I was a trainer. In fact, I still am. Prior to work freelance, I was attached to Prudential to train the agency force. It's a fun job, I have to admit. The money was good, the travelling was great, and the people were inspirational.
I traveled a lot. More than the total number of travelling I'd done all my life. I remember, in 2012, I had a day training in Seberang Jaya, Penang. Well, I gotta admit, that was 1 of my favourite place to go. Language perhaps. I was raised in Penang, so it was easy for me to communicate. Oh, and the foods too.
It was a fasting month. Training from 9-5 could be tiring. But it's a passion. I did it anyway. We had a very short teabreak, so that I can rest a little bit. It was about 3.15 PM and when I checked my phone, there were 2 missed calls from my sister. I called her back. She asked can I go visit my uncle. Well, I said, of course I can't. He was in Cameron Highland and I was in Penang. Plus, I didn't drive. I took flight.
Truth was, my uncle was in Penang too. Just a bit background of him. He was almost 65. Retired from army and when he got his retirement money and all, he bought piece of land in Cameron Highland and build a chalet. Today, he and wife own 2 villas and a chalet in Cameron Highland. Quite good I'd say. He's as healthy as horse. Every now and then, he cycled up and down Cameron Highland (well, I'd be complaining if the elevator doesn't work), pretty healthy isn't it? He doesn't smoke and took good care of his diet. And when I said he was in Penang, he was actually in a private hospital for kidney and liver failure. For a guy who looked after himself well, it was quite surprising that he was hit with such illness.
Then I remembered, he did not have insurance. My aunt brought him all the way from Cameron Highland to Penang so that he'd get decent treatment, so I figured they must have money. My uncle did not believe in insurance - AT ALL. He was cheated once; by an MLM guy (and he still thought insurance is some kind of MLM). It'll be interesting to know how much was the total bill. My flight to KL was at 8 PM and I was done with my training at about 4.30 PM. One of my participants was kind enough to drive me to airport but I told him I gotta go to hospital first to see my uncle and he was double kind enough to bring me there as well.
My uncle was supposed to be discharged. And when I reached hospital, there were more than 10 relatives of mine there. It was like a mini Raya gathering I said to myself. Well, truth was told. We were needed there to pay the hospital bill for him to be discharged and the bill was RM153k (oh, and the room was free of charge - as the hospital's courtesy). My aunt said, they have the money but the hospital refused to accept cheque. Each of us had to swipe the credit card!
Oh well, RM153k was spent in just 8 days! Pretty crazy I think. Don't you think?
#HIDHIR
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