1st Med Check & Car Test Drive

Took leave today to take Carbo Woman to the Sunway MC for her 1st check up - a belated one really. A couple of our colleagues have good words to say about one of the obs-gyn specialist there and since the hospital is the closest to home, this will be our hospital of choice to handle the pregnancy.



Despite our apppointment we didn't really get to see the doc until nearly 11am. That meant that we had waited for close to 2 hours. Thankfully the waiting area was large and clean and there was even a playroom for the kids. So Carbo Kid didn't have to suffer the waiting as much as The Woman. The doc turned out to be every bit as professional, even though he's not a smiler, and shook our hands when introduced. After a quick Q&A regarding some medical history and on the first pregnancy, he got down to check The Woman. BP was fine and the ultra-sound showed the fetus's (1, so not twins - phew!) beating heart - he estimated that from the size The Woman is about 2 months into the pregnancy.

The ultra-sound also revealed 2 cysts. While generally benign, he said that we should take tissue samples to be sure. This should have been cleared should The Woman heeded my advice to do her PAP smear tests every year. Now the negligence is coming to cause us some concerns. The cysts (one of it is of medium size) could be just "old" blood and could cause some spotting later on. Serious cases can cause miscarriages. So the doc took some tissues and suggested that we just observe them for now. They could be removed anytime during the pregnancy.

Next up was the internal exam. Using a speculum, he could literally expose the internals and he beckoned me to take a peek inside. Our first doc didn't give me this chance so I valued the experience. Peeking inside, I could see a red colour tongue-like growth coming out from the cervix entrance. This was what he wanted me to see - "the thing" is actually a growth. He said that he needed to remove the tissue - it's large and looked evil to me, so it had to come out. After a quick procedure, "the thing" was executed/decapitated. It wasn't painful but the PAP smear was. The bill? RM600 cool ones.


We got home and had some time to rest before the appointment for the car test drive. I was to put the facelifted Sentra 1.6SG (RM85K basic auto version) through a test. The sales lady wasn't too technical, so she can't answer all my technical questions. So I just drove the car, incidentally my first experience with a Nissan. We took it to Putrajaya but heavy rain derailed my plan to really push the car. In the end the drive was generally an easy one. What do I think of the car? It felt good to drive though not dynamic nor responsive. If a sedate and safe driving experience is what you're looking for, this is the car. The smoothness reminds me of the Camry. For power, you'll need the 1.8 (RM100K). It's almost certain that we won't be getting this car as at RM85K, it comes only with airbags - no ABS nor BA nor EBD, which I feel are important preventive mechanisms. The airbags only help after you hit something. So we'll have to take the City (RM80K, with all the safety features) for another more thorough drive.

And my message to women out there - please please do your exams ie your breast self examinations, PAP smears and so on. Please realize that your bodies are designed to be more complicated and sophisticated than the mens' so there are lots more preventive maintenance that you just have got to do. For your loved ones. And menfolk, please whine until your spouses do those tests!