a tribute to uncle karuna

uncle karuna..??
siapa itu uncle karuna...

he was a driver in my clinic...klinik kesihatan karangan...
uncle ni la yg dok pi balik, pi balik sepital hantar pesakit yg kami x boleh manage di tahap klinik...

dulu masa teman baru sampei di karangan, pernah tanya uncle..
"syok tak uncle...bawak ambulan...boleh buat bising 'ne-no ne-no' ataih jalan....pastu semua org beri laluan..."

uncle sengih ja...dia kata..."seronok jugak dr...rasa mcm YB pun ada..tapi bawak kereta buruk aja la..."

kalu sapa yg pernah sampai karangan/mahang kat kulim nih, mesti org kata...."eee..takutnya...sunyinya jalan...lalu estet kelapa sawit plak tu...berani hang drive sorang2 ya...."

maka, kerana itu lah uncle berulang kali berpesan kpd saya...."Dr, walau apa pun yg t'jadi masa dok bawak kereta,jgn berhenti ....org accident tahan pun jgn berhenti...kalu polis tahan tapi tak letak signboard pun jgn berhenti...." dan teman pun ikut la cakap uncle tu....sbbnya kat jln2 estate ni byk sindiket2 penipuan yg suka merompak kereta lalu lalang...

tiap2 hari isnin uncle akan drive teman ke mahang (teman kena mengganti kat situ, tak cukup doktor)..satu tempat yg amat jauh di ceruk kulim...org kata dulu tempat komunis...hehe...jgn marah org mahang....perjalanan dari karangan ke mahang lebih kurang 20 minit...so every week mesti teman akan sembang mcm2 topik dgn uncle..

uncle suka bincang pasal politik and ekonomi negara...uncle selalu kata,"pening kita dok tengok org2 atas ni main politik dr...org ni kutuk org ni...org tu kutuk org tu...tak abih abih...kita org bawah ni tak boleh buat apa..."

"kita sudah lama hidup sama2 kat malaysia ni dr...kita kena pandai hormat perasaan org lain...kita tak boleh bukak mulut suka hati saja. betui tak dr? "

regarding pilihanraya 2008 uncle commented, " saya terkejut betui hari tu dr! masa 2-3 hari sebelum mengundi saya nampak 2 org budak india naik motor sambil berkemban dgn bendera PAS!hehehehehe"

sometimes uncle sembang bab ekonomi,"duit kita makin kecik dr, dulu sapa nak sangka mee goreng sepinggan boleh jadi 5 ringgit...la ni mahai daripada tu pun ada.."

uncle memang terrer cakap melayu..sbbnya uncle dari kampung melayu di jitra...kalu dengar uncle cakap dari belakang mesti kita ingat dia org melayu...hehe...di rumah uncle pun kalu masak ayam, mesti beli ayam dari kedai melayu...sbb dia dah biasa makan ayam sembelih....

uncle ni sentimental orgnya...dalam perjalanan kat mahang tu..3-4 kali jugak le dia menangis sambil bercerita...pastu mesti uncle gelak sambil cakap.."apa org tua nih...buat malu ja dok teriyak depan dr..."

tiap2 tahun pada hari ibu kitaorg akan tunggu uncle call mak dia di jitra...hehe...masa dia dial phone tu muka dah sayu semacam...bila kata hello air mata dah meleleh..hehe...uncle..uncle...pastu tak sempat nak cakap 'selamat hari ibu' uncle dah tak boleh nak bercakap...terpaksa letak phone dulu...call lain kali pulak...

kadang2 menitik jugak air mata uncle bila tengok nasib kawan2 seumurnya yg tak dapat perhatian daripada anak2 mereka...ada kawan2 uncle yg dihantar ke rumah org2 tua...uncle sedih sgt...uncle selalu kata "saya tak pernah mintak apa2 daripada anak2 saya dr. tak nak jaga saya bila tua nanti pun takpa...janji depa semua lepaih dari universiti...kawin dgn org baik2..cukup la...

