & supplies) needed. Only have two pictures to show.

All along the roads, kampung folks were picking up with their lives. Floodwater receded mostly but damage was done.

Folks were picking up clothes, furniture, etc from trees and roofs. It looked tough but they seemed relaxed, joyful even as things were looking up.

I was tired most of the time, but HUSM campus is a beautiful place & people were very friendly. They directed me to this 2km loop around the campus. So I went for a few runs. Most refreshing air I've ever breathed.

But what's Kelantan without its food? Those who know me, know I love nasi kukus and nasi kerabu. 😂

I know this will make people hungry, sorry! But cant help it! 😬

After 12 days, we left with a heavy heart. Kelantan, though in 1 of their worst disasters, have been fantastic. HUSM team was incredible to pull this off in such a short time. They worked night and day, all for their patients.

But the best part of Kelantan is the people. They are the most resilient people I've ever encountered. During the whole time, everybody, including patients was friendly and warm. I even managed to learn to kecek Kelate a little.

In a more serious note, EC '14 floods was a watershed moment for nephrology services in the EC.

After that, Prof Azreen presented a protocol for nephrology services during a disaster during the 2015 congress of Malaysian Neprology Society.

For me, it was a humbling experience to see the people of Kelantan overcome this adversity.

I've not been back to Kelatan since, but would definitely try to go back one day. At least to makae nasi Kak Wok 😬

Sekian, cerita saya. Maaf kalau terlalu panjang.

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