RIP Gong Gong
I have been quiet for a while as a lot of stuff happened after I returned to Melbourne. On 5 April 2007, the day before Good Friday, my grandfather passed away at about 6.30 pm. He would have turned 86 on the 22nd of this month. I had just spoken to my sister that morning and while the update wasn't great, it appeared that he was holding on well and his vital signs were strong. However, at around lunchtime, I got another call asking me to come back asap. I was scrambling, trying to get flights out that night, but unfortunately, they were all full. In the end, it didn't matter anyway, as I wouldn't have made it back in time. I flew out in the afternoon on Good Friday and just returned to Melbourne on Sunday morning. While I was upset that I didn't get the chance to say goodbye, at least he went peacefully, which was all we hoped for. Only my dad was with my grandfather at the time. Of course, we will never know, but we think maybe that maybe my grandfather didn't want everyone to see him go, especially my grandmother -- his oxygen levels dropped right after my grandmother left the room and within 20 minutes, it dropped to 65%, took his last breath and left. While it's a sad time for all of us, we have our memories as a family, and especially precious, from the time when my immediate family (except my brother and brother-in-law) was here in Melbourne at the end of 2004 for my graduation ceremony and we had a lovely time together. At that time, we hadn't taken a family holiday for ages, and I definitely don't think we ever travelled with my grandparents either.
For now, I hope my grandmother stays strong -- she needs to battle her own colon cancer and I hope her will hasn't weakened. She was very withdrawn during the period of the funeral service but her spirits lifted a little afterwards. On the day we were picking a niche for my grandfather at the columbarium, she selected a spot that was eye-level and it was between two occupied niches by females. She then said, "Okay, this spot for Gong Gong and he can have two temporary 'girlfriends' to accompany him". Now, she said this in Hokkien, which is my family's dialect that I'm not very good at. My eyes widened and I just kinda said out loud, "Did she just say that?!" There were chuckles all round and even my grandmother managed a laugh. The day after, she was admitted into hospital for her chemo drips and she felt well despite the treatments. Her appetite was excellent and she kept asking us to buy 'char kway teow' for her to eat every day. Her platelets count was low initially, but it increased during the course of treatment so the doctors were very pleased with her progress. She was definitely the terror of her ward and I think she provided much amusement to the nurses, hee hee. Now, there is a month of recovery before her surgery, and I hope she continues to do as well as she has throughout her treatments.
Before I go, I just want to thank my friends for their messages and for coming to my grandfather's wake. It was very last-minute and out of the blue, and I really appreciate everything. Thanks guys, and I hope to meet up with you at happier times. Take care, and once again, thank you.
For now, I hope my grandmother stays strong -- she needs to battle her own colon cancer and I hope her will hasn't weakened. She was very withdrawn during the period of the funeral service but her spirits lifted a little afterwards. On the day we were picking a niche for my grandfather at the columbarium, she selected a spot that was eye-level and it was between two occupied niches by females. She then said, "Okay, this spot for Gong Gong and he can have two temporary 'girlfriends' to accompany him". Now, she said this in Hokkien, which is my family's dialect that I'm not very good at. My eyes widened and I just kinda said out loud, "Did she just say that?!" There were chuckles all round and even my grandmother managed a laugh. The day after, she was admitted into hospital for her chemo drips and she felt well despite the treatments. Her appetite was excellent and she kept asking us to buy 'char kway teow' for her to eat every day. Her platelets count was low initially, but it increased during the course of treatment so the doctors were very pleased with her progress. She was definitely the terror of her ward and I think she provided much amusement to the nurses, hee hee. Now, there is a month of recovery before her surgery, and I hope she continues to do as well as she has throughout her treatments.
Before I go, I just want to thank my friends for their messages and for coming to my grandfather's wake. It was very last-minute and out of the blue, and I really appreciate everything. Thanks guys, and I hope to meet up with you at happier times. Take care, and once again, thank you.
