Friday 17 February 2012

The Girl in Red


We got back to KL on Monday before the expiry of my Singapore Social Visit Pass.  On the same day, Lely was transferred to St Luke's Community Hospital for rehabilitative treatment.

I do not mollycoddle people - you get no gooey-gushy words of solace from me. I give firstly and always my doa and then my most heartfelt effort to maintain a pragmatic perspective on the situation.

When Lely became depressed, a very natural reaction from such a trauma, my words of comfort could only take this form.  "Lely, you had only a 50-50 chance of surviving your operation.  You could have died on the operating table or ended up as a vegetable.  But you're still with us today with most of your faculties intact albeit in need of tough rehabilitation.  Allah must have a reason for giving you this second chance and you and we must  make sure you fulfil and justify this gift."

Lely's progress from Monday January 16 has been nothing short of a miracle.  With physiotherapy, her left side is beginning to show signs of activity.  In the coming difficult, long and frustrating months she shall never be alone. Family and friends came to her bedside from Hong Kong (her brother Jeff), Rohaya flew in from Perth immediately and went straight to the hospital at 2am on Tuesday. We could only get away from Leicester on Tuesday and got to NUH on Wednesday afternoon. Shyama stopped over from Jakarta just like Lely's former boss Fred Kilgore.  From JB came Mahzan and Sabrina and her old classmate Ashari.  On 1 February, the two young mums Maria and Hidayah flew in from KL for a day-trip.  A few days later her old classmate Din came to visit, also from KL.

There was of course her mother Mary and all the extended family, young and elderly.  Lely's colleagues and friends were frequent visitors giving her an incredible amount of support.  So Lely, in your uphill climb you will never be stranded on your own.  These friends  ......
..... and so many others will keep you company all the way.

I wrote  this letter today which Oi Bek will read to you when she visits during the weekend.

".......remember girl, when you are undergoing this rehabilitative care, you are not like a baby learning to move.  A baby begins with nothing.  You have a rich cache of an active and vibrant life to start from.  You are like the bird who was injured while in flight and now you are being helped to fly again.  Remember how some of James Herriot's 'friends' were brought back to their old selves?  So persevere - take your life in both hands, nurture and appreciate the chance and accept all the challenges.  There's a new Lely waiting to come out.  There's still a lot for you to do and achieve.

Remember what Iain said?  YOU ARE YOUR OWN BEST FRIEND!  And there are also all your other best friends to nudge you along.

The road is lonely, long and deep
But I have promises to keep.
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.    (Robert Frost)

Be stubborn and keep the wing/wings flapping.



10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I cried reading this. It reminds me of my late grandmother who was battling illness till her last breath. Allah menguji makhluk-Nya (of whichever religion) yang layak.

Wan Sharif said...

Yes ..I believed Lely would rather have your doa and your word of comfort than the gooey-gushy words of solace..
Your strong words will be equally met by strong-willed desire to be totally cured from Lely.
Nice letter you have there.. Since she knew her teacher.. I will bet she will appreciate your effort.

Anonymous said...

Puan
AlhmduLLiLaH Lely is getting better.Hope she will be up n about with her passion,that is photography.

wawa

Rockybru said...

God sent. You and Iain.

anak si-hamid said...

Dear Wan Sharif,

Thank you and as usual you are such a beacon of hope.

anak si-hamid said...

Indeed wawa, that is what we all hope for. But she's tough and a fighter and with the support of her wonderful friends she can start her wanderings in Singapore's nooks and crannies to catch her photographs.

Thank you for standing by.

anak si-hamid said...

Thanks Din,

So are you and Kumar, Mazlan and Ashari.

And Jailani and Oi Bek, Roy, Rukh, Irene and Shyama.

Nearly 40 years ago in that school in Jurong, I never thought I would live and share these painful times with you lot!

curio said...

u know, last nite at an eatery in sembawang i saw a man who looked like ur husband and i immediately remmebered u. i was thinking it would be nice if i actually could bumped into u. i wanted to ask the man if he was really ur husband but i was too shy.

oh yes st luke, just 4 bustops away. maybe i get to meet lely 1st before i meet u :)

lely is really fortunate to have beautiful people like u surrounding her with words of wisdom. i can never find such words to comfort a fren. i wish i too can achieve such wisdom.
i want to hold to these words and perhaps use them again in the future.
persevering is so much easier with strong support and doa from kind frens.
i m glad i chance upon ur blog and get to learn lots!
thanks.

anak si-hamid said...

Dear Curio,

Must meet this 'twin' of my husband!
Thank you for your kind words. However as you can understand, Lely has a difficult time coping with strangers - so to speak - and it's still stressful for her to focus and cope with new situations.

InsyaAllah we hope to be in Singapore sometime next week and we are planning to get back to Leicester in 2-3 weeks' time, depending on Lely's progress.

Perhaps you could let me have your mobile number (which I shall delete as soon as I have noted it) and we could try a meeting.

And wawa, if you're reading this, we could all arrange a Tek Kah meeting.

Anonymous said...

Salams Puan
How I wish I am in sunny n surprising Singapore always.Actually,after searching for Lely,I attended a wedding at SIA Sports club at upper Changi.At about 9pm I was already in Kuala Lumpur
Thank you for the beautiful write up.

wawa