There he was, on bed no.5 in the HDW (High Dependency Ward), with an oxygen tube in his mouth, a feeding tube in his nose, and other wires on his body to monitor his heartbeat and bp, in deep coma, my old friend, Yusof bin Ahmad, 76, at the Sungai Buloh Hospital outside KL. It was about 12.40 p.m., visiting hours, today Tuesday 24th November, 2015.
The attending nurse said he's now 5 days in coma. It's the heart. Yesterday was bad, and the doctor had given him the maximum dose of whatever he was administering. Surprisingly today, though still in coma, he seems better, though the bp is still low, and he remains in critical condition
The old TMS group had whatsapped the news 2 days ago. I had to be in KL today, and as usual I took the bus. When I finished my business at about 11.30, I took the train from KL Central to Sg. Buloh, then a taxi to the hospital, which was less than 10 minutes away.
I first remembered Yusof when he and my future "biras", Shafiei Ramli, were demonstrating the marching movements on the TMS field, in front of the school hostel. They had both just came back from the Outward Bound School, Lumut. This must have been around 1959 ! (56 years ago).I wasn't acquainted with either of them at that time, but I knew their names. Shafiei was the headboy. I can't remember if Yusof was a Prefect. I called Shafiei after my visit just now.
Later in life Yusof married my second cousin from Sawah Lebar. Yusof is from Gunung Pasir. This was his first wife. She died much later from breast cancer, and he remarried, a bit later, his present wife, from Seremban. For a while they were running a mobile market van in Paroi Jaya, where they were staying.
When Yusof was working at the Survey Department at College Road, KL, at first the family was renting a house in Kampong Baru, close to office. Later they moved to Ampang Jaya, and we became neighbours, one street away. Then I moved out, but they stayed on until the wife passed away in hospital in Kuala Pilah. Actually the first time she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she responded to medical treatment, including mamosectomy. Years later the cancer tragically returned.
I used to go out with Yusof, when we were in KL, both when he was in Kampong Baru and Ampang Jaya. Of course we visited each other often in Ampang Jaya, but lost contact when I moved out, but now and then we'd bump into each other. The last time I spoke to him was on his mobile, when my brother Ajit gave me his number. At that time he was staying with one of his kids in Seremben 2, where Ajit is. That was after his eldest daughter, born when they were in Ampang Jaya, had just died, also from breast cancer.
I didn't stay long at the hospital. I pray Yusof recovers.
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NB
Sadly, Yusof never recovered. He died one day after my visit.
May God Bless you, my friend.
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