To vaccinate or to not vaccinate, that is the question

Last week I brought my lil' bub, Alexa, with me to KL. While walking towards the Arrival Hall in KLIA, we stopped at an ATM kiosk, and (it's weird how a mum's brain tends to notice the strangest thing) nearby, a lady sneezed. I thought to myself, if this lady is carrying any viruses, Alexa could get infected. True enough (although I am not in any way blaming the lady), Alexa developed signs of fever the very next night. Her body temperature rose to 37.4 degrees celsius and we were worried enough to bring her to the doctor the very next morning.
At the doctor's office, we found that she only has a mild fever, and her throat was slightly inflamed (her tonsils were okay). So the doctor prescribed some paracetamol and gave some probiotics for her. We fed Alexa the paracetamol as scheduled (she rejected the probiotics) and gave her as much liquids as she can manage. That night, her temperature soared to above 39 degrees celsius.
The very next day, she started developing a cough. We gave her some honey to help with the cough, but by this time, it was obvious that she was not well. She did not want to speak. All she did all day is sleep (in between bottle feeds) and the only food that we managed to get into her was porridge. We decided to bring her to another doctor the next day. That night, her temperature had also risen to above 39 degrees celsius, she was clearly uncomfortable, she kept tossing and turning (she clearly couldn't sleep) and we tried our level best to make her comfortable.
By this time, it was already day 4 of her fever and day 3 of her cough. We brought her to a specialist this time. The specialist confirmed that she had fever. Body temperature was 39.4 degrees and her tonsils were swollen. The specialist prescribed a new set of meds (along with coughing syrup and antibiotics) and we stopped giving Alexa the previous doctor's medicine. That night, Alexa's temperature had still risen to above 39 degrees celsius (her body temperature seems to increase at night and it stays that way until wee hours of the morning) and because she had to fly back to Kuching with hubs the next day, we decided to hold against giving antibiotics until they were in Kuching (Doc told us to keep the antibiotics in the fridge once it's mixed with water, so we decided we could wait for a day before giving her antibiotics).

Day 5, Alexa still had the fever and cough and by now she had developed a bit of the flu as well. I told hubs that if it continues, perhaps, he could bring Alexa to another doctor the next day. That night, Alexa's body temperature had still risen to above 39 degrees. To be honest, this is the worst fever that Alexa has ever experienced in her whole life.

Day 6, hubs brought Alexa to another doctor (3 doctors in 6 days, I know) and he told Alexa to continue with the meds that the specialist had prescribed. Alexa's body temperature remained at 39 degrees. Alexa was still weak, all she did is sleep and rest all day. At night her body temperature continued to rise and her coughing was getting worst.

Day 7, hubs decided to bring Alexa to the emergency department at Normah Medical Specialist because her condition looked to be quite serious. We had both agreed that if it is necessary, perhaps Alexa is better off being warded in the hospital. The doctor inserted some medicine into her bum to reduce her body temperature and they also used the nebuliser on her. Four doctors in 7 days. Alhamdulillah from this moment onwards her body temperature slowly improved, she was still slightly feverish, but never above 39 degrees celsius.
Day 8, body temperature reduced significantly to 37.4 degrees and she started behaving normally at certain moments during the day. The cough unfortunately was still there.
Day 9, no more signs of fever *hurrah*. Until today (Day 11), it seems she is back to her usual self, body temperature is normal. However, there are still random bouts of coughing but it's not as serious as previously. Inshaa Allah, she will be in tip top condition by Eid.

Now, with the news on Diphtheria in Malaysia (here's a link to the news on Diphtheria), you must be wondering, is Alexa vaccinated?

Yes, she is. However, the child specialist (the 2nd doctor that we visited) pointed out that we forgot to give her the 18 months vaccine. In our defence, we actually did go to the doctor for the vaccine but at that time, it was out of stock and we eventually forgot to follow up with the doctor.

Second question, was it Diphtheria?

