THE CICAK.com

HEROES: Terima kasih doktor

Photo of Dr. Foo Chee Hoe

By CHONG JUN AI

Chee Hoe almost yawned as he made the final stitch on the vaginal wound, then looked up and smiled to his patient, a 38-year-old Malay lady who had just given birth to her sixth child.

“Sudah siap! Boleh letak balik kaki dan rehatlah. Nanti kita bawa baby mari, okay?’”

“Terima kasih doktor, berapa jahit?”

“Banyak! Jangan risau, rehatlah, ya.”

He yawned again. It was 3.15 a.m. on a Sunday morning. He was in desperate need for sleep, but just as he had washed his hands, another lady, gravidly pregnant, was wheeled into the labour room on a stretcher.

“Kes apa?”

“Gravida three, para two. Patient fitted half an hour ago, in Hospital Kuala Kangsar. We started on ‘mag-sulf’ in Kuala Kangsar,’” said the nurse who brought her in.

Chee Hoe forgot about his need for sleep, and rushed to put on his gloves. The new patient appeared to be disoriented.

“Staff nurse, please call my boss. She needs Caesar.” Just when he tried to check her pupils, another nurse called out, “Doktor Foo, patient oozing!”

Chee Hoe reluctantly left his ill patient and rushed to Bay 3 where the patient’s episiotomy wound that he had just stitched up seemed to be bleeding again. Just as he changed his pair of gloves, the phone rang. He hoped it was not for him and proceeded to examine the wound. There was another tear. He would have to suture some more.

“Doktor, kena jahit lagi ke?”

“Sorry kak, ada lagi… sebab…” before he could finish, someone yelled from the phone table, “Doktor, Wad C panggil. Staff nurse nak inform ada seorang ‘baby’ nampak biru lepas minum susu.”

Chee Hoe wanted to take a deep breath but only managed a short one as he quickly thought about which case he should attend to first - the one with eclampsia who needed an emergency Caesar, the one bleeding, or the baby in Ward C about 100 metres away.

He wanted to yell “Crazy night!” but whispered it instead. “Kak Ros, patient bed 1 prepare for Caesar. Panggil Dr. Malik please. I will inform Paeds later. Kak Letch, please do the stitching. I gotta go see the baby.”

He walked quickly to Ward C. He almost ran but his legs were wobbly by now. He was tired, and searched the back of his mind for the reason he chose this job. He was too stressed and exhausted by now to remember the reason he became a doctor.

Such a scenario has become a norm in Dr. Foo Chee Hoe’s working life. It has been almost a year for him as a young doctor in government service. Had he made a wrong career decision? Is this all worth it?

Life was different six years ago. Two days after he had received a letter confirming his place in a public medical school, Singapore offered him a scholarship to study pharmacy. He thought carefully for hours and then faxed a reject letter to the Singapore High Commission.

I will regret it if I forgo the opportunity to be a doctor – he had thought to himself then.

Chee Hoe – a jovial, good-natured, filial, and caring guy as described by one of his close friends, Ennie Yong – came from a modest family. He was not very well off, just slightly poorer than the middle class. His dad was unemployed at 40 years old due to a rare genetic disease that caused his hearing and eyesight to gradually deteriorate with age. His mother became the bread-winner of the family. He used to live in a house of nine inhabitants and was forced to share a room with his grandmother. He had to bear with a lot of family politics while he was still young; with rampant quarrels, verbal abuse and gossiping while living in the old house. It was not the most cheerful childhood, but he learnt a lot, grew up faster and his experience made him a more determined person.

Being a doctor was not a childhood dream for Chee Hoe, but it was definitely not a choice of convenience either. It was relatively an easy choice as he was an idealistic person back then as a high school student. Making profits and getting rich was not his target; he wanted a noble job. Also, he met many others in his Form 6 class who were also pursuing medicine. They inspired him to strive on. “It was good to have a batch of people thinking of medicine, and working towards it together,” Chee Hoe said.

Chee Hoe has had to compromise time and attention to spend with his parents, sister, girlfriend and other family members. Any other job would have allowed him to bring his father for doctor appointments, to have frequent family dinners and to be there for his sister as she searched for a college. His personal safety is at risk every time he gets onto an ambulance to bring a patient to a referral hospital, every time he takes blood from, or sets intravenous lines to, HIV or Hepatitis B/C patients. He also eats at irregular hours, sometimes even to the extent of skipping meals; has no time for exercise and very few sleeping hours.

However, Chee Hoe says that there are more perks to his job than setbacks. Although he may have failed about 1 percent of his patients, he has done some good for the other 99 percent. Also, what really encourages him is when his patients are really appreciative of what he has done and his service; their respect and their gratitude are genuine. Working with his nurses also gives him joy in the area of leadership, management, and personal relations.

Though some passion may be gone, diluted by being overworked and having to sacrifice many things in fulfilling his job, he still loves his job very much. Together with him, there are other doctors who share the same story, the same struggle, doubts and personal triumphs in their career. Dr. Foo Chee Hoe is definitely a hero amongst heroes.

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Subject: Heroes - Dr. Foo Chee Hoe/Chong Jun Ai.