I was out shopping with Ah Loot and Paul Kia a couple of weeks ago at Selayang Mall when we saw this sweet young thing singing on stage. We had cendol and ice kacang and toasted bread at Pappa Rich and could hear her singing.

The following week, we celebrated Paul Kia’s birthday. Mom couldn’t join us, though.

In August, we celebrated Melissa’s birthday over a dim sum brunch.  And yes, without mom either.

This is what our backs looked like after the cupping…….

This is Paul Kia’s back, not mine.  Sure looks like he’s got some dreaded disease, doesn’t it? These maroon coloured patches disappeared after a week or so.  I’m not sure if it really removes the “angin” from the body but my stiff neck improved quite a bit after that.

Ah Loot didn’t want to join us for the massage but later she said she wanted to try the “cupping” too. Well, maybe we will go there again some time soon.

My mom had her surgery done on 7 July at 8 a.m. Ah Loot, Paul Kia and I accompanied mom from her hospital bed to the operating theatre. We said a prayer for her and mom appeared calm and reassured. We waved to her as the nurses wheeled her through the sliding door leading to the cold operating theatre.

We waited outside and sat on hard wooden benches. We had gone to the hospital at 7 a.m. and didn’t manage to have breakfast so we had some while waiting for mom. We were told that mom was going for a major surgery and she was high risk.   All the jitters I had the day before disappeared as I recalled the verse from the Bible – Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God”. By 10 a.m. both Paul Kia and I were getting restless because the hard benches gave us a sore bottom, so we walked along the corridor. Paul Kia bought some drinks from the vending machine.

As we waited, we started a conversation with another family whose female relative was at the operating theatre also. As we sat, we saw patients being wheeled into the operating theatre from other wards/floors. There were young and old men and women and children. Paul Kia ogled at a nurse who wore a figure hugging uniform with her name tag pinned right on the tip of her left breast. She strutted up and down the corridor several times with swinging hips and fully aware that all eyes were following her. Paul Kia said she fits perfectly into a TV drama or movie about doctors and nurses.

By 12 noon, we decided to enquire from the nurse at the operating theatre about mom and we were told that she was out of surgery and waiting in the recovery room.  Some time later, she was wheeled out and we accompanied mom back to her bed in the ward. She was in great pain, probably because the anaesthetic had worn out.

That night was the start of my nights in the hospital. My cousin told me to make sure that she doesn’t drink any water for at least 48 hours or until the doctor said she could drink. Also, I needed to make sure that when she coughs, the phlegm doesn’t go into her lungs. And to inform the nurse if I found any bleeding on her wound and when the drips are almost empty so that they can be replaced.  I spent five nights at the hospital and mom appeared to be getting better as she started to eat and pass motion.

While spending the nights at the hospital, I made friends with the other patients and also their relative who stayed overnight to take care of them.  All the patients around my mom, except my mom had cancer and awaiting surgery. One had breast cancer. Two had colon cancer and another had bladder cancer.  The lady with bladder cancer was an elderly lady and her daughters took turns to look after her at night. Before the lights were turned off at almost midnight, I would talk with those carers and Saras who was  on the bed next to mom.  So it wasn’t as boring or scary as I thought it would be.

My mom was to be discharged on the same day as Saras but my mom’s condition turned for the worse as she complained of pain and distension.  The doctors decided to run further tests (x-ray and scan) and that was when an emergency second surgery was needed to see what’s going on inside. They cut her open and found an infection and pus which were drained out. The infection caused her bowels to swell and become distended.  Mom spent three days in ICU and was later taken to the ward where she is now.

Saras has gone home last Monday but my mom is still in hospital. She had a second surgery done on Thursday because of infection.  Long story…..

The lady said that she had been passing out blood since six months ago but didn’t think much of it because she thought it was just body “heatiness”.  But lately the bleeding got worse as she became weak due to the loss of blood and that’s when she decided to seek medical treatment. She’s 58 years old and married with two sons. One son just got married and the other just had a baby after four years of marriage.  She told us that she hoped all goes well with the surgery as she didn’t want to trouble her family members. She would rather take poison and kill herself than be a burden to them.  We tried our best to console her and told her to think positively. People do survive colon cancer. After that she went to her bed and rested.  Soon she had visitors and as she talked to them she started to cry. I suppose it is hard to live with the fact that one has cancer.

We also saw another patient who was there the previous week. She had a successful surgery and was recovering well and would be discharged soon.

I suppose in a hospital you will find patients who recover and go home happy and others who take the other road.

My father loved orchids and he used to plant many different types of orchids in the front and back of our house. When he passed away, we gave away most of them except this one (above).  The flower bloomed a few days ago so I took a picture of it.

A few weeks before he passed on, he fixed up a DIY cupboard and I helped him. Usually he would do all the DIY stuff on his own and he was very good at it. But for that particular cupboard, I helped him. I kinda knew that we wouldn’t be having too many father and daughter days left.  So I wanted to spend time doing things with him.

I guess he knew he was going to leave us soon because he took me along with him to his usual haunts the few weekends before he left us. He showed me where the hardware shop was and the things that I could buy from there like paints, water taps, wires, rubber hoses and such. He even taught me how to clean the paintbrush after painting. Then he took me to the wet market. I don’t usually go there because my father was the one who did the marketing in the family. That’s because he was an early riser and he would have bought all the food from the wet market and brought them home before we woke up. Sunday mornings were his marketing days and he would also buy breakfast for us.  So, one Sunday I had to wake up at an unearthly hour to follow him to the wet market. He showed me the stalls he bought the fish, chicken, vegetables and breakfast. Then, it was the Chinese sinseh/sundry shop where he bought the bread from. My father was a creature of habit, he will buy the same food from the same stall and bread from the same sundry shop…. every time.

I  still remember that even when his health was failing, he was still the strong and determined man who insisted on protecting and providing for the family. A friend once told me that she was glad that she didn’t miss the chance to take care of her ailing and aged parents. I agree with her totally.

Happy Father’s Day.

I finally got a good shot of Tiger. He has beautiful blue eyes.

Meanwhile, my mom is resting at home and waiting for the day when the procedure will be done.  She can’t sit still and relax, and everyday since she came back from the hospital, she insists on doing something like gardening, sewing, laundry, etc.  Well, at least her appetite is good and she is eating well.