i had a surprise when i visited my dad at the hospital today with my mum. as i walked into the ward, i noticed from far that he had one of his leg resting on the bed frame. this took my by surprise cos i had not expected him to be strong enough to even lift his leg up. my next surprise was when i walked to his bed. he was conscious, and was able to recognise me and my mum. and the biggest surprise was that he was able to talk to us.
5 min later, my aunt and her family came along together with my brother. they was happy to see him in such a `healthy' state. my aunt's first comment was that this was probably his final burst (before he passes away). they chatted with him happily as though he had never been ill before. and all the while, my dad got weaker and weaker. and it was obvious that he was getting tired and slipping into a state of drowsiness again. during the short period when my aunt and her family went for lunch, my dad asked for each and everyone of the family members. and for each one of us, he left some words. during this period, he would slip into his drowsy unconscious state very frequently.
is this really the last burst? hmmm... i am not sure. but i can see he needs rest. i was not too happy with my aunt for some of the things she asked of us for i thought she had overstepped a bit of her boundary. but i think she did it with all good intentions. for example, when i suggested that we let him rest, she told me that i should not, and that we should keep talking to him cos if he sleeps, he might not wake up. hmmmm... come on, the old man is tired, he needs rest. and she went on to ask my dad, who was by that time, incoherent and drowsy, if he needs someone to stay by him through the nite... he nodded and she turned to me and told me that we (either my brother or myself) should stay with him through the nite. putting me in an ethical dilemma? to have him in the hospital is to me, to be able to balance between getting him the best medical attention and getting enough energy to manage normalcy in other things such as looking after my mum, work etc. so now that she has asked, i am now faced with the question - to stay or not to stay? what if he dies when we are not around? this is the same aunt that kept insisting that i should hire a maid to look after him despite telling her that it is not a maid but proper medical care that he needs.
can be quite a pain at times. but well, i guess it is with good intentions that all these suggestions came about. so for that, i kept quiet.
5 min later, my aunt and her family came along together with my brother. they was happy to see him in such a `healthy' state. my aunt's first comment was that this was probably his final burst (before he passes away). they chatted with him happily as though he had never been ill before. and all the while, my dad got weaker and weaker. and it was obvious that he was getting tired and slipping into a state of drowsiness again. during the short period when my aunt and her family went for lunch, my dad asked for each and everyone of the family members. and for each one of us, he left some words. during this period, he would slip into his drowsy unconscious state very frequently.
is this really the last burst? hmmm... i am not sure. but i can see he needs rest. i was not too happy with my aunt for some of the things she asked of us for i thought she had overstepped a bit of her boundary. but i think she did it with all good intentions. for example, when i suggested that we let him rest, she told me that i should not, and that we should keep talking to him cos if he sleeps, he might not wake up. hmmmm... come on, the old man is tired, he needs rest. and she went on to ask my dad, who was by that time, incoherent and drowsy, if he needs someone to stay by him through the nite... he nodded and she turned to me and told me that we (either my brother or myself) should stay with him through the nite. putting me in an ethical dilemma? to have him in the hospital is to me, to be able to balance between getting him the best medical attention and getting enough energy to manage normalcy in other things such as looking after my mum, work etc. so now that she has asked, i am now faced with the question - to stay or not to stay? what if he dies when we are not around? this is the same aunt that kept insisting that i should hire a maid to look after him despite telling her that it is not a maid but proper medical care that he needs.
can be quite a pain at times. but well, i guess it is with good intentions that all these suggestions came about. so for that, i kept quiet.
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