A Small Celebration

Yesterday my brother and I took our dad to the hospital for a medical checkup.

Back in November 2023, dad underwent a life saving procedure to stop a massive bleeding. He had been experiencing episodes of bleeding for many months which required visits to the emergency room.

The source of bleeding could not be detected back then, resulting in blood transfusions and frequent hospital stays.  The events that we all experienced caused much distress to dad and our immediate family members.

My brother in particular bore the brunt of the responsibility of managing our dad's medical needs. For that I am grateful to him for being the one to hold the fort while my role was to provide support and to help out in any way that I could. The year 2023 was a very bad one for my family.

In November 2023, opportunity presented itself when the active bleeding enabled the doctor to detect the source of bleeding. My brother phoned me to consult if we should let dad undergo the intervention.

The answer was obvious to me. We should give dad one more shot at life. I mean, how could I say no and let my father bleed to death? I would be guilty for the rest of my life. 

The procedure was successful and dad survived. At that juncture we had no choice but to place him at a nursing home because mum raised the white flag. She could not cope anymore. It is understandable. She had singlehandedly cared for dad for the past 23 years and it took a toll on her. At 80 years old, it is time to retire from her nursing duties.

The visit to the hospital went well. I had informed the doctor beforehand that our family's consensus is to stop all future medical procedures and interventions. In fact dad himself told the doctor "no more procedures". It is time for dad to rest (as all of us will one day) and we are prepared to let him go.

We left the hospital and sent dad back to the home. He was clearly exhausted from the trip and happily settled into his bed.  

My brother and I were so relieved that the hospital visit went smoothly with no incidents. So we had a small celebration at Donald's shop.

At first we thought of going to Kar Hiong (since it was nearby and already way past 1:00pm) but my brother thought of roast duck.

 A mug of iced barley (no sugar) for my brother.

My usual Kopi C Ais Kosong for me.

My brother helped himself to 4 saucers of condiments.

There you have it. Our mini feast of one whole roasted duck, half each. In fact Donald came to confirm "one whole duck having here, ah?". Yes. LOL!

That was a good lunch. My brother set off for home while I went back to the office to continue with my work.

***Kitten Updates***

My two invaders this morning. They dashed in the moment I opened the door.

TuTu doing yoga on my mat.

This Ah Boi kurang asam. He casually helped himself to auntie Girl's food.

Then TuTu joined in.

Auntie Girl was at a loss.

Aiyah! Sautong!