A Woman With A Really Big Heart

May 14, 2007

Woah how time flies.. In a blink of an eye, its been over a week since my last post. Anyway, just finished reading ‘The Irresistable Offer’, another book written by Mark Joyner, creator of Simpleology and who happens to be a speaker at the upcoming World Internet Summit. So will do a follow up post on the legendary Mark Joyner and his great book ‘The Irresistable Offer’ in my next post.

Before I do so, just wanna share some of my thoughts about some of the happenings in my life. Part of the reason for my lack of blog posts is because of the fact that my beloved grandma was admitted into hospital last week for a heart attack. However, her condition appeared to have stabilized and fully recovered as she was discharged yesterday.

Nonetheless, early this morning, she had the same attack and was rushed into Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Was there beside her holding her hand as she was rushed to the hospital.

As I was holding her hand, and amidst her heavy breathing and struggle to continue to live on, my heart ached. It was the first time I had to witness such a scene and the person had to be my grandma, a wonderful woman who today at 83 years old is still fighting strong and still maintains a great sense of humour (has never failed to make me laugh each time I see her).

In fact, she went through an operation on her heart valve some time back, and we were told by the doctors that her new valve can only sustain her for 15 years at the most. It has been 21 years and counting since then, and she still refuses to bow down to the doctors’ analysis.

What a strong fighting spirit displayed by my grandma, a woman with a big heart who is ever so considerate and thoughtful to others. Even while she was in hospital last week, she was constantly worried about my grandpa and making plans to ensure he is well taken care of. And when she was moved into the ward meant for 4 people as there was no space in the ward meant for 6, she was so worried that there will be extra charges incurred and kept on requesting to be transferred as she was afraid of the financial burden.

As she related to me how staying in a more expensive ward makes her feel bad, I felt so guilty that amid her health problems, she has to be burdened by financial constrains. Now, I’ve previously blogged about the 2-part series on ‘Would You Rather Be Rich Or Happy’. And I know for a fact that in this instance, if I had the financial power, it could help ease her burden greatly as I can confidently reassure her to set her mind at ease. So for those who still hold doggedly to the belief that money is not the least bit important, try being in that situation.

That is not something which I wish to discuss here anyway. More importantly, when I saw her being surrounded by the multiple tubes inserted into her today in the ICU, I truly witnessed the fragilities of life. My heart ached…

Our lives are indeed extremely vulnerable and anything can strike us when we least expect it. Well I did mention about the loss of a friend earlier this year in a blog post, and I’ve stressed the importance that one should cherish their life and show gratitude to their loved ones.

And one should always be optimistic. Take a look at my grandma. Even though doctors had made it clear that her heart can only sustain her for 15 years, her heart continues to pump after 21 years and counting. And she simply refuses to give up and keep fighting. What more the rest of us who have an extremely healthy and functionable heart?

So never bow down to your obstacles and setbacks and always keep fighting. And while you’re doing that, always remember to take time to show your gratitude to your loved ones and cherish those happy moments. Always treat people with an open heart, just like how my grandma has always done. Which prolly explains why her heart is still pumping strong.

Likewise, I know for sure my grandma will continue to fight on, and her heart will continue to pump strongly. Though she is in the ICU now and has to rely on the tubes for support, my heart tells me that she will recover. And I thank God for that…

Might be heading down to stay overnight at the hospital later. So that’s all for now. Happy Mother’s Day to the two great mothers in my family! My mother, and my grandmother. And likewise to all the mothers in the world!