Woke up extra early and went to SJMC to consult a hematologist regarding my anemia. I have been breathless and feeling lethargic for a while now. It is no fun waking up after 12 hours of sleep feeling like I need another 12 hours more. At the same time, had the lump in the scrotum checked by a urologist. Apparently it is an infection of the epididymis caused by constant catheterisation. I am on a 2-week dose of Zinnat, an antibiotic, that hopefully will clear up the lump by then. He also scheduled me for a urodynamic testing to check on the pressure in my bladder.
In the 24 years since my spinal cord injury, I have never undergone any. UMMC had scheduled to urodynamic tests but both we called off – once because the doctor was away and the other because the lab was being renovated. These appointments are usually scheduled 6 months prior. Although the procedure is done free of charge at UMMC and costs RM1,500 at UMMC, I decided that I wanted to know if the pressure in my bladder is the cause of my renal failure and what can be done to prevent further damage.
After that, Wuan and I went all the way to the Palace of Golden Horse at Seri Kembangan for a buffet lunch with some good friends. One will be leaving Malaysia with his family in July. And then we drove all the way back to Damansara Mutiara for a meeting with the good people from the Malaysia Association of Standards Users at The Curve. We talked about the standards of accessibility which, although in existence since the last decade, are seldom adhered to by the local governments.
To sum it all up, I had to pull down my pants twice to have my testicles examined, drove all over Kuala Lumpur and Selangor to meet friends and make new friends, were extremely late for both appointments, and came back all fired up for no apparent reason and only fell asleep at 3am. It had been a tiring day but worth the effort.
I also have this one thing to say about SJMC. Although it is a hospital, there were no accessible parkings and I was made to circle the buildings twice before I found an empty standard-sized lot near to the entrance. The hospital management should really take note of this. They should not expect wheelchair users to park their cars at the open space which is a long distance from the entrance and down a steep slope. Of all places, I expect hospitals to be the most accessible place but this seldom the case. That is one of the reasons why I dislike going to hospitals.