On the road to recovery...

On the road to recovery…
For most of us, the road to recovery no matter what our experiences be it health, physical or emotional is both painful and long. But time heals everything as they say, for as time passes, the pain eases,the scars be it physical or emotional slowly but surely diminishes.

It’s been almost two weeks, mum is on the road to recovery, albeit with constant nagging pain and obvious post-op depression and mood swings. Who wouldn’t, when you have had your chest open up, and both your legs cut to accommodate operation procedures. Thank God for the surgeons and the operation theatre team who carried out the bypass successfully and the nurses for their care and concern after. Thank God for my sister who has come home from England to care fulltime for my mom for a month. Thank God for my brother the cardiologist, for his expertise and advice. Thank God for my other sister and brothers who constantly appear to do their part. As for me, I try to visit after work and do my part during the weekends. My children, especially my eldest girl try to visit as well.

As a family, it has drawn us closer. For my dad, he is a bit lost, with his own health problems and his own world too. How we wish we can turn back the clock, but we can’t. My daughter, about to embark on a new course of life as a medical student in the National University of Singapore has her own say on the matter. The past two weeks have been an experience for the children and she said to me, “mum, we are so selfish, we want her to live so we can have her there for as long as we can, but do we see her point of view, she is in so much pain and wants to give up, but we refuse to give up on them”. She has always been close to her grandma and it hurts her to see her grandma in so much pain. Yes, we may be selfish I say, but we want to give her a chance, and yes, we want our parents to be with us for a long, long time. A life is a life and all lives should be cherished. We want to hold on to things so dear to us for as normal human beings, we dread the parting and we want to hold on for as long as possible. It seems right, that’s all.

The road to recovery is long, for all of us, in our own capacities and experiences, we want to live better lives, we want to do better than where we are now, we want the best for our children, our family members, we want the best for our selves. Yes, at times we have to be selfish to be generous, we have to be cruel to be kind so they say. As the nation goes through change and crisis, we, too, in our own families have our own experiences with change and crisis. But with time and support from one another, we try to live our lives to the fullest and do our part in this human endeavour we call ‘the journey of life’. Mum, we hope you will be patient and together we can get through this. Of course it’s easier said than done, we are not in your shoes, but mum we will be there for you and help see you over this hiccup in life.

Thank God I am alive today to write this. Before I end, I am reminded of a passage I once read that we should be:
-thankful for the noise you hear for it means you still have your sense of hearing.
-thankful for the sights and scenes you see for it means you still have your sense of sight.
-thankful for the laughter and speech that comes from you for it means you still have a voice to
use.
-thankful for the long walks you have to take some times for it means you still have legs to carry
you.
-thankful for the bitter and sour food you have to eat for it means you still have your sense of
taste.
-thankful for the worn out shoes you have on your feet for it means you are better off than the
beggar with no feet.
-thankful for the small roof above your heads for it means you are sheltered from the sun and
rain.
So folks,
-play like you never played before
-dance like you never danced before
-sing like you never sang before
-love like you never loved at all and
-live like you never lived before to the fullest.
Cheers!