Dehydration

Yesterday, 18th March 2008, I received an email from home that was sent at 4.14am nz time. It was from my brother-in-law.

"Mie,
Bad news. Mum was just hospitalised at SGH because she had been having diarrhoea for almost a week. As you can understand, she is not in good shape. I'll give you a further update tomorrow once your sis & Shima gets back from hospital.
Abg Yo"

I hold myself as much as I could, against this news. Anxious to find out more of mum condition, I had to wait till it gets morning in Singapore so that I could phone my sister. Time went very slowly, leaving me to recall the sacrifices my mum has made to raise me to what I am today. She was a single parent for more than 10years. We lost the my dad, when I was 17, and she has been mum and dad since. She had to work night shifts at a plastic factory to put me in school and bring food on the table. I used to be afraid of staying alone at night so mum arranged for one of my male cousins to accompany me through the night. Soon I grew out of it and could sleep on my own. Mum would come home everyday at 8am with groceries for the day. She would sometime cook lunch before catching up on the sleep she lost the night before. 9pm she will get ready to go to work. Since she walked to work everyday and had to stand through the night manning the plastic machines, she has started to feel the effects of this on her legs. Now she often gets cramps on her legs whenever she over exert via over standing or walking. The effects of not having proper sleep over the years of night duty has caught up on her. Not many would know the challenges she had to put up with being a single parent going out at night to work. Don't have to elaborate on this, surely you would understand. Finally, its 7am in Singapore, I immediately pickup the phone to give my sister a call.

She confirmed that mum had diarrhoea for several days before and wasn't eating and drinking properly. On Monday she was so weak that she cant even carry herself to walk to the toilet and my brother sent her to the hospital. She was re hydrated by the drip and doctors noticed some abnormalities in her blood. They are yet to confirm the abnormalities.

That afternoon I got to speak to mum. She sounded sad. But I tried to console her as much as I could. Trying to hold back the tears from my eye. I wish I could be there with her, when she needs me most. Like when she was there for me when I needed her most, when dad passed on. She could speak to me without saying a word, and the phone call went beyond words. I could feel the pain she is feeling. I have never in my entire life saw her shed a tear, but that phone call did. I know she is in pain, not only physically....

All I can do here is to pray to Allah for His mercy. Lighten her sufferings and bring joy to her heart.