No, it was not. She did not have any signs of thick gray membrane covering her throat and tonsils and she also did not have any difficulty in breathing. Do take note that other than for that one vaccination that we forgot, Alexa has received all her vaccinations in full as recommended by the health ministry.
And if it was, Alexa would definitely had been warded (and be part of the statistics). And that was the motivation behind seeing all those doctors. You might think that it is a waste to see a doctor every two days but for us, firstly, for several days, her body temperature had actually risen to 39.4 degrees. And Diphtheria symptoms usually show 2 - 7 days after you've been infected. Although she has been vaccinated, we wanted to confirm that it was not Diphtheria (hence the different doctor visits just to make sure that we had a second, third and fourth opinion) and secondly, we also wanted to be sure that she did not need to be warded.

To this day, when I think about her condition and what she had been through, a thought goes through my mind:

If she wasn't vaccinated, could it have been Diphtheria?

In all honesty, I don't know. But one thing I do know, I don't want her to have it.

So lately there's been a lot of discussion going back and forth between pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine parents. To all parents, I respect your choice, either to vaccinated or not-vaccinate your children. I am sure you have a good reason for it. And your reasons may be justified by valid claims. However, I would like to highlight one thing:

It was so easy for Alexa to get caught with this fever and cough. Admittedly it could be due to the fact that Alexa travels a bit more than other toddlers her age. But then again, don't you think your child interacts with a lot of people throughout the day? Some may justify that their kids are homeschooled and they stay indoors all day long. But is that healthy (staying indoors all day) and the right thing for a child's development? Your child will be in contact with different people and especially for kids who are in daycare/ kindergarten, there's a lot more interaction involved.

I believe that all parents are pro-life. That's why you decided to have children in the first place. But would you be willing to risk that life? You may be able to control the food that they eat, the environment that they are in when they are at home, but you are unable to control all other various factors such as the people that they come in contact with and the environment outside your home.

This reminds me of a beautiful hadith by the Prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h. which was reported by Anas ibn Malik,

"A man said, "O Messenger of Allah, should I tie my camel and trust in Allah, or should I untie her and trust in Allah?" The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him said, "Tie her and trust in Allah."

If we were to follow that hadith, it could be adapted to the current situation as, vaccinate your children, and put your trust in Allah.


xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Fashionista's Escapades: Climbing Bukit Gasing

So two days ago we decided to take advantage of all the free time that we have now that the exams are over to roam about in the city and try to experience the different things that the city (Kuala Lumpur - Petaling Jaya area) has to offer. And we had so much fun climbing Broga the other day (you can read about Broga [here]) that we decided to try and climb another hill this time, one that is definitely closer to the university, Bukit Gasing. 

Bukit Gasing is located at Jalan Gasing, and I am not that well versed with the roads in Petaling Jaya to show you how to get there but here's a blog that has the directions on how to get there (click [here]).

Here's a photoblog of the trip:

Map of Bukit Gasing at the front of the entrance.

The hikers representing their various countries (in alphabetical order): Brunei, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Singapore. 

And the hike begins!

We walked on a paved road for about 50 meters.

Some obstacles along the way.

The hiking part (i.e. climbing up) was maybe about 200 - 300 meters.

The reason for the hike starting at 10 am is because unlike Broga, Bukit Gasing is very shady, thus the hot sun will not affect your hike as much.

After about 40 minutes, we reached the top =). There's several hiking paths that you can take at Bukit Gasing and one of them is to the telecommunications tower.

There's a wide clearing on top of Bukit Gasing, where the telecommunications tower is located.

The view from the top. As always, this is my favourite part of any hike =).

10 minutes later, we started to descend down the hill. 

At some point, we decided to try and reach the watchtower, which is at another part of the hill.

The path is slightly different from our first path to the telecommunications tower. This one had more steps (i.e. proper stairs).

The route to the watchtower is definitely shorter than the one leading to the telecommunications tower. I'd say that the hiking part for the watchtower is perhaps only about 150 meters. Although I must admit this climb is harder for me because I think my energy levels were low after the first climb to the telecommunications tower.

The view from the top =).

We were able to see the telecommunications tower clearly from here.

The watchtower is quite dilapidated so it's definitely not advisable to try going up the watchtower.

It's always feels good to reach the top.

Along the way, you might find some ferns.

And a small stream.

And some spiky palm trees.

Forest flower and insects.

So nope, we did not take the watchtower back with us =).

