post-life administrations
as in all things singaporean, the process of getting the body from the death bed to the funeral parlour was superbly efficient. it went on like clockwork. and i can imagine it to be so becos the people involved in this process had practiced it umpteen times. the nurses came to give me the doctor's certification of cause of death, registration of death and obtaining of the death certificate, transferring of the body to the last office, discussing the details of the wake and funeral, transferring of the body to the mortuary and finally to the funeral casket... it all went very smoothly. without a hitch. and of cos, i was glad the people were highly sensitive to the very fragile and emotional state most of us were in at that point in time.
by the time the amahs came to transfer the body to the mortuary. it was close to 10.30pm. we were asked to leave the last office to allow them to move the body into the dark grey metal box trolley. it was heartbreaking to see my dad in the box. it was cold and certainly not fit for human. it reminded me of dracula. it reminded me of death. then again, it was a dead body that they were moving.
while handing over the body to the funeral parlour people at the mortuary exit, i noted that rigor mortis has set in. the body was cold and hardened. i also noted that fluids continued to drip from his leg. i was asked to walk away while the funeral parlour people wrap my dad in a white cloth. that was the last time i saw my dad outside. when they were ready, they placed him in the casket van. he was on his way to be embalmed.
as in all things singaporean, the process of getting the body from the death bed to the funeral parlour was superbly efficient. it went on like clockwork. and i can imagine it to be so becos the people involved in this process had practiced it umpteen times. the nurses came to give me the doctor's certification of cause of death, registration of death and obtaining of the death certificate, transferring of the body to the last office, discussing the details of the wake and funeral, transferring of the body to the mortuary and finally to the funeral casket... it all went very smoothly. without a hitch. and of cos, i was glad the people were highly sensitive to the very fragile and emotional state most of us were in at that point in time.
by the time the amahs came to transfer the body to the mortuary. it was close to 10.30pm. we were asked to leave the last office to allow them to move the body into the dark grey metal box trolley. it was heartbreaking to see my dad in the box. it was cold and certainly not fit for human. it reminded me of dracula. it reminded me of death. then again, it was a dead body that they were moving.
while handing over the body to the funeral parlour people at the mortuary exit, i noted that rigor mortis has set in. the body was cold and hardened. i also noted that fluids continued to drip from his leg. i was asked to walk away while the funeral parlour people wrap my dad in a white cloth. that was the last time i saw my dad outside. when they were ready, they placed him in the casket van. he was on his way to be embalmed.
nb: i came to learn that the nurse who had been taking care of my dad cried when she learned of his demise. i guess over time, the nurse-patient bond had developed to one that is more of a care-giver-friend bond. and it made me realize that nurses go through such situations whenever their patients die.
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