Kuala Lampur, June 4 -- Last week I talked about the unexpected challenges of getting my EPF medical withdrawal application approved.

The good news is that it's sorted and for the moment, I can set any money concerns aside and just focus on building up my strength.

I'm grateful that it has all been resolved and thankful to the EPF staffers who, throughout all this, have always been polite and as helpful as they could be, all things considered.

Since my last column I've made visits to my physiotherapist and the dentist.

Alas, I've been too tired and weak to keep up my rigorous dental routine so I needed to extract a wisdom tooth as well as patch up a few cavities.

What's more pressing is that my body is so stiff that I have to pause, ...