Eyes & Senses

Eyes & Senses
Just enter minor posting, ophthalmology (eyes). It is a new subject for me although I had learnt the anatomy and physiology of eyes in my 1st yr. However, very kind-heartedly, I had already returned it back to my lecturers and now I do not owe any of them any knowledge. How kind I am? Sigh!!
Actually I already had some idea to write something regarding eyes some time ago, just can’t find the time and mood plus the impulse to write it down. Let’s talk about the minor posting I currently enter now. I heard the ophthalmology ward is a few ward in the hospital that does not have houseman, so the final phase medical students who posted will do the houseman’s job there. However, I think that is still ok for the students to do the job as we should and expected to have that kind of life later. But, I heard that some of the nurses are not easy to cope or deal with. But from the first day I had my briefing in the ward there I already had that kind of feeling. One friend said that if expected to be there at 7.30am, even you late more than 1 minute, they will keep calling your hp, if you oversleep, they will give you a nice morning call to make you wake up without ‘good morning’. Ok la… fine. Sometimes they will just call you if on call on the day, just ask you to go to the ward to give one simple IV drug through the branula to the patient in which even my sister can do it. Wait and see how I am going to fight with my feeling when I face such situations.
Eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin are five important organs of perception in our body, and even primary students will know that. These organs are probes on our body to receive all the information from world outside. Make it simple, there are all like radar, spy plane, ultraviolet camera, infrared thermometer and military satellite etc used by the military to gather all the information from the surrounding environment and enemies. Am I making it simpler? Sound like more complicated by using all those high-tech probes. Without these organs, we still can be a normally function human? My answer is a big NO.
Without eyes, we can’t see; without ears, we can’t hear; without nose, we can’t smell; without tongue, we can’t taste; without skin, we can’t feel. So simple ya….
Without ears, we cannot hear, and then we cannot speak. To hear and to speak is always well connected. If we cannot hear since birth, we are not exposed to all kind of voice stimuli and we are impossible to sound what we want to express correctly, we only can mumble. Without ears, you won’t hear others scold you, tease you, praise you verbally. You won’t hear any voice any sound. You won’t hear the music that moves your heart. You won’t hear people talk to you. You won’t hear other curse you ‘pig’ and you won’t hear other praise you pretty like an angel or…. I don’t know whether angel is pretty or not, but we usually describe it like that. We don’t like to hear noisy sound and mumbling voices from our mom. But we enjoy listening to music or songs we like and the ‘sweet’ voices of the gf or bf.
Without nose, we cannot smell. It seemed that to smell is not a very attractive function for us. Erm…. Sometimes not always right, if not why the perfumes companies so enthusiastic to do all kind of promotion stall or counter at the shopping malls. It is a normal scene to see all kind of perfumes companies to do series of promotion in Mid Valley. They are not earning big money from the public? Before you are going to have a date, are you going to take bath or at least give yourself a few sprays of branded or non-branded perfume? Somebody said aroma is seducing…. Is it? Anyway, at least, we as a human will avoid foul smelling such as…… Actually we are so obsessed to what our nose will sense.
Without tongue, we cannot taste. Without tongue, we are eating something tasteless like plain water. Sometimes, even the food is less salt, we will complain, too much salt, we will complain. We enjoy all kind of food which we had tasted that some certain food is delicious. If we born without tongue, we won’t enjoy the pleasure of eating and will not keep our stomach full instead of just enough for us to maintain the daily activities. We enjoy tasting, we enjoy eating very much. From the Buddhist scripture, the desire to eat ranked the second desire which we humans most obsessed to. I think it is quite true, even though the fact is not delivered by the Buddha himself but analyzed from his teachings.
Without skin, we cannot feel. Without skin, we will get ulcer on our legs; we lost of sensation and keep on stepping on the sharp, or invading sufaces. Without skin, we will be burned without feelings of hot and pain. We probably will be poked or hit by something without knowing it. With the skin, we enjoy being hugged since we are neonates, infants…..till….. We will feel a sense of comfort, warmth and secure from being hugged, that is why human like to hugged. Why? Because your skin feels it. Without skin, we don’t know what kiss is.
