And everything happens for a reason. GOOD REASON, that is!

Imagine this. I'm working as a clinical pharmacist at Hospital X.

One day, there is a chronic smoker with chronic obstructive airway disease coming to the hospital, complaining of fatigue and weakness. The doctor diagnosed him with hypertension of 140/90 mmhg and his heart beat reads 110 b/m. The smoker had been given Salbutamol and also Furosemide before. But now, just after the diagnosis, the doctor then decided to prescribe him with  Metoprolol for the treatment of Hypertension.

What if I, the pharmacist just agreed with the doctor's decision?

What if I just carried on, giving the patient Metoprolol without any awareness of the side effects that might occur?

Even after I've graduated from IIUM with a Bachelor of Pharmacy, even after I had my clinical practices for two years, what if I still think that Metoprolol could be given to Asthmatic patients because it is a Beta One selective antihypertensive and thus it does not block Beta Two receptors at the bronchial smooth muscle? That it will not give any effect of bronchoconstriction at all??? 

I think Allah had just saved me from committing even severe mistakes in the future. The mistakes that involve humans' lives. The mistakes that might make my patients died because of my own ignorance and carelessness! *shudder*. Mistakes like this! *deskpalm*. 

It's okay to commit mistakes now. At least you learn. That is the true value of knowledge. You could still gain knowledge from your mistakes IF ONLY you learn from your mistakes. Yup!

So, Alhamdulillah. Thank you Allah! In the future, if I encounter such patient, I'll offer another alternative, which is ACE Inhibitors! Please let the doctors be competent enough as well! :P

With that, may peace be upon you! 

EDIT: Some of my friends are still debating about this. Among the significant answers: METOPROLOL could be given to Asthmatic patients but their conditions need to be monitored. Okay, gonna ask Prof Tariq for the answers pronto! This is a matter of life and death! *gasp*

From Last Week...

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

In the name of Allah the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful.

Last weekend, I had taken the opportunity to get involved in the English Reading Programme (ERP) as a facilitator.

Actually, it was a requirement for the section 3 students to handle it. I'm not from Section 3 but yes, I volunteered because I have nothing else to do on that day (HAHA) and I thought 'Teaching students how to read/ English huh? Why not?' Besides, I love teaching small kids. In fact, I had a very memorable experience of teaching Primary schoolers English for 1 month (everyday!) when I was sixteen and definitely, it was very rewarding when the mother of the kid thanked me, saying her son seemed to have taken some interest in learning English to a greater degree, and that her son said 'Kak Sarah best!' LOL. I don't clamour for the praises and compliments, seriously. I feel that it is my job, our job, to give even a bit of benefit to people who need it. Yeah, jadilah orang yang bermanfaat.

Why do I love teaching small kids? Because they're still not conformed to the typical Malay society where shyness and the feeling of inferiority clouded their hidden sense of confidence and curiosity. Kids are curious, the nearest example would be my littlest brother, Haziq who is only 8. He loves asking all sorts of questions, some of them mind-wrecking, some of the really funny. Haha. Of course, I'd try my best to answer all of his questions. I wanted him to keep asking for more, I don't want to diminish his confidence by saying 'Haziq ni banyak tanya lah! Diam lah!'. Yes, it is probably one of the reasons of most Malay students developed a low confidence level.  I don't know. It's just my theory.

Okay, moving on! This time, let the pictures do the talking. Yes, PICTURES!!! :D

Madam Hayati briefing the students. She reminds me of my mom. LOL

The group of kids from kindergarten to Standard 6? I guess. 

Yang hujung dua orang tu bukan Standard 6. 

Zimah and Fatin handling the games

My other group. I was involved with two groups, the first one- kids from 6-12 years old and yes..this second group, Form 1 students. Seriously, mereka sangat malu, especially the girls! Most probably because of the presence of those guys there. Normal la tu. 

Actually, there are lots of pictures. Ni je yang termampu untuk upload. Muahaha. You get the gist la kan?

Overall, I am very happy, really satisfied! Eh, no, not that satisfied, upon seeing their level of speaking in English, with their confidence level. 

My friend Najwa said 'Mula-mula nak kena handle program ni rasa macam terpaksa. Tapi bila dah buat rasa macam tak puas hati. Simple words pun diorang tak tahu'.

