‘Queen of Rock’ makes peace with menopause

‘Queen of Rock’ makes peace with menopause

Compiled by ARFA YUNUS and ALLISON LAI

AHEAD of turning 57 in July, Malaysia’s “Queen of Rock”, Ella (pic), is sharing her experience and struggles in dealing with menopause, with the hope that it will raise awareness, according to Berita Harian.

Ella highlighted the importance of women taking care of their health when reaching the menopausal phase.

The ageing process, she said, should be embraced through good healthcare and learning about hormones in the body.

“Many women don’t want to share their phase of facing menopause because they don’t want to make it difficult for their children and husband or (let it) affect their emotions.

“Now, there is a solution – we have to know how to ‘win’ in every situation. At present, I feel happy and not emotional.“A husband’s role is also important.

For example, with Azhar, he made an effort to take me out and meet our friends when I complained about hot flashes or when I got easily irritated,” she said, referring to her husband, Azhar Ghazali.

In the beginning, Ella said she was not aware of the importance of hormone care in maintaining her emotional stability, especially for women going through menopause.

“When I met my doctor, I was surprised to find that my blood pressure was high and that my hormones were erratic, which affected my health level.

“I was almost picked up by an ambulance because the reading was too high,” she said, adding that she had never faced any illness before seeing the specialist.

> Despite being thrown one life challenge after another, 49-year-old Roshani Mat Ali continues to show grit as she shoulders the responsibility of caring for her ageing parents all on her own, Kosmo! reported.

Her mother, Minah Ibrahim, 77, was first diagnosed with a nerve disease six years ago.

Roshani’s hardship increased when her father, Mat Ali Salleh, suffered a stroke two years ago.

As it is, Roshani and her husband, Zuraili Loh, 47, can barely make ends meet with his monthly income of RM800 as a part-time lorry driver.She requires RM1,000 a month to cover her parents’ medical costs and disposable diapers.

“I am a housewife and live near my parents’ house, so I took the responsibility of taking care of them.

“They need special care and help with almost all daily activities,” she said when met at Kampung Jeram Hulu in Kuala Nerus, Terengganu.

She added that her father receives a monthly aid of RM300 from the Social Welfare Department.

She and her husband now hope that their application for monthly assistance for her mother will be approved by the department soon.

Roshani also hoped that there will be kind Malaysians willing to help with her parents’ medical bills.

● The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ‘ >’sign, it denotes a separate news item.