Shit Happens (but life must go on)

Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur

AL is my childhood friend and though he has worked in Kuching most of his life, I had worked in a number of countries which had kept us apart, but somehow we had always kept in touch with all the changes that has taken part in both our lives and sharing our aspirations, dreams and heartaches over the past 5 decades.

We are both quite different, personality wise and the years apart had accentuated our differences in religious persuasions, interests and other pursuits but despite this, our friendship had stood the test of time and we had remained good and sincere friends.

And so I was quite distressed to learn that he was recently involved in a horrific bus accident in Iran while on the way to the airport last month. He was part of a consortium doing some projects there. Emergency surgeries were preformed there to stabilize his condition before he was evacuated for further medical attention at Gleneagles Intan Medical Center in KL where he received further surgery to his left arm. To put it mildly he was pretty much smashed up with broken thigh bones, arms, jaw and about half of his teeth had also been knocked off. He was lucky to be alive.

I flew to KL to see him and to see how I can help. He was so glad to see me and I have to hold back my tears to see him like this. His wife has to fight back her tears too when she recapped her traumatic experience of the past over 2 weeks of learning about the accident, her flight there with their eldest son (who flew back from Perth) to bring AL back. She was grateful for the help of her church friends and that though AL had previously bought travel and medical insurances it was just recently that he had upgraded it to include travel to Iran. It was God's grace she said.

He has only just been able to take solid food in the past 2 days and receiving daily physiotherapy. Luckily the worst is now over and AL is in good spirits and firmly focused on his recovery which understandably considering the injuries, would take a while.

AL thought that the visitors must be pulling his legs when they told him that you get a wonderful view of KL skyline from the window - and so I took this photo to show him.

Yeah, shit happens; but life must go on. You all take care you hear.

The Petronas Twin Towers from the room where AL is warded.

NOTE: I do not want to identify AL at the request of his wife as AL being the youngest and favourite in the family does not want his ailing mother to know of his condition as her health is quite frail and she might not be able to handle the shock of learning this. AL will let her know when he has recovered enough to be able to let her know himself. I trust my friends who is able to identify AL from my post would do the decent thing and respect their wishes.