In life, things are always unpredictable. One day you may be ok, one day you may not. And this was what I found myself in after the COVID-19 viruses came hunting for me recently!

Ever since my wife died some six years ago, I had been living alone in Klang. My son, Jason, lives with his wife and daughter in Subang Jaya.

I am 64 and was working at a food & beverage plant run by a Swiss multinational in Shah Alam until I retired some time back. To relieve my boredom, I take on occasional jobs like taking kids to school. Things had been going on smoothly for me and I was enjoying what I was doing during my semi-retirement.

But on the morning of Jan 19, 2021, I felt like I had lost half my strength. My body was feeling both hot and cold at the same time. I really felt weird that day. I didn’t know what actually happened but I was soon to discover that the COVID-19 coronaviruses had attacked me.

How they got to me is still a mystery. Maybe it was at a dinner reception at a relative’s house, maybe it was from my regular kopitiam where I would have my meals.

But I can say that getting COVID-19 is something I wouldn’t want to wish upon anyone. It’s no joke. Avoid it at all cost! Practise what we’ve been told to do to prevent getting it -- wash your hands, observe a safe physical distance and wear your masks whenever in public places. The danger is real, the enemy is near us.

So, I decided to call my son, Jason, to tell him about my latest health condition. Unfortunately, he too was down with COVID-19 and was on home self-quarantine. That meant he couldn’t come to my aid even if he wanted to. But I felt that I shouldn’t allow this situation to linger on. I decided to take the bull by the horns and drove to the Shah Alam Hospital on my own despite my dizziness. Luckily, I didn’t swerve into a ditch!

The initial diagnosis was that I had been struck by dengue fever. Dengue or COVID-19 , I thought I wouldn’t be safe anywhere else except in the hospital where medical expertise was readily available. I decided to stay put.

I thought things looked pretty grim when I looked around me. The Yellow Lane for hospital admission was full of people wanting to be admitted. And there were no empty beds.

I told myself that I should not yield despite the physical discomforts. I rested and slept by sitting up on a metal chair and then got “upgraded” to a sofa. I clung on to it for dear life for two whole nights without even taking a shower!

On Day 3 at the Yellow Lane, l was having difficulty in breathing. An equally elderly Malay man saw me gasping for air and raised the alarm. He hollered at the hospital staff that I needed urgent attention. He said something to the effect that I was already dying. It was then where the staff came running helter-skelter to my aid and immediately wheeled me into intensive care.

Upon reflection after my recovery, I “revisited the scene”. I felt if an angel had come to my aid. Although I didn’t know that Malay man by name, I’m forever indebted to him. If not for him, I wouldn’t be writing this.

And who says that we Malaysians are not united or caring for one another? The above is ample testimony of how we should live and act as Malaysians, without harbouring any ill-will against one another just because of differences in race and religion. It’s the people with narrow and shallow outlooks, and with selfish reasons best known to themselves, who continue to incite disharmony amongst us.

When I was brought to the ICU at Shah Alam HospitaI, I was stripped naked to be washed thoroughly because I stank terribly as I hadn’t showered for days!

My clothes and personal belongings were discarded as they were deemed to have been contaminated. In the process, I lost all my bank cards, my identity card and driving licence as I was to find out much later.

Although I knew the hassle of having to go to the police station, national registration centre or bank to get them replaced, I reckoned that these were comparatively small matters compared to what I had gone through, health-wise. Such documents can be replaced easily if procedures are followed. But to replace a life? No way! For this, I am very thankful to be alive today! Thanks to the grace and mercy of Almighty God.

The Power, Mercy and Glory of God.

When warded at the ICU, I had to wear a full-faced mask for the doctors to pump pure oxygen into my lungs. The oxygen blasts from the ventilating machines were so powerful that they somewhat “burnt” my tongue. To me, my tongue somewhat felt like “a piece of dried meat”!

With ulcers “piercing” my throat, swallowing food was a huge burden. Every gulp that I took was agony. But I needed to eat to survive. So, even with the excruciating pain, I endured the ordeal with every mouthful. Best of all, the nurses even took extra care to bring me food that were soft and palatable. I couldn’t thank them enough!

