Bagan Lalang Beach, Sepang

Chill-Out Time: Papa and Mama enjoying the sea breeze..

Different design of kites dominating the sky

Golden Palm Villas under construction which I had blogged earlier

I wanted to get a colourful shell larr, mommy

Mommy... I finally found one!

Dang Dang... With just a slurpee cup from 7-11, we had our sand fort built.. not bad eh...

Our cheeky boy

Mother and son

Father and son

The foam bubbles produced by broken waves washing up the shorelines

Good bye Beach... When will I see you again...

After months of tension and stress, hubby suggested that we go unwind : a picnic on the beach. This seemed like a good idea to all of us as we would try to avoid crowded places due to the H1N1 outbreak and the escalating death cases. Mom just had her 1st chemo cycle two weeks ago and her immune system was still low but she appeared energetic and strong at least for now (touch wood) with only one side effect that bothered her a little.

After having our breakfast at home last Sunday, we packed bread and buns, oranges, water, cakes and some tid-bits and off we went to our picnic destination: Bagan Lalang Beach in Sepang district. It took around 1 1/2 hours to get there from Puchong. Along the way, we stopped by Hotel Seri Malaysia to use their toilet and snapped photos. We initially planned to have our lunch there. The price for their buffect lunch are quite reasonable, at RM20++ for adults and half price for kids. Upon checking with the restaurant staff, the dishes are mostly hot and spicy to cater to the Proton Group that was having a seminar there. Papa and Mama cannot eat even a slightest taste of hot and spicy. We therefore dropped our plan of dining there.

The beach is just right behind Hotel Seri Malaysia and as soon as we sighted the beach there were already many people on the beach that stretches very long. Some of them looked like they were on company outing while the other was seen with their family members and friends.

My last visit here was two years ago and it was a secluded small village then. Now that I could see the once secluded beach beeming with people from all walks of life though they are scattered along the beach as it stretches kilometres long. This small village had been made popular by the on-going mega resort project there. There were roadside stalls lined up along the beach selling swimming gears, grilled seafood, fish balls, sotong balls, fish, fried cempedak, drinks such as coconut juice etc. Hubby being a food lover, brought back all sorts of snacks from the stalls across the road from the beach. Two grilled prawns on stick are sold quite reasonably at RM1.50 and a cup of coconut juice costs only RM1 each.

Some of them set up tents and hammocks and were seen napping in them while enjoying the fresh sea breeze. We found a shaded spot and laid the yoga mat that we brought from home. We sat on the mat while enjoying our simple early lunch

Hubby was flying our faithful owl designed kite and successfully flied up in the sky after few attempts. Ian later took over and he was extremely excited seeing his kite waving to him proudly in the sky.. Hahaha..

Papa took over the kite while Ian went to the the shallow water to collect sea shells. He collected a lot of white sea shells and kept pestering me for colourful ones until he finally found one. It was a lot of fun for him as it had been a while since we last took him to the beach, the last trip being to Pangkor Island which was in December last year.

Mama was doing some light exercise at our shaded spot while biting and sipping on her bread and milo drinks. She said she has a soft spot for oceans since young as most of her life was surrounded by oceans. Papa too, enjoyed our day trip to the beach as he has not seen oceans since coming here to KL to be with Mama two month ago. They are so used to be surrounded by oceans back home in Sabah.

Hubby says we shall make more trip to the beach sensing the old folks love it so much. We left the beach at around 1.15pm and headed for our late lunch in Sg Pelek.

We dined at Sg. Pelek Seafood Restaurant and the bill came to only RM50 for 5 of us which was quite reasonable, I would say. Everyone except hubby commented that the food was good while hubby said the meat texture of the "sweet and sour pork" dish was not cooked to his taste. Haha...

This little boy of ours

The owner of this owl goes to......

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Health Screening Report Out

This is an outdated post.

The physician, Dr Kwan called and informed me that the Health Screening Report was ready on the 4th day after the examination. We went back to Tung Shin Hospital the next day to collect our report.

My result

Mild Hypertension (needs monitoring)
Mild raised cholesterol level
Other blood and urine tests unremarkable
Ultrasound Abdomen showed uterine fibroids
Normal Chest X-ray, Ultrasound Breasts and ECG
Pap Smear normal

I have expected my hypertension to return as I had Gestational hypertension during my pregnancy 7 years ago but never did it cross my mind that it had to be this soon! Yes, I am almost always stressed, whether it be about anything and everything!

My only concern would have to be several fibroids noted within my uterus (uterine fibroids). The largest is noted in the posterior wall measuring 5.8 x 5.5 x 5.8cm. The largest in the anterior wall measures 1.o x 1.1 x 0.9cm. Dr Kwan's interpretation: Nothing to be concerned about. Most women have them and very rarely the fibroids will turn maglinant (cancerous). Advised to have ultrasound scan every year to monitor any growth.

