mom
i just found out today that my mother has been reading this blog.
*yikes!*
i must say this again: wowww wahaaahahowww. my mom has gone from confusing the right-click with left-click, to now - in the words of my sister - "dah pandai menggoogle skarang weii."
hihi, i am truly impressed.
so, with that in mind, i am writing this little story in dedication to her, for i know her eyes will land on these words.
here it goes:
back in 1998, about a month before the KL Commonwealth Games, my mom went to donate blood at her school. it's just something that she always does, this donating blood thing. then she got word that the doctor wanted to see her. so she went, and the doctor delivered a terrible news.
it seemed that, after examining her bloodwork, the doctor found indications of cancer. she was ordered for a check-up, and it was confirmed: there was a benign growth, a cyst i believed was what it's called, at her ovary, and it was caught by sheer dumb luck apparently, at a very very early stage, by the blood donation examination. my mom was told that the growth has to be removed IMMEDIATELY, and a surgery had been scheduled in two days.
at this point, i'd imagine my mom to be stunned by the news.
but, my mom being my mom, the eternal sport nut, with misguided priorities, and who had already made eager plans to go see the Games, then said to her doctor: "Buat surgery lepas sukan Commonwealth tak boleh ke..."
aiseyman... mom???!!
well, surgery is surgery, and the Games would have to wait. so, reluctantly, she acquiesced.
i was in malaysia at the time, having had to go back because of the currency crisis. i was working as a computer technician back then, and i remembered spending the day at work worrying insanely about my mom who was under the knife that afternoon.
i left work early when my dad came to pick me up, and we drove to the hospital. my mom's surgery would be over by then, and in my heart i was praying so hard that it went well. we arrived at the hospital, and were met by several family members who somehow had gotten wind of the surgery news. some of my aunts and uncles were there, my (late) grandmother too, along with some other distant relatives.
and i noticed the grim look on all of their faces. something was not right.
then my dad told me. the surgery itself went well, the growth was successfully removed, but my mom's heartrate went awry after the surgery and her condition destabilized quickly. she was put in the intensive care unit, under very watchful eyes, and she hasn't regain consciousness.
i walked into the ICU, and saw my mom lying in bed, looking so fragile that it broke my heart. in the room, the constant beep on the heart monitor softly hung on the air. my grandmother was sitting by mom's bedside, her (grandmom's) hand clutching a yasin, eyeing my mom intently, reciting silently the holy words. my maklong was standing alongside grandmom, who both saw me and smiled a quiet smile.
i left the room and joined my dad, who was talking to the people outside. i just listened to the stories being told about my mom, all wonderful ones, and in my mind i was thinking why couldn't you all tell my mom all these when she's actually NOT in a coma??
one of the stories was how my mom loved cats. one person remarked that he thinks in heaven there will be a lot of cats waiting for my mom to keep her happy.
hmm.
i walked back into the ICU room, and took a seat by my mother's bedside. i looked at the heart monitor and saw that her heartrate was stable, albeit low. and then i held her limp fingers, and quietly called for her. "mak...?" i whispered, but there was no response. i sat back, held her hand, and watched her for the longest time.
a day later she stabilized enough to be wheeled out of the ICU, and she spent a week or two later in her hospital room recovering amazingly quickly. it was happy times there, despite her being at the hospital. i remembered a LOT of visitors, i remembered my mom happy being pampered like never before, i remembered my dad cracking up silly jokes, and people laughing hysterically, and my mom was clutching her belly bending in pain trying so hard not to laugh.
i just want her to know she is loved, by many folks, in many ways, even if nobody ever say it outloud to her.
remember that, mom.
*yikes!*
i must say this again: wowww wahaaahahowww. my mom has gone from confusing the right-click with left-click, to now - in the words of my sister - "dah pandai menggoogle skarang weii."
hihi, i am truly impressed.
so, with that in mind, i am writing this little story in dedication to her, for i know her eyes will land on these words.
here it goes:
back in 1998, about a month before the KL Commonwealth Games, my mom went to donate blood at her school. it's just something that she always does, this donating blood thing. then she got word that the doctor wanted to see her. so she went, and the doctor delivered a terrible news.
it seemed that, after examining her bloodwork, the doctor found indications of cancer. she was ordered for a check-up, and it was confirmed: there was a benign growth, a cyst i believed was what it's called, at her ovary, and it was caught by sheer dumb luck apparently, at a very very early stage, by the blood donation examination. my mom was told that the growth has to be removed IMMEDIATELY, and a surgery had been scheduled in two days.
at this point, i'd imagine my mom to be stunned by the news.
but, my mom being my mom, the eternal sport nut, with misguided priorities, and who had already made eager plans to go see the Games, then said to her doctor: "Buat surgery lepas sukan Commonwealth tak boleh ke..."
aiseyman... mom???!!
well, surgery is surgery, and the Games would have to wait. so, reluctantly, she acquiesced.
i was in malaysia at the time, having had to go back because of the currency crisis. i was working as a computer technician back then, and i remembered spending the day at work worrying insanely about my mom who was under the knife that afternoon.
i left work early when my dad came to pick me up, and we drove to the hospital. my mom's surgery would be over by then, and in my heart i was praying so hard that it went well. we arrived at the hospital, and were met by several family members who somehow had gotten wind of the surgery news. some of my aunts and uncles were there, my (late) grandmother too, along with some other distant relatives.
and i noticed the grim look on all of their faces. something was not right.
then my dad told me. the surgery itself went well, the growth was successfully removed, but my mom's heartrate went awry after the surgery and her condition destabilized quickly. she was put in the intensive care unit, under very watchful eyes, and she hasn't regain consciousness.
i walked into the ICU, and saw my mom lying in bed, looking so fragile that it broke my heart. in the room, the constant beep on the heart monitor softly hung on the air. my grandmother was sitting by mom's bedside, her (grandmom's) hand clutching a yasin, eyeing my mom intently, reciting silently the holy words. my maklong was standing alongside grandmom, who both saw me and smiled a quiet smile.
i left the room and joined my dad, who was talking to the people outside. i just listened to the stories being told about my mom, all wonderful ones, and in my mind i was thinking why couldn't you all tell my mom all these when she's actually NOT in a coma??
one of the stories was how my mom loved cats. one person remarked that he thinks in heaven there will be a lot of cats waiting for my mom to keep her happy.
hmm.
i walked back into the ICU room, and took a seat by my mother's bedside. i looked at the heart monitor and saw that her heartrate was stable, albeit low. and then i held her limp fingers, and quietly called for her. "mak...?" i whispered, but there was no response. i sat back, held her hand, and watched her for the longest time.
a day later she stabilized enough to be wheeled out of the ICU, and she spent a week or two later in her hospital room recovering amazingly quickly. it was happy times there, despite her being at the hospital. i remembered a LOT of visitors, i remembered my mom happy being pampered like never before, i remembered my dad cracking up silly jokes, and people laughing hysterically, and my mom was clutching her belly bending in pain trying so hard not to laugh.
i just want her to know she is loved, by many folks, in many ways, even if nobody ever say it outloud to her.
remember that, mom.
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