I Survived AH1N1 (Part 3)

I don't know, exactly, how long the ride to the hospital took. One hour? Two? Probably not three. I remember staring into the night, into the brightly lit highways. We had probably already passed the Kuala Lumpur city proper. How far was this place from Kajang? The mountains lining the highway looked odd. They looked like lime stones, like the ones you see in prehistoric cave walls.

We eventually arrived in what I found out later to be Sungai Buloh. I think I just looked for a sign so that I would know where I was.

I don't recall going through a formal hospital registration. I stepped out of the van, and then I eventually stepped into a room with a hospital bed, an end table with a telephone, and an enclosed lavatory in the corner.

"Make yourself at home. Someone will come to take some swab tests later."

I remember asking God if I was dying. AH1N1 was highly publicized then. I never cared enough to do research, though. I had no idea if it was a life-threatening disease or if it was just a much-ado'd-about flu.

"There's a reason for all of these. There's a reason for all of these. I'm not going to die. I'll get home to Kajang soon. Tomorrow they will release me. Tomorrow I'll be out of this place and this will all be just a memory."

I sunk into restless slumber. A nurse came in the middle of the night to take some tissues from my mouth. A few hours later, the doctor came in with the results.

"Miss Mari I'm afraid we will have to keep you here for a couple of days. You are AH1N1 positive."

Of course I remembered to take a selfie.

(to be continued)