So we completed the hike to the two hill tops (i.e. the telecommunications tower and the watch tower) in about 1 hour and 40 minutes. Alhamdulillah!

Now, the question is, should you try Bukit Gasing?

I'd definitely recommend Bukit Gasing to nature enthusiasts and hikers and even those who'd just like some quiet time outside the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur. The hike is pretty short (definitely shorter than Broga) and the trail is pretty okay (i.e. there's a clear pathway so you definitely know the direction to where you are heading to). And although there are some blogs which had reported on mosquitoes, we didn't find any during our hike, but we did lather some mosquito cream on ourselves before the hike.

Cheers!


xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Fashionista's Escapades: Climbing Broga

So yesterday we took the opportunity of it being a public holiday (it was Deepavali) and went on a hiking trip to Broga. Truth be told, I was quite apprehensive about the trip up until the last minute. We were scheduled to leave for Broga at 4 am and at 3 am I was texting Azima on whether we should go and that it would be dark during the climb up the hill and whether the environment would be safe for us (I mean, it is a jungle and there would be animals roaming around). Azima managed to calm my fears and we went off to Broga and this is how it went:

Broga is located in Semenyih, roughly about almost an hour away from KL so when you're making plans for climbing, do take note of the traveling time that is required. There's a parking fee of RM2 charged and there'll be parking attendants showing you where to park which is great because it will allow the cars to be parked properly and you can easily leave the area quickly after you're done with your climb.

The path is on an earth trail which gets muddy if it rains, so do check the weather forecast before you leave for Broga because if it rains, the trails can be slippery and quite treacherous. Please don't climb when it's raining, or if it starts to rain when you're already halfway up, I would actually recommend for you to stop climbing and start your descent instead.

Breaking dawn over Broga.

Most people would start climbing at 5 am, and when we got there at 5.10 am, there were already quite a number of cars parked in the parking lot. Do bring a torchlight to light your path, there's no streetlights to aid your climb and whatever light that the stars and the moon beamed on us was definitely not enough to light the way. And yes, the handphone torchlight would be enough to light your way. Do also bring a small towel or some wet wipes, you will get sweaty and slightly muddy along the way. A small bottle of water is necessary and maybe some dry biscuits would be enough to tide you over if you're hungry.

The trail. This would most probably be a 30 degree incline (or decline, depending on how you look at it).

In terms of the trail, most of the time it was roughly a 20 degrees incline but there are some parts where the incline was 45 - 50 degrees so that can be quite daunting, especially for first time climbers. Don't worry, there are ropes to help the climbers along the way, especially when the terrain got a little bit steep and be mindful of your step, as you might slip and stumble if you aren't careful. The whole climb took perhaps about an hour and a half for us and if you're fit, it would most probably take you about an hour. We actually stopped many times along the way to catch our breath and to me that made all the difference, I was able to enjoy the whole climbing experience in a more relaxing manner.

The first two peaks.

There are three peaks, the distance between the first peak to the next is about 10 minutes walk and similarly the distance from the second peak to the third is also about 10 minutes walk. The first two peaks are flatter in nature and offers a great 360 degree view of the town and its surrounding areas below while the third peak is covered by some trees and huge boulders. However, once you get on top of the boulder, it definitely offered a better view than the first two peaks.

Climbing down from the third peak. The first peak is at the far end and the second peak is in the middle.

Do bear in mind that there will be a lot of people on the hill. I expect perhaps roughly 50 - 100 people were on the first two peaks while the third peak looked like there were perhaps 40 over people. So it will be crowded (especially during the weekend and public holidays) so if you don't like the crowd, come during the weekdays. Personally for me, I prefer having a huge crowd around me simply because I am a novice climber and there's safety in numbers.

As we were climbing down, there was still a large crowd making their way up so if you prefer, you can always pray fajr first and then climb up the hill. 

If you're wondering about fajr prayers, most people actually prayed fajr at the peaks so just bring your praying mats (or whatever material that's comfortable for you) for prayer. Some groups even prayed jamaah together so there's absolutely no worry of you missing out on your prayers.

Me, Azima, Lin, Ariff and G with the wonderful bright early morning sun ray behind us. Blessed, Alhamdulillah. 

