It was just like any other day. Grumpy, Dopey & his better half and I were shopping at Ikea on a very ordinary Sunday afternoon when we received a phone call to say our aunt Ann (here in Melbourne - mum's sister) was at the hospital. Yea, whatever, OK, I'll ring her later to ask if she's OK.. that was first thing that came into my mind. Little did we know, that it was serious and it would be the last time we would ever see her.
I was only talking to her on the phone during my lunch hour on Thursday. I was telling her Dopey was going to get a corporate credit card from his first job that starts next year. She listened in disbelief, saying "WHATT?!?!" I KNOW, I can't believe it either.. I told her. "WHAT?? Is he doing better than you??!" Gee thanks.. Then I listened to her complain about my cousin (her only daughter) who's turning 21 next month and has not changed her bed sheets in months.
She collapsed that Sunday from a severe brain aneurysm. She was unconscious since, and left peacefully the following Thursday. She was perfectly fine, healthy and only 48 years old. Until now, I still can't believe she's gone. We didn't really get to say our goodbyes.
She was our 'go to' person here in Melbourne. All of us nieces and nephews would have stayed at her place when we first stepped into Melbourne from Malaysia. She would ring every now and then just to check if everything's OK. We would meet from time to time, more often when our parents came to visit. We would also celebrate Christmas together. For the first few years, she would make a turkey, salad, dips - aussie style. However in the recent years, for some weird reason, we started celebrating Christmas in Chinese restaurants. OH well, the important thing was that we were all together and we exchanged gifts, stories, jokes, etc.
The time spent at the hospital was awful. I hated every minute of it. Looking at all the tubes come from a million different machines connected to her body was devastating. Having all my family fly from KL to Melbourne in just less than 24-48 hours was amazing (everyone dropped whatever it was they were doing, and took the next flight available) - it showed how much everyone cared and loved her for who she was. And then having all my family argue over the most trivial of things was... crap.
If there was one word I would describe her, it would be 'passionate'. She was such a passionate person. Passionate about life, church, friends, work, the community and most of all - her family.
These are recent pictures from Dopey's graduation back in March.
From left: me, mum, aunt and cousin
Top from left (clockwise): Me, Dopey, cousin, another cousin, uncle, aunt and mum.
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