EDDIEWONG

… between November 6th - 12th on an emergency visit. Had received a call from my cousin on November 3rd notifying me of my 90 year old grandmother’s deteriorating condition - the doctor said “we ought to be prepared for…”.

So, before I knew it, I had booked a plane ticket and arrived in Hong Kong 3 days later.

The whole purpose of the trip was obviously to see my grandmother and that was exactly how I spent it on a daily basis (12pm-1pm and 6pm-8pm). My grandmother is bedridden, all hooked up and very frail. For every smile she is able to pull off, she would have to spend the next 10 minutes recharging her energy. For every second she is able to open her eyes and for every odd word she spoken, she needed minutes to recharge. To be honest, I do not even know if she remembers/recognises me but she certainly knows there is an Eddie. Everyone whom asked her if she knew who they were, she would reply my name. When I asked her, “do you know who am I?”, she would blankly stare at me and answered my brother John’s name. When I tell her who I am, I am greeted with a huge warm smile. It is the same everyday. She is tired and exhausted and I am beyond heartbroken seeing her like this.

Not so long ago, she was the healthiest and loudest grandmother around. She would tell me and everyone that when I was younger and when she was in England, I would take her out for walks. When she took her eyes off me for a second, I would run off and hide. Then I would peek around from where I was hiding giggling. Obviously, she was scared stiff at the time. She also remembers and tells everyone the English words I taught her during those days like, cat, dog, pig, etc. She loved me dearly. I was her youngest grandchild and the one that was furthest away (after she returned to HK). As sad as it may seem, I was recently reminded by one of my brothers that my grandmother practically raised me/took care of me for two years or so, something I barely remember.

Anyway, the upside: my grandmother is still with us.
The downside: there is no recovery to look forward to. She is not sick. The cruelness of age is catching up with her…

Thanks to those whom sent me messages just to see if I was doing OK due to the lack of recent updates and to those whom knew what was going on and sent me well wishes. I’m doing fine.