And for parents, if you're wondering whether you should bring your kids along, just so you know, some parents brought kids in their carrier (hint: kids would be below 3 years old) and kids older than that were climbing their hearts out. I do believe this would be a good activity for kids and it would definitely teach them about perseverance, hard work and enjoy getting themselves dirty.

Broga. 1312 feet or 400 meters above sea level.

Waiting for sunrise. 

The sun peeking from the horizon.

This shot was taken from the first peak at 7.30 am while we were climbing down. 

I would definitely recommend the climb for most people, the view is breathtaking and the climb is absolutely worth it. I loved the whole climbing experience and would not mind another climbing trip, inshaa Allah.


xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Thank You to the Medical Staff at Sarawak General Hospital

Last Saturday, my mother-in-law suffered a heart attack. She had suffered a few complications a few months earlier arising from various factors such as a weak heart and diabetes and this caused her to be on medication and regular check-ups with the hospital. 

My view whenever I am with her. 

Am extremely thankful to all the medical staff of Sarawak General Hospital.

She has yet to recover from the heart attack and the past week have seen me flying back to Kuching and helping out the family with taking care for her at the hospital. Usually our shift would entail us (me and hubs) to take over the graveyard shift as hubs has to work during the day and he's only able to be at the hospital after office hours. During my stay with her, I have seen the staff of the Sarawak General Hospital doing their work with the highest level of efficiency and courtesy. Despite working until wee hours in the morning (usually I'd be awake from 9 or 10 pm until 3 - 4 am in the morning to make way for hubs to sleep so that he'd be able to work the next day) and even then the medical staff have been very attentive and professional in conducting their work. Despite my mom-in-law being unconscious, they always greeted her before doing their work on her (from changing the sheets to checking up on her vitals and feeding her). They would always tell her before hand what they will be doing to her and warning her beforehand that it might hurt a little (this is especially true when they are changing her tubes, taking blood sample for tests etc). 

So this is our thanks to the doctors and medical staff at Level 8, Ladies Ward, Sarawak General Hospital. Thank you for being so attentive to our mom, thank you for your proficiency, efficiency and all the help that you have provided and may Allah repay your deeds with the best of rewards. 

My mom in law still has a long way to go in terms of recovery but thank you for making her recovery as comfortable as you can. May Allah grant her the best in this dunya and the hereafter. Ameen. 

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

tHe Spring's Live Active Run: The Marathon

Remember my previous post on signing up for a 10km marathon? Well, lo and behold, the much-anticipated day have arrived and I am finally confronted by the possibility of me being able (or perhaps not) complete my first ever marathon.

Well, it's not exactly my first ever marathon, I have previously participated in a marathon, but that was ages ago (and I never did complete THAT marathon) so I'm claiming this as my first real effort at joining a marathon.

First up, collection of marathon gear and what-nots on the 8th of June from tHe Spring. 

What we got: vouchers from various outlets, a marathon jersey (which is sponsored from tHe Spring, Conneli and Mitsubishi), a can of 100 Plus drink, a sample from Crabtree & Evelyn, our marathon bib (with a GPS tracker attached to it) and the runner's guide book, all packed in a red woven bag.

17th July 2012, 6.30 am:

Here's hubs getting ready for the marathon. Our marathon starts at 7 am so we have to be there (at the VIP carpark) by 6.30 am for the warm up session. 

Here's me. I did try to go to the gym daily prior to the marathon but I never did manage to lose my weight *dramatic sigh*.

Here's the crowd. Actually there's more but the 21 km marathon crowd had already left by 6.30 am (if I'm not mistaken) so what's left is the 10 km and 5 km crowd. By 7 am the VIP parking lot was actually filled with people.

And here's the route: 

Photo courtesy of tHe Spring's website.

We had to start from tHe Spring, then up Jalan Tun Razak (formerly called Kuching by-pass road) to Jalan Foochow, passing by Jalan Sekama to Jalan Padungan, finally up the hill at Reservoir park then off to Jalan Bampfylde to Jalan Batu Lintang ending at tHe Spring. In my whole life, I'd never expect that I can run/ jog/ walk from tHe Spring to Riverside Majestic and back, but that is what I did. It was only when I was on the road (trying to run/ jog/ walk at the same time) that the reality hit me. 

