'Clinically dead' woman wakes up in French hospital

BORDEAUX, France (AFP) – A woman pronounced "very certainly clinically dead" at a French hospital woke up hours later after her sons refused to turn off her life-support system, medics and the woman said.

Doctors were preparing cancer patient Lydie Paillard, 60, for a chemotherapy session when she passed out, the director of the Bordeaux Rive Droite private hospital Yves Noel told AFP on Wednesday. Read More

CPR switch: Chest presses first, then give breaths

DALLAS – New guidelines out Monday switch up the steps for CPR, telling rescuers to start with hard, fast chest presses before giving mouth-to-mouth.

The change puts "the simplest step first" for traditional CPR, said Dr. Michael Sayre, co-author of the guidelines issued by the American Heart Association. Read more

First Semester Exam Results Out

First semester results out. Congratulations to those managing to score triple As (hint Mr Hoh)

A visit to Kamal Bookstore, near Jalan Pahang Barat

I decided visited Kamal Bookstore today. Why? After testing the stethoscope give by the university, I found out my hearing was not so good. I needed a more sensitive stethoscope.

Trawling the internet led me to Littmann stethoscopes and its legendary quality. I knew I must get one too. :)



After searching up and down, I initially settled on going to the bookstore in UMMC. Many students have gone there for the cheap medical supplies, but I was hesitant as the UMMC was located quite far away, in a place where the traffic is 'hellish'.

I then stumbled on several blogs espousing reasonable prices charged by Kedai Buku Kamal or Kamal Bookstore. How could've forgotten about that place? It was very convenient for me to go there (located less than 5 minutes from my office) and it was cheaper than UMMC.

Here is a price comparison. When I asked the pharmacist where I usually frequent due to its cheap prices, for the price on a Littman stethoscope, the only model they can source is 'Littmann Lightweight II', and the price? RM300.

In Kamal Bookstore, you can get a better model than 'Littmann Lightweight II', namely 'Littmann Classic II SE' for substantially less price than the Lightweight model quoted by the pharmacist. Imagine that.

Littmann Classic II SE must be I think, the most widely used stethoscope in most areas of the world. Of course, the higher end model 'Littmann Cardiology III' or even 'Master Cardiology' is even much better, but is beyond the reach of 'normal' students like me. I also doubt I'll be able to differentiate the sounds that the Cardiology III might produce compared to Classic II SE. :)

The differences between Littmann stethoscopes can be found here.

For those interested to know the price of Littmann Classic II SE, I won't put the price here as it might kill the market. I am telling you however, you won't regret getting your stethoscope and your other medical supplies there at Kamal Bookstore. Go there. Now.



If anyone (from Malaysia) wants me to get them Littmann's stethoscopes from Kamal, do contact me at hfar@rocketmail.com . I'll send them through courier (Nationwide) and will charge a minimal service fee.