While at the ICU, I happened to be awake when one of the staff nurses came in. I told her I was in such great pain because the powerful oxygen blasts from the ventilators actually made breathing more difficult. I asked if I could have something less powerful. They understood my plight and changed the treatment process.

After six days, I was transferred to a normal ward on the 7th floor of the Shah Alam Hospital. Four days later, I was gradually weaned off ventilators for me to breathe on my own.

Then I was moved to the 3rd Floor. But upon arriving at my new place, I was gasping for air again. During those anxious moments, I was told that I’d be transferred to the Sungai Buloh Hospital, the country’s primary COVID-19 treatment centre, as it had all the equipment to get me on the mend and track my recovery.

Upon reaching Sungai Buloh, the doctors did a CT scan on my lungs and found blood clots in the capillaries. I was given blood thinning jabs to dilute the clots.

Sungai Buloh’s Dr Alia, Dr Yong and Dr Yap tried their best to help me and see what would be the best approach. Vials and vials of my blood were analysed. In the end, the right blood thinner was found along with other medication!

While at the hospital, I also made many friends among the patients. I was touched by what I saw. Everyone in the ward was helping one another. There was no racial barrier. Everyone took turns to look out for one another. I told myself -- this should be the Malaysia that we should have, not one that’s divisive and ruined by people with selfish interests!

I befriended one very filial son who was with his father. Both had COVID-19. But this young man, despite being down with the virus, made all efforts to care for his father, who even suffered a stroke there!

Every minute of my waking hour there, I saw people putting aside their personal and ethnic differences to help anyone within their sight! It warmed my heart and spurred me to get better so that I can tell the outside world that people were so caring at the hospitals. Both frontliners and patients! Why can’t more people be like that? To be more caring and respectful of one another irrespective of race or religion.

Time actually passed very slowly at the hospital. There were times when I just couldn’t sleep. I turned to God during these quiet moments. I’d play Gospel songs at a low volume and hope to gather strength from what I heard. It helped. Then I became calmer and eventually managed to fall sleep. This routine would be repeated day in, day out without fail.

But I also remembered one interesting incident. When Dr Yap was on his night rounds to take blood samples, I felt that the initial jab he gave me brought out a strange feeling. It was as if sparks were flying in me. Then a second jab had to be done. For me, the feeling was like as if the Holy Spirit was living inside me!

Then I received the good news on the auspicious Chinese New Year’s Day of Feb 12. I was given clearance to leave the Sungai Buloh Hospital. Although I was so relieved to be discharged, I still felt weak. I was told that I needed to consume steroids and blood thinners religiously for me to get even better.

As my son Jason knew that I was still not 100 percent fit, he decided to place me at a healthcare home in Klang with good medical services facilities. He didn’t want the potential risks to surface if I stayed alone. What if I were to slip and fall? Who’s there to help me immediately?

Thankfully, I’ve been staying at the Genesis Life Care Home since CNY. My medical care, food intake, accommodation and laundry had all been carried out efficiently. I’ve helpers and nurses checking on my blood pressure and the required medication every now and then.

I should be at Genesis until early April. An appointment at the Sg Buloh Hospital’s Lung Centre around that time will also determine whether I could go back to my home sweet home in Klang.

Upon looking back, I am just very lucky to be alive today. Glory to God, I feel triumphant to have nailed the viruses and kicked them in their butts! It has been a terrible ordeal, every minute of it.

I wouldn’t be alive today if not for the caring and tireless doctors and nurses at both the Shah Alam and Sungai Buloh hospitals. Despite being almost exhausted while carrying out their responsibilities and wearing their stuffy PPEs for many hours at a stretch, they plodded on, attending to the sick. They’re my heroes and heroines forever! Their selfless and service-above-self attitudes deserve commendation by all. Without them, the number of COVID-19 casualties would be even much higher. And I also mustn’t forget that kind Malay man who sounded the alarm at Shah Alam Hospital.

I salute all of them. I value their sacrifice. They deserve our total respect and admiration!

Syabas, Tabik & Hormat!

--BERNAMA