quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

Now that we are back at home with everything settling down, I finally have time to look back on what happened in the past two months. It’s been such a roller-coaster ride and it’s been pretty much like a dream.

I flew back to Singapore from NZ via SIA just before CNY. We had decided to spend the first few days of Chinese New Year in Singapore quietly so that my dad could rest well and avoid all the hustle and bustle back home. After that, we spent another week at home before we sent my dad to the hospital in KL.

I cannot start to describe how I felt throughout this whole ordeal. It must have been the most taxing and agonising period in my life. I was almost in a daze most of the time and could not really comprehend what was happening, though I may not have shown it. My mum and I knew what was to happen, but it was not until the briefing the day before the surgery that reality really sunk in� my dad was going to undergo a major heart surgery.

The surgery was scheduled on 1st of March in the morning. Dad did not really say anything but I could see he was worried sick. We tried to fill the air with lame jokes and empty conversations. Finally the moment came and we accompanied the nurse to wheel my dad to the operating theatre. It was a dreadful journey. Nothing but silence filled the air. As we approached the operating theater, I feared deep in my heart that it would be my last moments with my dad. But I tried hard not to cry as I didn’t want my dad to see that. Once my dad had entered the OT, we waited outside in the waiting area. We had been told it would be a 4-5 hour surgery, which turned out not to be the case. It would have been an agonising wait had it not been for my friends who dropped by and kept me and my mum company, thus lifting our morale.

After roughly two and a half hours, a nurse came to the waiting area and told us the doctor would like to have a word with us. Now, if you are an avid TV series fan, you would think that this would be bad news; doctor wanting to speak to the family of patient half-way through the surgery. Well, we thought so too and walked towards the door with our hearts almost falling out of our chests. Well, DON’T believe everything you see on TV (like a fool we did), this was not the case. There, we saw the doctor and with a big smile on his face, he told us everything went very well and the surgery was a success. PHEW~ we felt a big big weight being lifted from our shoulders right then and there. (They should really teach the nurse not to scare people like that!! We almost had a heart attack right there!

Then we were directed to go into the ICU area to briefly see my dad, who at that stage still hadn’t woken up yet. No words can describe how I felt at that moment. It was the strangest feeling looking at my dad, lying on the bed, all weak and powerless. The reality really hit home at that very moment.

Dad was transferred out of ICU and into normal ward the following afternoon. I was pretty much in a daze for the following few days. Sleep deprived and being on an emotional roller-coaster is definitely not a good combination. Luckily we pulled through, the hardest part is behind us now and we just need to concentrate on making sure my dad takes one thing at a time and let his body heal (and believe me, it is the toughest part yet). That’s right, no hurry dad! You hear that?!

Special thanks.

A very special thanks to all my friends who have been incredibly supportive and went out of their ways to help us. I am deeply touched and no words can express how glad I am to have kind souls like you in my life. Well, you know who you are. It is people like you who helped us through the difficult times. And for that, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

I would also like to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who have sent prayers, texts, emails, messages our way. Thank you very much for your support and encouraging words. We really appreciate all the kind thoughts. Thank you!

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