I was discharged from the Lam Wa Ee hospital this morning after having had my hernia problem taken care of by Dr. Yew Chor Giap a young Chinese doctor which took place on Friday morning. It was totally not what i had visualized! Did not feel the knife or the needle at all and as a matter of fact I was not aware that I was being worked on all the while. I was aware of people talking around me and I was waiting for the operation to begin, however before I was being wheeled out of the operation room and to myself i was saying, "Oh no! They have cancelled the operation but why?" Then as they were handling my body I did not feel the lower part of my body at all! They had worked on me while i was waiting! The pain came about half an hour after while I was laying in bed in the ward. Yes it hit me with an eager smirk, "You think your toothache was bad?" Then I thought of the amputated children of Gaza some with no Anaesthetize, my pain is minimal. The food was what hit me harder, hospital food! It lives up to its name and I think people fall sick from the prospect of eating it through the duration of their stay. No doubt it was prepared to help the healing process, however I cancelled my last meal and opted for SUBWAY sandwich instead. Over all the service was good and most nurses and interns were friendly and helpful. I was surprise to find many Indonesians coming as outpatients and enjoyed listening to the Indonesian Chinese speaking Bahasa Indonesia to one another in a family. IN Indonesia everyone is expected to be able to communicate in the National Language.
"Lam Wah" means “Chinese in the South” and “Ee” means “medicine”. Twelve community leaders were elected to be the first Board of Directors. Free consultation and medication in traditional Chinese medicine was offered to the public. Within a few years, this became very popular as a source of medical services not only to the Chinese community but also to the other communities in Penang. As a result of this, Muntri Street has since become known as “Lam Wah Ee Hospital Street”. As the demand for these services became more popular, two branch clinics were set up, one at Beach Street and the other at Magazine Road.
The idea of setting up a community health care center in Penang was first mooted by a few Chinese community leaders in 1876 and a fund-raising campaign was subsequently launched. A traditional-style building was completed in 1883 on a plot of land about 10,600 sq. ft. at Muntri Street. This was known as the Lam Wah Ee Hospital." I cut and paste simply to get a few facts of the Hospital, boring as it may be it is necessary to have little history of the place where they cut you open and did some repair job. I remember on my previous visit not too long ago having a conversation about the hospital' history. He was a Chinese gentleman and he told me that the hospital was built to cater to the need of the local Georgetown Population in the days it was conceived. A Chinese millionaire or TaiKung had this idea to provide care for the society, free medical service. It was a noble act inspiring the local Chinese Kongsi or associations. There' the devil in the details in this story too, how did this hospital has become one of the most expensive private hospital catering more to foreigners who can afford than the locals. It cost me almost 5 thousand RM to have my hernia taken care of, most of those who can't afford this price tag gas to go the General Hospital where it might cost you nothing if you ever get it done. If they cannot get it done in a month in Kuala Terengganu what makes you think they can do it in Penang? I tried! When I asked one of my young Chinese friend here he laughed and said. "The Government has stopped the subsidy, without being subsidized they cannot function."
Anyway I got the Naz, in America to thank for in footing the bill and my two children here for their love and support in making sure that all goes well; I am blessed.
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