Last Office

Around late evening, AZ told me one of his patient passed away. Under the guidance of a Sister (in case some of the Peeps do not know who's Sister, it is what we call a nurse who holds a high rank or position in the ward.), AZ and I removed all the medical equipment that are attached to the deceased. After that the two of us were told to get the sponging trolley, shroud, apron, gloves and the necessary documents.

And thus, my 1st Last Office begins.

We begin by removing the decease's pajamas and clean his body. Thereafter, we help to dress him up in his own clothes. During the procedure, we still speak to the deceased. We ask him to help us to turn him, put on the sleeves, etc as hearing is the last time to go. Although he had passed away, we will still respect the dead. After dressing him, we cover him with a white shroud. After his family had view him for the last time, we then cover his face. A blue tag is attached to the shroud and all we have to do now is wait for the Peeps from the mortuary to can collect the deceased.

Mortality

Throughout the whole procedure, rigor mortis (stiffening of the whole body) did not set in and the body is still warm. Thus it is like helping a sleeping patient to change clothes. The two staff that were with me did not show any emotions. I understand that it had been a routine to them. But what surprises me is that I too did not feel any fear or anxiety. Maybe I feel (or the lack of) this way because it is not the first time I handle this kinda things. I've heard from my friends that some feels very scared, one even quit nursing after doing the procedure.

Facing death is part and parcel of the Nursing profession. I believe that nurses should learn not to get too emotional when handling deaths. By doing so, we can ensure every possible things that can be done by us are done properly for the deceased and their families. On other hand, One should not get too comfortable with deaths as well.

New posting, new enviroment.

It's been three days in the Oncology ward and I'm still getting use to the environment. The layout is quite different from other ward I've been to. I had a tough time finding the stuff I want. Like what AZ said,'It's like TV Mobile; It's everywhere!' However, things are not so bad as I have a cute year 1 student in the same room as me. Now I'm looking forward to go to work everyday.

Hahaha...

If you receive a letter from Odex.....

After reading one of the entry in DarkMirage's Blog, I've decided to post part of his article here.

"Odex does not have a foolproof case in court.

There is little precedence to work with, but there are many holes in their argument. The only evidence they have of your infringement is the IP address, which may not be enough. Various people have also reported that they were turned away when they went to talk to Odex with a lawyer, which is an indication that Odex is uncertain about the validity of its claims. At least one person was advised by his lawyer to ignore the letter and delete all the things he downloaded. So far Odex has not taken any actions against him. If more people refuse to pay up, Odex may be forced to either sue someone to make an example of him or to give up on this whole endeavour. If they do sue, there is no guarantee of victory and it is very hard to guess how much damages the court will award even if they win. It may even be less than $3,000-$5,000.

You are not guilty until proven so in court.
You are not obligated to show anything to Odex just because they send you a letter. You do not have to admit to anything and you should not incriminate yourself. Ask them for all the evidence they have against you. Ask them to explain clearly how each piece of evidence proves their claims. Ask them for a breakdown of the payment and why the amount varies from person to person, especially since they claim that it is supposed to be for the fees they have incurred. Do not sign anything. Seek legal advice if possible."

Thanks to DarkMirage, I think we have some knowledge of the things we can do if we receive the so called "love letter" from Odex.

SG Anime War: ODEX VS Otakus in Singapore

For those who are still not aware of the situation, here's what happened in a nutshell:

Comic strip by NCH85

This is my knowledge of the situation:

Odex, a Singaporean Anime distributor company Thus issuing out letters to alleged copyright infringer demanding minimum of $3000 for compensation. As a result, it causes an outcry from local anime community.

Odex claims that their sales dropped dramatically due to illegal anime downloading. However, part of the sale decline is the poor quality of the product compared to the downloaded version. Some of the local Otakus claims that the titles that Odex produces do not cater to local anime community. Further claims include inaccurate subtitling, lack of features DVDs and poor video quality.

Here are some Anti-Odex website which can provide you more infomation:

Xedo Defense
Odex Revolution

Odex has put up a clarification article on their website.

I only have one thought in my mind right now: Never bite the hands that feed you.

One night in Boat Quay

It's been a long time since I've hang out with my EVCO mates until late night. Pat, Xiu and I met up with Xin after her work. We took some (or rather lots) photos wile we having supper.


Ya, I took some real spastic pictures. It's just some of the many stupid stuff I did in my life.

Hahaha...

我的家就在这里，有很多好吃的东西。。。

Here's a parody of this year's NDP theme song, 'There's no place I'd rather be', by Yes 93.3 FM.



I think this is more 'close to heart' for the local.

After viewing it in YouTube, I found another interesting clips by Dick Lee.



And one thing lead to another...



Hahaha...

CDC attachment

Being attached to CDC had been an eye opening experience for me. Other then having to be familiarized with the different documentation format in TTSH, I had to get use to ward environment and the working pace again.

The buildings at CDC have been there for around 50 years. So there is a kinda relaxing, kampong feel to it. They are also spaced far apart. I guess it built in these way to prevent dieases to spread among the wards.

There are two important lessons I've in CDC.

First, HIV and AIDS do not kills you. It is the other illness you caught after it that gets you. As the patients has very weak immune system, it's very difficult for them to recover from infections. I've nursed a patient that has a very bad infection around his pelvis and buttock area.

Every morning we had to assist our Clinical Instructor (CI) to help change his wound dressing which cover the big wound filled with pus. Although we've learn and seen graphical pictures regarding the infection, it is not enough to get us prepare for this experience. Every time the CI use the cotton wound to clean up the wound, pus will just flows out like water.

The pain is excruciating and he will groan in agony.

Second, never die of that disease. The medication taken by the patients are have many adverse side effect (e.g. depression, hallucination, diarrhea, vomiting, severe skin rashes) and will only slow down the inevitable. Some of the treatments they get are very traumatizing too. One example is the Intra-vitreous Injection.

First, the patient will have their eyes numbed with analgesic eye drop. The doctor will then disinfect the eyeballs by pouring iodine directly onto them. after that, medication will be given to the patient by injecting it into their eyeballs.

Sounds gross? It is. And very pain too, even with painkiller eyedrops.

People who has HIV and AIDS has been stigmatized by the society. No matter how you get it, be it from casual sex or through blood transfusion, majority will thinks the you deserved it.

Dying from it will gain you no dignity.

Black Cat's Eye Openers

I came across this website, The Pinky Show, from BM's blog. It's about Pinky the Cat addressing all sorts of topics. I particularly like this episode regarding the Iraq War issue:





How true are these? Well, it's up to you Peeps' own discretion.

And for those current and future nurses who wish to work in the US, here's an insight to the current issues happening there.



I have to agree with BM, the whole concept is serious in a cute way... Serious!

So now, what do you all think about the Peeps in US who always talks about 'Freedom'?