The left ovary measures 3.6 x 2.4cm with a dominant follicle seen within, measuring 0.6cm in diameter. The right ovary is not visualised. No Free fluid noted in the P.O.D.

Dad's Result

Hypertension - Advised long term medication
Mild raised LDL Cholesterol
Mild raised PSA - needs monitoring
Other blood and urine tests unremarkable
Ultrasound Abdomen showed liver cysts
Normal Chest X-ray, Lung Function Test, ECG and Stress Test

Dad is now on amlodipine 5mg (anti-hypertensive drug) once daily. He stopped taking it two years ago since the GP told him his BP level was normal then. Well, it could be the herbs that he took that had worked wonders. He has stopped taking the herbs since coming to KL to be with mom. Well, no one could ever tell if this was indeed the reason.

His PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) test showed a slightly elevated result which needs monitoring and another test to be done in 3 months' time as advised by Dr Kwan.

Several simple cysts were noted in dad's liver though the size was too small to cause concern as commented by Dr Kwan.

Puteri Mart, Puchong

Papa and I like to go for our weekly grocery at Puteri Mart. We will have our breakfast first at the foodcourt where we get to choose our food from a few stalls that open in the morning. The place starts getting into full swing by noon time when most of the stalls are opened to cater for the lunch crowd and it gets even busier during dinner time.

Health Screening at Tung Shin Hospital

After having done some price comparison and research on the type of health screening available at private hospitals, I have finally chosen Tung Shin Hospital in Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur.

Comparison with other private hospitals
Tung Shin Hospital - Comprehensive Health Screening Package

Physical Examination by physician Hearing & eyesight test/ Resting ECG / Chest X-ray / Ultrasound Abdomen & Pelvis / Stress test / Lung function test / lab profile 44 tests:(Haematology Profile / Fasting Blood Sugar / Renal Profile / Liver Function Test / Lipid Profile / Diabetic / Thyroid / Hepatitis B Screening / Urine Analysis / Blood Grouping / Venereal Disease (STD) / Tumor Markers for CEA & AFP) / Medical Report / report interpretation by specialist

Cost: RM630 (senior citizen), RM665 (public)
Sunway Hospital - Platinum PackageSame as above with additional diet counselling but minus the stress test and 2 tumour markers

Cost: RM799 (all)

I called the specialist clinic to make an appointment a day before going. We were then advised to fast at least 10 hours before the health screening process.

The next morning, after dropping off Ian at his kindy, off we went to Tung Shin Hospital. We reached the hospital around 9am and I took the Intermediate package with breast ultrasound and pap smear added in (total cost) while Papa took the comprehensive package with a PSA test added (total cost).

A friendly Malay nurse brought us to a room where our weight and height were taken and we were then asked to lie on the bed with all wires were hooked up to our chest for ECG.

We then went to see the physician, Dr Kwan Eng Keong for physical examination, we had our eyesight tested and Dr Kwan checked my blood pressure and found that my bp was a bit on the high side, same with papa. We were then asked to lie on the bed to check on our sensivity toward the hammer knocked on our knee and ankles. I was sent down to the X-Ray Department to have my chest x-ray and ultrasound on my breast, abdomen and pelvic while papa was having his stress test on the 1st floor. I was asked to change into a blue loose gown to facilitate the chest x-ray scan and was given a basket for keeping of my blouse and belongings. I was then sent to a dim lit room with the ultrasound machine just next to the bed, I lied on the bed while waiting for the radiologist, Datin Dr Ranjit Kaur to do the scan. A transparent gel was applied over my breasts down to the pelvic area and Dr Ranjit tole me there was no lumps found on both my breasts and they appeared normal.

My liver, spleen, gallbladder, blader were all normal except she found 5 fibroids in my uterus, especially the one at my posterial wall, it was as big as an orange. She assured me there was nothing to be concerned about as very rarely the fibroids would turn maglinant and most of them would disappear after menopausal. She advise me to have a pelvic scan at least once a year to monitor if there is a growth in size of the fibroids.

I then went to 6th floor to get my blood and urine samples done. I was a breeze and painless when the nurse took my blood. I would have to go back to 1st floor for Pap Smear to complete the whole health screening process.

It took a while before I was attended by a lady Indian doctor as they had an emergency case prior to that. It took a mere 5 minutes for the doctor to take some sample out from my vagina for the test.

Not long after I have completed, papa walked out from the X-ray department and he told me that the radiologist, Dr Kaur told him that there was some water trapped inside the stomach. I was doubtful though not very sure if an ultrasound could ever get through any gas or air let alone the stomach. Papa was very concerned about stomach as he has been having stomach discomfort ever since he can remember.

It was 12.45pm when we completed the whole process. We then looked for the canteen in the hospital and had mixed rice there. We paid RM11.00 for two plates of mixed rice and two cups of hot drinks, reasonably priced I would say that.