I got a phonecall from my mom today while i was out studying with marr and vann... out of the blue my phone stopped playing music and the teriyaki boys too fast too furious track started playing. i wasn't suprised to see my mom's name under 'receiving call'.
what i was suprised about was what she told me when she called. A good friend of our family, my mom's friend, was hospitalised for stroke. no suprise, my mom rushed down to the hospital. when i called her back at around 6 to get the bed number and so on, she sounded really sad. she hung up on me after a few seconds but i wasn't mad at her. i could understand. afterall, she is one of my mom's closest friends.
when i got there, the patient was the first to greet me; and she did so in a peculiar way. she gave me a funny grin and waved at me. "second time i'm seeing u like this", she said. my older bro was massaging her foot to stimulate her senses after the stroke. makes sense, he's the paramedic in the family anyways.
i was absolutely stunned when she took her pillow and hid behind it. then she played 'hide-and-seek' with me from behind that pillow as i took my turn massaging her feet. i gave her that 'raised eyebrow' look and strated questioning the situation i was in. then it occured to me - she was acting like a little child! "oh God, what did that stroke do?" i asked myself.
Do patients who suffer from stroke turn out like that? or is it just senility? she's a mere 40-50 yrs of age though. my mom had a stroke once, and i don't remember her like that. of course i was pretty young to remember much then. alls i know is that my step-dad told me "mah is just taking a rest in the hospital... she's tired" at that time. but i overheard the doc.. so i knew what was really happening. i was smart then too ^^
stupid puns aside, the seriousness of the matter hit me. now i know why my mom was so sad. she was so cute when she asked me "when i'm going to get married" (like that'll ever happen, ha!)
but that's prolly just the stroke talking. she kissed my hand before we left. over one night i saw a friend of ours turn from this mature woman who helped take care of me when my mom wasn't able to, and fervently zealous in aid for my mom, turn into this immature, KPO little kid. it was heartbreaking actually.
my mom cried all the way home. she started reminscing the times with her buddy. i would too, given the situation. what's apalling is that none of my mom's friend's kids actually turned up, cept for her son but he stayed for too short a while to make it significant.
my mom said a mother can take any kind of pain but what hurts most is what comes out of their children. she also said now that she's a kid again maybe she wont feel the hurt and loneliness of rejection. her friend however, seemed very sad when my mom left her side. she herself cried and gave my mom long hugs. after promising she'd recover and that we'd all have a sumptuous dinner after she does, she let my mom go.
i didn't speak at all to my mom on our way back. i just let her cool down. i know that things bigger than me happen that sometimes do affect me. it makes me think, of how fragile what each of us have is. the life God breathed into us when we were made can be broken just like that, and by factors we, as human beings, cannot possibly control.
i'm left with one thought - if i were to die now, would i go in peace, or would i be tied back by something keeping me here, something i have yet to do or complete? this experience gives a whole new meaning to the saying "live each day as if it were your last"!
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