All in all, back to the eyes…. For me, this is the most important organ amongst the five and this why I put it the last under my list which can later show its precious.
In medicine, there is one independent specialty for this organ, we called ophthalmology. Whereas like other organs mentioned, there do not have their own independent specialty except skin. Even the ears, this organ shared with nose and throat and formed otorhinolaryngology.
In chinese, eyes also called the windows of the humans’ soul. From the saying, we can induce that without the eyes, we nearly loss our soul. But this is statement is quite cruel for the blind man. So, this is not always true for those great people like Hellen Keller etc. However, the chinese saying stressed the importance of the eyes in creating and forming a person which different from others. Eyes play an important role in influencing the growth of our mind-set. It is the main tunnel of input of information for us. With the eyes, the world and surrounding is so excited and so colourful which attract our concentration by rotating our eyes and later the mind. Guys especially sensitive to the ‘colours’ which attractive and will turn over the head. I am sure some of the girls also have such ‘ability’.
Because of the eyes, I enjoy travelling, photographing and calligraphing. Without eyes, I won’t be the one I am now. Thanks to my parents by gave me a pair completely functioning eyes, thanks to the ‘god’—the law of causes and conditions. Eyes help me see all the beauty of the world and the ugliness side of the world. Travelling around let me observe the others who have a totally different of lifestyle, culture, religion, and idea with me. By travelling, you will be able to know the people who live in poverty, stress and suffering from diseases. We cannot feel the suffering from imagination unless you yourself have been suffered from that kind of pain if not at least you must observe it properly and feel it sincerely with your heart. Even a writer, before he has the idea what he is going to write on, he must have enough experience, feeling on the stuffs he is going to write on. Eyes help me to gather all the information I need. The world possessed the biggest beauty and it never tell you that, a saying from an ancient chinese philosopher. So, we have to see, to experience, to feel the beauty of the world.
Photographing makes me feel that I am alive. I still be able to catch all the breathtaking scenes, great buildings, lovely creatures and attractive humans. The world is changing constantly; in order to freeze the moments we love, use a camera. The camera companies always promote their camera with such idea. My friend commented on such interest, why bring a big and heavy camera to snap, what a burden! Erm…. I don’t care, I am a person do not fear of troubles, sometimes… Hehe….
Calligraphing, it is an art of combining all the lines together to make it a fine word. Eyes are used to see what I am writing, and every moment of calligraphing need a good coordination of the eyes and hand. It is pleasure to appreciate the words which are fine and gorgeous. The eyes help to gather the fine lines I appreciated and keep storage in my brain which later will be incorporated in my products later. Without eyes, calligraphing is dull. I really admire those who are blind and still determined enough in the effort of practicing arts.
Watching movies is my favourite pastime. Although I am now already a final student, the habit of watching movies only drops to 1 to 1.5 in two weeks. Before the clinical year, the frequency is once a week. Remember in a certain period, I found that there were no movies for me to go in to watch (except those really cheap, lousy productions) in GSC MV, all the movies on screen were watched. Huhuh… what a proud record I created! For me, to watch a movie is not simply sit down and watch. I ‘read’ the movie I watched. There are only a few movies that I really satisfied with; I recommend ‘Constant Gardener’ and ‘Babel’. These stories are deep enough and it is also a great enjoy to watch such movie although the there are no wonderful graphics like ‘Transformers’. Great and meaningful movie always not the commercial movie which tends to use floods of advertisement. If anybody interested just try to dig it out from anywhere.
Eyes, the windows of the soul, if one day you lost it, are you prepared to face it?
In the ophthalmology ward, there was an Indian man around 60 and he was completely blind due to diabetes. From the appearance, he was cheerful and a nice man. I am happy with this man and confidently I managed to set a branula on his arm, yet this man has a big and visible veins. Sigh…. This is the only patient I managed to set the branula amongst the patients I gone through on that day. Hehe… forgive me, I am still a student. Message behind: always be cheerful even if you have blind. The doctor will be easier to manage you (you will be less suffering) and always do exercise so your veins will be better for branula insertion in the unknown future. Hahaha….