Memories

I love birthdays!

To me, birthday signifies the birth of someone really important in this world.

Important? Many people will feel that the word ‘important’ has always been reserved for somebody else - be it someone who has received some form of recognition based on somethings that they have done or having social position or distinction.

As a medical student, we often feel unimportant because we are in the lowest rank in the hospital hierarchy. We may think: probably I will get more important when I’m a doctor. Maybe, but when you finally become a 1st year intern, there will be 2nd and 3rd year interns, registrars, fellows and consultants, professors and so on..

We often spend too much time and effort trying to achieve recognitions by the society. So much so that we neglect the meaning of our existance and forget what really is important.

The definition of ‘important’ is not always set by the society. It is more often defined by those who take you seriously and bother to have a second look at you.

So what makes you important?

Love does. Remember that you are always important in somebody’s eye - your mother, father, siblings, partners and even friends. Therefore, it is necessary for us to spend quality time with the people who are important to us and whom we are important to.

So should I. I treasure my birthday because I understand that there are people out there who care for me. For me, it is these people who proved the importance of my existence. I wish to celebrate the day of my birth, the most important day of my life, with them and thank them sincerely for making me important.

Thanx, Steph. For the jackets and the book.

Dangerous book for Boys?

Green Jacket. And a black formal jacket which I have not posted.

JiaWei, Frankie, Adeline, Teresa, Jo In, Yun Xin - thanx for coming down to Bendigo! This weekend will never be so exciting without you guys!

IMU ppl :o) - thanx for the shirt!

And a big thank you to those who called, sms, messaged and emailed. :o)

I have just step into the most beautiful cathedral I’ve been - the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Bendigo.

Sacred Heart Cathedral is one of Australia’s largest churches and the second tallest after St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne. It is the last gothic cathedral to ever be built in the world. It is also exceptionally large for a country Cathedral in Australia, and its construction was made possible chiefly through the estate of Dr Henry Backhaus (1811-1882), a German from Paderborn and the first Catholic priest on the Bendigo goldfields. Backhaus was very skilled in financial matters and accumulated considerable property - not least through encouraging his gold-mining parishioners to contribute some of their findings to the work of the church. Backhaus left his wealth for the benefit of the church and enabled the Cathedral, among other things, to be built.

The construction began in 1895 and the magnificient building was completed in 1977. It is 75 metres long and has a ceiling height of 24 metres. The main spire is 87 metres high.

I couldn’t help but stand in awe, totally swept away by it solemnness. Everyone whispered, instinctively our breathing turned shallow and quiet.

After some franctic photo-taking, I sat down in silence for a moment. A sense of peace started filling me up. I am thankful that admist all the hustle in our busy life, we know that there’s a place we can seek refuge in.

Time did not seem too important when I was in there. I could not recall how long I stayed in there, but I do remember that I felt refreshed.

Thank you for such an amazing architecture. May this building continue to inspire and be the beacon in our dreams!

This is my first blog since I was posted to Bendigo 2 days ago. This is a cosy little city where everything is close to each other. We have KFC, Pizza Hut, McDs, Safeway and other shops within walking distance!

Bendigo hospital isnt the best hospital to do our rotation in, especially when our block now in orthopaedics, rheumatology, dermatology, plastics and anaesthetics. Because they only have orthopaedics here! That leaves us plenty of free time, such a contrast from the cardio and respi block in Austin.

And the docs that we met here aren’t exactly the most friendly ones. We are scheduled to join the ortho ward rounds this morning and guess what. The docs did not even look at us when we introduced ourselves. And when they need to examine the patient, they drew the curtain right in front of us!

Well, guess in order to learn, we need to organise our own schedule.

So, we went for an ED tutorial. The case that was discussed was regarding a 93 year old man who presented with 2 bout of fits in the past hour. He is demented and could not recognise any of his family member. He has been living in a nursing home for 3 years. The doctor’s decision was to sway the family members into accepting the decision of withdrawing treatment. She mentioned that it was more worthwhile spending the bed on a patient who is 55 with a heart attack. Hmm.. I understand where she’s heading towards - about quality of life and practicality. But it kills of the idealogy of Sanctity of life and all life are born equal..