The burnt-out rate is high for those who love the newsroom adrenaline. With age catching up and after the recent scare, I have to be mindful of how much my body and brain can take.
IT wasn’t karoshi, the Japanese term for death from overwork where workers die from heart attack, stress or over-exhaustion but I certainly suffered a blackout last week.
It happened on Monday when I was having a discussion with a colleague at 7.30pm after our daily evening editorial meeting to decide on the contents of the next day’s paper. It was the only time slot that we could find and I had wanted to discuss with her a simple matter – the design of the T-shirts for an upcoming event.
But shortly into our small talk, I felt my head spinning. I unbuttoned my collar to remove my necktie and complained about the heat in her room, asking for ever reliable minyak angin at the same time. My legs then turned wobbly and I started throwing up continuously. My colleague’s secretary quickly summoned for help.
I do not recall what happened subsequently – my colleagues struggling to put me into a wheelchair and bringing me down to the lobby to rush me to the hospital.
Read the rest of the column here.
19 comments:
Dear WCW,
Wishing you a speedy recovery...sorry to say this, but I would not put my fate to only one hospital-please try to get a second opinion from another specialist just to be sure. The fact that they could not find what is wrong with you does not mean that it is all fine. Strongly recommend you to get a second opinion from Singapre National University Hospital.
take it easy Dato'. Life is to be lived.
Hi Dato' take it easy. Life is to be lived. Our kids need our nagging presence.
That's why we must be humble all the time and be fair to everybody. Dont take side and indulge in dirty politics.
Thank GOD you are ok.
From now onwards learn to rest and take it easy. Even God rest on the 7th day after creating the world.
Take good care of your health , my friend.
Had a somewhat similar experience. One night while resting, felt walls spinning round followed by nausea and vomiting. Went to hospital, did all sorts of tests but results showed everything normal. Then a friend said I may have Positional Vertigo. Looked this ailment up in the internet and info matched what I went through. Suggest you check this out too.
Datuk Wong. Take care. Wishing you a speedy recovery.
" Be joyful always, pray at all times,
be thankful in all circumstances. "
( 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 )
Dear WCW,
Thank God that everything is alright with you. Continue to give to the nation your best but be careful of overwork. RON Kuala Lumpur
Wanted to leave a comment about how theStar didn't report fully on the Teoh's family date with the psychiatrist but have to refrain on account of WCW's health. Get well soon.
Am glad you are getting better.
Please go for 2nd opinion.
Will still want to continue harassing you at The Star !
:)
Take care Chun Wai.
You have two choices. You want to live for the next 100 years, leave the Star. You want to live for a few more years, stay put in the Star, with its fat bonuses and ex=gratia. This is a stark choice. I hope you will ponder the consequences.
good to know that you're back on your feet.
news being important and all, but please don't take your health for granted.
take care.
ps. Aresnal rox! ;p ;p
Dear Datuk WCW,
Had always enjoyed reading your column. Please slow down a bit. It's not worth it to be stressed out until it affects the health.
Wishing you speedy recovery. God Bless.
Dear Datuk Wong,
I always believe some good man like you will be well taken care by God.
God is watching us.
Wish you all the best in your recovery, you are always a hero for me, no matter what happen to you.
Regards,
Frankie Chai
Take care man.
Dear Dato' Wong,
I hope that you are much better today as I am sure you will be. The guys at DSH are a fine lot. You don't have to be running off to Singapore as had been sugggested. How I wish Malaysians have more confidence in our local doctors.Please don't underrate our local physicians as they are as good as their colleagues down south. A condition like vestibular neuronitis will give symptoms similar to what you had and turn out negative in all the fancy scans and blood tests, hence your doctors telling you that you are really fine. It is a viral thing and it should go off with some rest. The key word, dear Dato', as you have quite correctly surmised is REST. Take a holiday. MCA will take care of itself as it should.Best wishes and warmest regards, Kamal Tan Abdullah.
Dato, sometimes we forgot time never at our side. So enjoy your life before it too late. Balance up. Hope to see your blog another years to come.
inijoe
Dear Datuk Seri
Happy to note that you are okay now. You mentioned in your column about karoshi. On Thursday, your paper carried an article in the World pages (P42) about the fast food employee who died of overwork. There is a Yahoo link to the same story here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091028/wl_asia_afp/japanlabourcompanymcdonalds
Do not get trapped in the workplace. There is more to life than work, as you are well aware. I have seen you being subjected to so much criticism online and I can imagine that you must be very good at stress management.
I also note from your writing that you are Christian. So be the Lord's pencil in His ways, not the world's ways.
SHALOM
A brother in Christ
Post a Comment