Yes, she's right! But that was the least that we could do, passing even a tiny bit of knowledge that we possess to the people who need it. It's one of 'amalan anak adam' yang takkan terputus walaupun kita meninggal dunia.

I stressed on the importance of reading to them. Reading is very very important. If you love reading so much, trust me, you can survive in this world. Why is that so? Through reading, you could gain knowledge! And having that particular knowledge is even more important and beneficial than having a degree. Just watch 3 Idiots la (though that Amiir Khan was not portrayed as somebody who loves reading, LOL).

Oh yes, just had our batch's 2nd Annual Grand Dinner last night. It was awesome, seriously! To think that stick through thick and thins with your comrades for 2 years, and there's another TWO YEARS left. Sedih, kan? The dinner was held at the Megaview Hotel. The foods, not bad la. :D

Everyone of us who attended the dinner received our own distinctive award. LOL.

Look what I've got:

LOL! It shows that I'm a true Star Wars fan! Muahahaha. 

There's a cactus in the bag! =) I hope this cactus will live for a very long time, so that when I look at it in the old times, I'd remember the great time I had during my undergraduate years :') 

Till then, au revoir! 

One Day

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful.

Early Twenties

'That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it and think how different its course would have been. Pause, you who read this, and think for a long moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on that memorable day.' 

                                                                                 Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Late Twenties

'We spent as much money as we could and got as little for it as people could make up their minds to give us. We were always more or less miserable, and most of our acquaintance were in the same condition. There was a gay fiction among us that we were constantly enjoying ourselves, and a skeleton truth that we never did. To the best of my belief, our case was in the last aspect a rather common one.' 

                                                                                  Charles Dickens, Great Expectations 

Early Thirties

'Sometimes you are aware when your great moments are happening, and sometimes they rise from the past. Perhaps it's the same with people.'

                                                                               James Salter, Burning the Days

The Day 

'She philosophically noted dates as they came past in the revolution of the year;...her own birthday; and every other day individualized by incidents in which she had taken some share. She suddenly thought one afternoon, when looking in the glass at her fairness, that there was yet another date, of greater importance to her than those; that of her own death, when all these charms would have disappeared; a day which lay sly and unseen among all the other days of the year, giving no sign or sound when she annually passed over it, but not the less surely there. When was it?'

                                                                         Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Ubervilles  

 All these quotes were taken from a very memorable book.

"A totally brilliant book" indeed! It focuses on the platonic relationship between two people who never knew that they actually love each other for the past twenty years. Typical? Yes.

Actually, it's more than that. It's a story about dreams.

In the early twenties and late twenties, you had so many vibrant dreams and wishful thinkings of how terrific the future would be. To think that you could have total control of shaping events the way you like it. That you have the means and power to do what you want. But as years went by, you got older, there are people who came and go, you're occupied with a life entirely different than what you have dreamed before. The good old youthful days filled with zeal, passion and determination are now forgotten. Dreams remain as dreams. Without you realising it, there is now a strand of grey hair amidst the once raven black. The fine wrinkle that began to take its form, permanently residing on your guise. You're old now. The time of which you'll be called upon by Allah to meet Him is imminent. Anytime now. Anywhere. To think that you spent oh-so-many years on this Earth without actually doing anything.

I love this book. I'm going to read it again. My heart aches for these two people on how things do not turn out as they planned them to be.

The title of the forum is  'In 10 years time, who should we be?'

My answer: ' We should be someone who is beneficial to others. It doesn't matter how small that benefit is'.

'Jadilah orang yang bermanfaat, tak kira sekecil mana pun manfaat itu'.

And thus, I constantly remind myself  "It's okay Sarah. Allah knows best. You may dislike what is good for you, and like what is bad for you. Allah knows best. Do everything for the sake of Allah.Make use of what you have to help others in need'.

We, the humans, the chosen ones, are appointed as khalifahs by Allah s.w.t, to bring upon prosperity and peace in this world. It saddens me to witness the you-know-what events that currently happen in our Muslim society today. The so-called Muslims who are not abiding and adhering to the rules of Islam. The so-called good and pious Muslims who left their so-called Muslim brothers mentioned above 'to live in so-called kekafiran' due to 'Differences. In.Political.Understanding'.

May Peace be Upon you, my brothers and sisters! :D