Running with horses: A new beginning and a new season (part 2)

For the past 2 months i have remained largely inactive in blogging, my apology for that. This is mainly because i am now a married man, which means i don't have the luxury of time as i would when i was single. Here is just an update of what has been going on lately.

Last month Rachel finally arrived in Australia, and we have moved to a 30-acre farm house in Mt Mee. The owner of the house is paediatric neurologist from the Royal Children Hospital who loves animals. She suffered a silent subdural haemorrhage (bleeding in the brain) which has taken her off work for the rest of the year, so she is spending most of her time here in Mt Mee building a hospice for the really ill children and their families. There are all kinds of animals in this house - Chickens, Guinea Fell (a type of bird), horses, cattles, piglets (to arrive soon), dogs etc. And each morning and evening, Rachel and i had to take turn to feed them. Coming from a nice, comfortable, clean and cosy home in KL, it was a big change for Rachel. Adjusting to a completely foreign environment with a completely different culture has not been easy. She had to spend most her time cleaning up the house, sweeping and mopping the floor, cleaning the kitchen, the bathroom, cooking etc (which again is something that she is not used to). I feel really really sorry for all that she has to go through, and i am really proud that she has been doing her best to stay strong in this period, despite being far away from home and needing to deal with all the household chores.

So what's my current routine like with this new life? I go off to work at 6.25am, come home at around 4pm, spend time with Rachel till around 5.30-6pm, and then i would head for a run (usually an hour) in the dark whilst Rachel prepares dinner, have dinner at 7pm, and then we would spend the rest of the night together. Now that I am in a different phase of life, marriage obviously takes priority over work and running so i only head off for a run if it doesn't eat into our time together (like when she is cooking or sleeping). This means doing most of my run in the evening on week days (in the dark), or early in the morning on weekends whilst she is still sleeping.

I have always dreaded running in the dark. My head-torch went out of battery in a number of occasions such that i had to rely on moonlight to provide me with some lighting on the road. Living in this part of the country also means that there is hardly any street light at all. Hence it has been a eerie and chilly experience, especially when i run past cemetery. Given that I don't have much of a choice, I really have to adjust to being comfortable running in the dark. There were times where i felt a deep sense of peace and calmness, like God is watching over my every footstep and lighting up the way with the stars and moon when my torch has gone off, and those were rare moments. Most times, i am at the edge of my nerve and is hypersensitive to every kind of noise i hear along the way. :(

Work-wise, i am almost coming to the end of my surgical rotation. This surgical rotation has truly been phenomenal! I have been able to do a lot more in the ward, outpatient and theatre. My bosses and registrars have trusted me enough to allow me to assume responsibility that is beyond my current level of expertise, and this has given me a lot of confidence in tackling more difficult tasks and complicated cases. More than that, it also gave me a strong affirmation that i am on a correct training path, that Surgery is the way to go for me (considering the fact that i have always wanted to be a physician as a student). I have also finished writing up a paper on a case of bilateral obturator hernia and it's now pending publication. I am very grateful to all my colleagues, especially my registrars for teaching me and guiding me in this career pathway. Though there is a hiccup recently in my work, which resulted in me being reprimanded publicly and unfairly by a senior colleague (who himself has demeaning attitude and questionable work ethic), i am thankful for the support that all the other colleagues have shown me. On my personal level, I had learned that there are bitter people in every Specialty (esp in surgery) who are jealous of the progress that others are making, and are out to create obstacles and make life difficult for everyone. God, please give me the strength to forgive him, and the wisdom to learn to deal with difficult colleagues in the future.

That's all for now. :)