So, the question is, did I finish?

Well, to qualify for a medal, we had to finish by 9 am (which is a 2-hour window period, meaning roughly an average of 5 km per hour). Hubs completed his run by 1 hour and 30 mins (which is no big deal for him as his average jogging distance is 6 km). For me, I completed by route by 1 hour 48 minutes. Hurrah!! Surprising for someone who's never run a 10 km marathon before. Heh *sheepish grin*.

This is the SEB (Sarawak Energy Berhad, formerly known as SESCO) team. Actually there's more but they're too busy chit-chatting so they didn't make it for the group pose. And for the gray t-shirt, top 50 marathon runners of any category gets to win a gray shirt. What a nice way of showing off, right? Heh heh..

Someone's certainly happy to get a medal =). 

Here's me at the finishing line with my medal and red face (a side effect of running a 10 km marathon in the early morning sun). 

Truth be told, I'd never thought I'd complete the marathon. I've never been a runner. What more to say complete the marathon within the time frame of 2 hours. But I did anyway (am doing jumping jacks of absolute joy and satisfaction as I'm typing this) and I think there's a possibility of another marathon in the future. 

I heard there's another marathon on the 7th July organized by Sarawak Marathon Association. It's a night run actually. So, what do you think, peeps?

To a more healthier lifestyle (I hope). 

xoxo Mrs Fashionista xoxo

tHe Spring Live Active Run

I have officially registered for my first marathon.

Well, not exactly my first as I did sign up many, many moons ago for a marathon when I was a teen. Since then, age, bad eating habits and an unhealthy lifestyle have caught up with me and I have become the victim of obesity. Although my level of obesity is not so severe, but obese it is. So, to combat weight gain and take control of my health, I have decided to participate in a marathon. A 10 km marathon. Like, seriously, a 10 km marathon.

No, I am not kidding.

Oh, this is the advert by tHe Spring:

There are a few categories that runners can choose from, depending on your age and sex. And there's even fun runs for kids. And just in case if anyone of you out there would like to follow suit, for more details click [here].

So, I have about 2 months to prepare for a 10 km run (I really can't believe that I'm doing this, but I'm sticking to it), so let's do this. One thing for sure, I will blog about my run soon.

To better health and more marathons (I hope).


xoxo Mrs Fashionista xoxo

How strong are you?

Me and my fiance got our bones checked when we went to the mall last weekend. Apparently there was an Anlene free bone check-up and being concerned that citizens that we are (he's in his thirties and my big 3-0 will be coming soon) we decided to check it out.

We had to fill in some forms (you know, asking nasty stuff like our milk drinking habits and such), I never knew these Anlene people to be such nosies but despite that , we happily complied to answering, yes, we do drink milk and yes, it's anlene and some more non-sensical questions.

Then we had to sit on a chair then put our feet in a thingamajig and then he (the Anlene guy) sprayed something cold (I'm guessing disinfectant) onto my feet. Or may it's something to prevent smelly feet leaving their unwanted odour on the machine (you never know, right?).

Oops, that's my feet there.

Raden lookin' cheerful. Little did he know that he's gonna get a shocker!

So after the checkup, the Anlene team filled in our forms and told us whether our bones are healthy or not. And I got 2.8 while Raden got a -0.3. So, yeay! me and boo! Raden. Mine was off the charts (in a positive way) while Raden's (although slightly on the negative side) is still considered healthy. (Psst: he thinks the machine's faulty, by the way).

So this is my marks. Ain't my bones just peachy?

I've always thought my bones are kinda frail. You know, with my improper diet (I do snack on the occasional Pringles or Mr Potato once in a while and the amount of greens that I eat are just plain pathetic).

Then we were given some free samples of Anlene (I think this is to appease Raden from his shock of knowing that his bones are not as strong as he thought). Well, anyways, I'm sticking to my calcium from now on. I certainly don't want to grow into some old geezer with a bad back *yikes*.


Cheerio peeps! Lets make a promise to take care of our body better, shall we?




xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo