Story and pix by Chan Lilian
HOO Soo Kee is a picture of gratitude.
The 66-year- old end-stage renal patient related how in his most trying times, the state government came forward to alleviate his sufferings.
“I found out I required dialysis treatment last year. I was asked to look around for a dialysis centre but it was so hard to find one as most of the private ones were fully booked and the treatment was so costly. I have to pay RM165 for the dialysis treatment and another RM65 for the injection. In total, I have to pay RM230 each time. I required three treatments a week, hence I have to fork out thousands of ringgit per month.”
“I stay in Telok Kumbar and travelling to town was a burden too. However, I am so relieved when Johan visited my home to assess my application for treatment at this Balik Pulau Penang CAT Dialysis. Since December 2013, I have been coming here for treatment. Now, I only pay RM30 for treatment, in comparison to the RM165 I may have had to pay. Also, I like the nurses here because they are so patient and gentle with me,” Hoo said.
Johan Abu Bakar is the personal assistant of former State Legislative Speaker, Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain who is from Balik Pulau.
Abdul Halim heard about Hoo’s plight and reached out to help register him for the CAT dialysis.
To explain simply, dialysis treatment is when the patient is connected to a filter (dialyzer) by tubes attached to the blood vessels. Blood is slowly pumped from the body into the dialyzer, where waste products and extra fluid are removed. The filtered blood is then pumped back into the body.