The old coot as he called himself is now wheel chair bound. The usually jovial Pak Mat is inflicted with a stage four cancer of the lung. The hospital where he was treated earlier has ceased to treat him. So no more painful chemotherapy treatment for him as it is now ineffective. He is allowed to stay home with his caring wife Cik Ani and count his days which is now numbered. He still takes his medication religiously though most of the medication are analgesic, to stem the pain of the rapidly invading cancer cell.
Pak Mat Fahmy is now wheelchair bound.
We know each other as fellow bloggers as I enjoy his witty write up and his impeccable English. He blogs in his blog Pakmat. His style is very peculiar as the example below.
..a post from pakmat's facebook..I thought I shared it here for my non fb friends..
Two dots will will be placed at the beginning a new sentence as if it was something trailing from an earlier thought. Anyway it is his style and we all accepted it.
Due to the medication and lack of exercise, he also suffers from acute constipation and and his bowel movement will only occur after an interval of a few days and even that has to be induced by a laxative introduced via the anal passage.
Being regularly inflicted with the same problem of constipation myself, I know a few ways of alleviating the problem. Diet of high roughage leafy vegetables is essential. Papaya, bananas and pineapples certainly help. Though Pak Mat said that he is already on high fiber oats, it doesn't seem to work for him.
Though he Hospital provides him with lactulose syrup to soften up his stool, he had not been taking it regularly as he misunderstood it to be another laxative that didn't work for him. I managed to convince him of the usefulness of it. Instead of using the anally introduced laxative, I suggested that he uses oral laxative. Natural Clenx Tea from NH Detoxlim available at most pharmacies, Watson and online has been effective for me. I suggested that he tries it. Being internet savvy and a regular online buyer, Pak Mat immediately surfed the net and found the product online.
Traditionally, the gelenggang leaves (cassia alata/senna alata) when boiled and the water is drunk is effective as a laxative. In fact their leaves are the major ingredient of most herbal laxatives available in the market.
The flowers of cassia alata
Drinking sufficient plain water is also necessary. The above information is not only meant for Pak Mat but also for all those that suffer from constipation.
One for the album with Pak Mat.
Knowing that Pak Mat has ample time on his hands, I presented him with two pre loved fictions from Sidney Sheldon, Nothing Lasts Forever and The Sky Is Falling with the hope that the time he is engrossed in reading the books will keep his mind off the pain that he has to daily endure.
To all friends who know Pak Mat please visit him at his home in Bachok. If he happens to be on one of his better days, he will be very happy to receive visitors. Call him +6013922670 or Whatsapp the same number for his home location:
http//goo.gl/maps/eZeVMg5HL262
Please visit his blog Pakmat too.
To Pak Mat Fahmy, I wish you all the best. May you be strong to face the painful days ahead. Fate may seems to be cruel to some of us, but it is His to decide and we have to accept it.
