Dr Kong Chee Hen: Gone Too Soon.

I was at the multipurpose hall getting the kids ready to recite their Chinese rhymes on stage when my Mum came over with some bad news in the phone. Someone had Whatsapped her with the news about Dr Kong's passing. I instantly thought it was a bad joke. I also got confused thinking it was Dr Peter Kong but it was our family GP, Dr Kong Chee Hen.

About 7 months after I came home from Melbourne and after I had secured a job in KL, I went to see Peter Kong for a check up. They discovered that I was in pretty bad shape, my eyes were. He dug for his old style blood pressure machine and to his horror, my blood pressure was extremely high. Peter Kong immediately asked that I be taken to the hospital but I was having none of it.

So, my Mum who was shaking took me to Kong Chee Hen in Damai for a second opinion. He too discovered that I had unusually high blood pressure. I refused to go to the hospital again and he immediately put me on medication. I was barred from flying and kissed the job goodbye in KL. I was also expected to see him every second day. Gradually, my condition improved.

Dr Kong of Damai is the typical Asian doctor. Because he is the GP preferred by my entire family on both sides, he is aware of what conditions I could inherit from both parents. And with my hypertension all over the place, his words were sometimes a little too harsh for someone who had become accustomed to the Aussie 'gently, gently does it' approach. Nevertheless, he was my GP all these years.
I 
To avoid getting told off,I tried to be as healthy as possible. And last year when I had diarrhoea, I went to Dr Cecelia Chong for a change. This lady is a U.K. graduate and her approach was similar to Dr Sandra Ray of Melbourne. I like that but I soon noticed that the lady doctor is often away. 😩 So, I was back at Dr Kong again. 

He found out about my visit to Cecelia (via my Mum) and joked about me abandoning him for someone who wouldn't scold. During my last visit in August, my hypertension went crazy again, I requested that he look into my hypertension again. He refused to take me as a patient for that again because I need specialist care. He jokingly suggested that I must be running away from Klinik Luyang for fear of getting scolded. 

On the day I last saw him, I actually went to Dr Cecelia first but again, she wasn't around. Never in my mind did I ever contemplate that was my last trip to see him. Even though I don't like to be scolded, he was supposed to be my GP until I move away from KK. I had minor food poisoning last night. My Mum kept asking me to go to the doctor's but which one could I go to now? I don't know who else to go to.

Feeling Sad

Today is AFL Grand Final Day. I have made it a tradition to visit the Aussie Barbecue & Bar for lunch and watch the match there with my Mum. This is one day in a year when I get to celebrate something Aussie. I could watch the match at home but it lacks the atmosphere that I am after. We used to watch the match at the Federation Square. I found out last weekend that the Aussie Barbecue & Bar is now history. Once upon a time, I could go to the English Tea House for authentic Fish n' Chips in Sandakan but that place is no more now. So now, I don't even have a place to go for AFL Grand Final either. KK has become even more boring! Is it so much to ask for something Aussie?

I do have a little good news. We are finally able to get Four n' Twenty pies in KK. They are expensive but they are worth it as a rare treat. Oh, they are available at Tong Hing. 3 varieties to choose from.