tapi anak2 uncle bagus2 semuanya...semua cerdik2..ada yg ada degree, jadi cikgu etc.in fact, uncle hari tu dgn muka berseri2 bagi tau kat saya yg anak dia nak belikan kereta 'vios' utk dia...hehe...i just smiled and told him..."baguih la uncle..boleh bawak saya ke mahang naik vios lepas nih....hehe"

uncle tu sebenarnya dah nak pencen pun...tapi dia cukup pantang kalu kita sebut 'org tua'...hehe...he prefers 'org lama'....pada uncle kalu kita selalu dok sebut org tua...seseorg tu akan ada mindset mcm org tua...dia tak suka lembik2 mcm tu...he makes sure that he stays fit...by 7am sharp every day uncle dah tercegat kat kedai kopi...8am sharp dah siap sedia nak start kerja...on the weekends uncle akan buat kerja2 kontrak sikit, kerja2 paip etc...

uncle karuna adalah seorang yg disegani di kk karangan...he's very disciplined yet very humble and very very helpful. uncle duduk di kuarters klinik di karangan..bersebelahan dgn rumah nurse2 dan staf2 klinik yg lain...jadi bila ada anak2 staf lain yg menangis berpanjangan, mesti uncle akan dtg ketuk kat tingkap...and uncle akan tanya kalu ada apa2 yg dia boleh tolong...

he was a great man, uncle....

on wednesday 21/1/2009...i noticed that uncle was a bit quiet..not his usual chatty self...he delivered a letter to my room at 4.30pm...i thanked him and he smiled...i went back home...and it was after maghrib when i received a call from Mat..my medical assistant (MA)...

"Assalamualaikum...dr..sorry mengganggu...i have some bad news la....Uncle karuna dah takdak...baru saja meninggal..heart attack.."

i was beyond words...terus ajak sumi san gi emergency unit to see Nazri, my MA..apparently uncle had some chest pain at 5pm...then terus Nazri buat ECG and sent him to the hospital via ambulance. Aunty (uncle's wife) was with him in the ambulance and uncle was relatively stable and was still able to talk in the ambulance...

Aunty masih lagi bersembang2 dgn uncle dlm ambulance and was still playfully scolding him about his smoking habit...bila sampai hospital Nazri nak repeat ECG, masa tu la uncle tetiba fitted and collapsed...CPR was done continuously..tried to revive him...but Izrail was already there, fulfilling his duties...

I hugged aunty...hugged her..and kept on telling her..."Aunty kena banyak sabar...ini semua kerja Tuhan...ini bukan dalam tangan kita..."

Aunty cried and said," Saya tak sangka la dr, saya ingat sakit biasa saja boleh bawak balik rumah..tapi sekarang saya balik seorang..."

meleleh air mata teman masa tu...

it was a very interesting scene in the emergency department that night...patient2 lain yg sedang menunggu semua hairan...mana taknya, kami semua yg datang ke situ semuanya berbilang kaum...hugging each other, trying to comfort one another...staff nurses karangan, their husbands semua datang to pay respest to uncle...tanpa mengira bangsa...uncle would have been very proud...
lepastu agaknya tak tahan dok tengok situasi yg agak pelik ni, maka bangun la seorang perempuan melayu (agaknya salah seorg waris yg tengah tunggu anak dia terima rawatan)and terus tanya sumi san, " siapa yg meninggal sebenarnya?"
sumi san pun jawab "driver klinik"
perempuan tu " ooo...." maka senang le hatinya...

hari berikutnya, ramai staf ke rumah uncle to pay last respect sblm upacara pengebumian...aunty was so drained..tersandar kat dinding...aunty pakai sari hari tu...dia cakap kat uncle," awak selalu kata saya nampak cantik bila pakai sari...awak taknak tengok saya ke hari ni..."....meleleh lagi air mata kami semua.....

we went back home after that..and sampai hari ni aunty masih belum balik ke rumah kuartersnya di sini...mungkin masih di rumah sedaranya di jitra..

im still very sad with this great loss...one of my greatest regrets is that i did not show uncle the beauty of the Quran...and it's too late now...

i wonder why people always pay tribute when people have already passed away..and would not be able to read the good things ppl say about them..it's such a waste isnt it??

so i think, after this i shall start a new trend...i shall write a tribute to the ppl around me...the ones close to me...the ones i love and let them know that i truly appreciate them while they are still alive and breathing...

and wherever u are...uncle karuna...pls know that i for sure appreciate u...and im sorry that i didnt tell that sooner...

i shall always remember all the reminders u've given me...and i shall pass it on to my juniors and children to come insyaAllah...

love,
sarah sofian