But this evening, my bones are giving me a break. They seem to be on best behaviour. So I’m taking a few minutes to rush off a post to NFM.
Nek Yong has written several posts in the past and they are mostly about the brat of the house – the elder daughter. Tonight’s post is on the younger daughter, who came home from work today extraordinarily early.
Usually, she doesn’t finish work till after 9pm or the early hours of the morning because of the nature of her job. The minute she steps into the office by 10am she would be in-front of her computer till it is time to close for the day, whatever time that may be.
When the doorbell rang Nek Yong ran out to see who it was. Expecting a guest, I was surprised to find her instead. As is expected of a mother, I started fussing over her, shooting panicky questions: “Are you ok?”, “What’s wrong?”, “You ill again?”
She had that wicked grin. It was pretty obvious she was enjoying watching me panic, as always.
Nek Yong worries about this daughter a lot. Not because she is not capable of looking after herself. She is, on the contrary, a very independent woman. The issue with her is that she often gets sudden bouts of dizziness. And when she does, it can get real bad. Like the whole house will just spin and she starts vomiting and going pale as death.
We’ve been to the doctors for thorough check-ups and every time we come home with a negative – she’s not ill, which is positive news, really.
Nek Yong’s biggest scare happened when this daughter was about 12 years old. Remember that time when Malaysia was experiencing the haze? That was such a traumatic period for both of us.
Clipart: Mom & Child - ARTFAVOR
The baby of the house who is always behaving more like the big sis was badly affected by the haze. Even when she wore the mask to school and whenever she was outdoors, the haze hit her hard.
At odd hours of the day she would choke so badly that it appeared someone was strangling the life out of her. There were times when I had to take emergency leaves or rushed home from the office, speeding like a mad bullet on the highway to get to her for fear that that one choke would be the last I saw of her.
The haze gave her excessive phlegm in her chest and despite the regular checks at the doctors and the medications given it took very long to clear. The choking was always aggravated at night, probably because of the cold.
One of the worse things about the infection she got from the haze was that there wasn’t any warning when it attacked. When the phlegm thickened in the chest she would just suddenly choke and she would turn blue all of a sudden.
Can you imagine a mum’s fear when suddenly in the middle of the night while we were both asleep you just suddenly hear a gasping voice trying to call out to you for help? And when I got up I’d see her struggling from bed, grabbing anything and everything she could hold on to as she fought hard to reach me, who happened to be just nearby.
Nek Yong was then a struggling single mother fighting hard to raise her two girls well. And I feel most blessed that I now see them as career ladies with a mind of their own.
My girls, they are my life. The very thought of me going through this life without them kills me instantaneously. If God were to make anyone ill, let it be me, not them. That’s Nek Yong’s constant prayer.
To my girls who are my pillars of strength, I hope I am a great mum, if not the best ;)
With loving care - Nek Yong
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