After two weeks of struggling with housework, I finally broke something. I have been shifting uneasily in my seat for the past few days. That definitely was not a good sign but I did not think too much about that until today. Something did indeed break – the skin on my left buttocks. I ran my fingers around the source of the pain and could feel the edges of a small open sore.

The two smaller pressure sores on my left buttock
developed my while I was in Tokyo. The large scar
on the left is from a sore that has healed.
File photo dated February 5, 2006

While performing chores, I had to constantly shift my posture, causing abrasion against the skin. The skin around my posterior had suffered pressure sores several times, most recent was when I was in Tokyo and again in Bangkok. Evidently I am unable to sit long hours at one stretch. If the pressure against the sore is not relieved, it will get larger.

Lately I do not have the luxury to fully rest in between chores. Pressure sores like this take a long time to heal if not properly taken care of. My first pressure sore took almost one year to heal. It cost a few thousand Ringgit in medicine and treatment. That was when I was hospitalised after my accident. It was ironic that I developed a pressure sore in the hospital while on the Stryker Frame. The frame allowed me to be turned every four hours to relieve the pressure points, namely the heels, buttocks, sacral region and scapula.

Different people with spinal cord injury have different treatment for pressure sores. As for me, a lot of rest in bed coupled with constant application of Povidone Iodine does the job. With proper care, it could dry up and heal within two weeks. When I was in Kuala Lumpur, Wuan took care of that each time the skin opened up. Now that I am back in Penang and living alone, I will have problems applying the solution.

There is an unmistakeable pungent odour of rain. Soon enough, it has begun to rain. The din that the raindrops made as it hit the awnings drowned out almost other sounds. Flashes of lightning streaked across the night sky occasionally accompanied by rumblings of thunder in the distance. The air is cool. This is a good weather to sleep in. I am tired but I am feeling contented.

It was different yesterday. I was bleeding from somewhere. I was ill. I was depressed. Dirty dishes were piling up in the kitchen sink. The simple thought of cooking meals drained the energy out of me. Jocelyn and Dee tried to console me. I was reluctant to let Wuan in on my health. I did not want her to worry anymore. Fortunately, one of my neighbours helped prepare the ingredients for my ABC soup. I had two good meals yesterday. In the end, I told Wuan about the bleeding because we have promised not to hide anything from each other.

Today was even better. I spent five good hours with ReallyBites and Bryan at Gurney Plaza. We had lunch at A&W. I love their root beer float. These two youngsters are half my age but we get along very well. There are only two probabilities on why that is so - I am young at heart or they are matured beyond their age. Nevertheless, we had fun. I had fun. The troubles of yesterday melted away just like that.

We watched Ice Age 2: The Meltdown together. While the Cineplex was accessible, we got tickets for the first row of the upper section and I could not get up to the seat. Bryan tried to manoeuvre my wheelchair without success. A good Samaritan from the audience helped Bryan carry me onto the seat and helped me off the seat after the movie. To the person who helped us in the cineplex, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Ice Age 2 is more than a feel good animated movie. Apart from the entertainment and laughs, I found similarities in what I am going through lately. Friends stick with you through thick and thin. While I do not expect my friends to risk their lives for me, their being there when I needed some diversion from my tedious daily routines was more than I could have asked for. Thank God for friends like ReallyBites, Bryan, Jocelyn and Dee.

Whether they realise it or not, each of them has made my days more fulfilling. And then there are the unknown Samaritans like the gentleman in the Cineplex who time and again have come to my rescue when I got myself into sticky situations. The little parts that they play all add up to make my life whole. Living can be difficult at times but they have made it tolerable. It is because of them, I am able to continue on this journey called Life. Thank you.

It is said that elephants never forget. Obviously they have forgotten to tell us that idiots have good memories, too. Lucky for us, pachyderms have better sense and decency than these people. Read this comment for context.

Farewell lunch at APCD - March 17, 2006.

Do I eat so that I have the energy to cook or do I cook so that I have something eat to complete this senseless cycle?

Petronas Twin Towers viewed from inside KLCC Suria.

If I were to close my eyes and go back to sleep, will all the mounting housework disappear like a dream the next time I wake up?