Strange, how my mind auto-cruise the car to it's destination. Another part of my mind was replaying what happened on April 21st 2009.
On Saturday, we went to Traffic Police to lodge the accident report. Glad we had Ayah around. He assisted us in many ways. On Sunday, we got a call from one Dr Ong from TTSH, who spoke to Hid about the x-ray. Immediately after the call, we got ready and headed to the hospital. We met Dr Ong who showed us the X-Ray.
...in a road accident.
19 February 2010- Dear Tamhid called me to say : "Dont be shock. I just got into a road accident". I was at home completing The Essay. Then, my mind went whooosh. Next, I was in the car. After that, I was making my way to Tan Tock Seng Hos. Then, I saw him, and...... I shook and trembled silently. In the end, relieved and happy.
1. Stay calm.
2. Listen carefully to whatever information given, for example, if he will be conveyed in an ambulance, please check which hospital he is heading to I.e: TTSH, SGH or KK.
3. Don't ask silly questions like, "why are they taking you to the hospital?", "You got pulse? Heartbeat?"
4. Think carefully on who ought to be the next person you update i.e: brother, father, brother-in-law or Facebook?
5. Bring along your I.C and purse, other than your kewl phone i.e: iPhone, Omnia, Blackberry, etc.
6. Give him your love and express your care verbally and through your actions. Don't Facebook or Blog temporarily.
I call these pleasures. Sheer and surprising ones!
He filled me up!!!! No. Dearest Tamhid filled the gas late last night so that I can drive up the wall. to work with ease.
Because Im gonna run with Cake tonight, I eat these. What a defeat. I know.
I am into Play-Doh now. Rolling, pressing, pinching, kneading, cutting.... Ahhhh, fingers therapy. Naturally it has Zen me up.
Right now, I have the Barnyard BBQ and the Breakfast Set. Coming up, the pizza set and every Play-Doh must-have: the Ice-Cream Swirl Set!
Kids (and adults alike) have the tendency to mix the dough. So I told Durrah not to. She understood. But adults... Hmmm.... mixed my dough.
We kept vigil and awaits for Abah's return to his bed, Bed 23 Ward 41, NUH. He just had a surgery-a minor one to remove a prostate growth.
In this ward alone, I saw three men with half of their skulls gone. I wanna try and snap a pic of this man near to me. I just glanced. Yearp. His skull has sunken on the right side!
I just wanna recall what Mak said when we had food at the cafeteria around 6pm today. She brought up the subject of how Abah was never accepted, or shall I rephrase it, never popular among the family due to his boldness. His stubborness.
"Abah kata ada kantung kencing, tak boleh solat. Bolehkan?!...Sebab kencing dia terkawal dalam beg".
"Lagipun darurat", I added. "Abah lagi mahir dlm ilmu fiqh. Solat dgn pergerakkan mata pun boleh". Mak then added, that people said if Orang Alim nak mati, "takes time". That the main caregiver i.e Wife, Children will be tested.
"Mak, Uncle Mansor sakit 7 hari, kemudian dia meninggal. Pada Dadha, Allahyarham pun Alim juga."
To each is his own.
Were in town to get some BluRay discs at Orchard Central last Saturday. As we walked our way back to Wheelock, we saw Gap. Couldn't resist.
Sunday, the gals wore them to JB.
"HAPPAY!" - one word to describe how I felt being with these people.
EDLEEN - paternal cousin + the Scrapbooking Guru.
CHU - maternal aunt.
MARDHIYAH - maternal cousin.
Superb. Splendid. A gift from Tamhid on 16 October 2009. It does wonders, this little thing.
Its hard to believe that tech-dodo like me, is now using an iPhone 3GS. So far, so good. However, I am not too sure about how the new plan I signed up (iFlexi) with Singtel would cost me monthly. There's the usage, and the downloads I have to worry about.
I am not sure about some of the things. However, fret not, the closest iPhone niece and sister-in-law are just a mountain away. I hope Sister-in-Law Erni could show me a thing or two today.
That last entree was posted at 4am.
Uncle Mansor passed away surrounded by family members who loved him very very much on the same day, at 1.46pm; Tan Tock Seng Hospital.Allah loves him more. AlFateha.
This event has reaffirmed my Iman that death happens; death in the family happens; to anyone, anytime.Could be me next, could be my children, my husband, no one knows but Him.
Seven days. That was all it took - seven days from the onset of illness.
Painful. It's really painful for us family to acknowledge the fact that this good man has left. He was like the anchor man in my family, aside from Ayah. Sharing knowledge on religion matters; current affairs, for example, if he was around now, Uncle would probably say that the H1N1 pandemic is Allah's reminder to us, His creations, that He is Almighty. And that this is a reason why we must always DOA. Uncle would remind us, "after giving your salam (after prayers), why rush to watch American Idol, news (etc. etc)? take about 1 or 2 minutes, to thank Allah. Bershukur. Ask from Allah health and protection from bala". His way of talking appeals to us youngsters. He also has a good sense of humour we all enjoy. He likes to tease Mum....... I really miss him so much.
Who is Uncle Mansor?
Born 16 July 1951. Mum's Brother-In-Law; Andak's husband. He is the eldest of five siblings; whom we are very very close to. Part of us, and we are part of them. Family friendship dated more than 35 years.
Describe Uncle Mansor...
Friendly; Approachable; Understanding; HELPFUL; dedicated to family and friends of Masjid Kassim; always seeking religious knowledge (going for classes three times a week); Generous! Yes, very generous. Dependable; a good Husband; a good Dad; a humble Comfort cabby; a humble man who likes to share stories and advices....
Uncle Mansor as part of my daily life...Rushda's arrival in 2005 only strengthens the strong togetherness we had. When Rushda was just a few days olds, Andak and Uncle Mansor comes to Pasir Ris daily to assist me in showering her, patting her, carrying her, cook for me, etc. Rushda grew and showed a resemblance of Mardhiyah, my cousin. All the more they loved her, as back then, Mardhiyah was away studying. When I was back to work, the arrangement was, Andak & uncle comes in the morning,DAILY WEEKDAYS, pick us up, drop me at work, and bring Rushda back to Haig Road. There, she was showered with ALL the attention and love. I felt blessed. This routine repeated again when Durrah arrived and I need to work, December 2007 till Durrah was enrolled in Infant Care, earlier this year. Every single weekdays morning, we see him.
Our final events with him...
12 March 2009 - Brunch at Tekka market. He brought us there for Alaudeen's biryani.
29 March 2009 - Came over to Pasir Ris, to visit us, as Rushda and I were down with gastric flu.
6 April 2009 - The girls and I went to Haig Road, as they were missing the little ones, and they have reserved some Briyani they cooked for a wedding the day before. The way they abided to Durrah's requests, I was envious. I remembered uncle telling me which route to take to avoid the evening peak traffic. And that night, there was a huge butterfly flew in, we had fun snapping away pics.
10 April 2009 - Good Friday holiday. Mardhiyah spent the day here. In the evening, we had Andak and uncle Mansor came to surprise us with dinner! They bought Mee Upeh and nasi Ayam from Bedok Corner. That night, Tamhid noticed Uncle was breathless when they did their Maghrib together. Rushda snapped away pics, got one of Uncle, sitting and watching the news.
12 April 2009 - He was weak at home. For the first time, he missed attending majlis diba'i of his own group, Nurul Jadid. He was the founder and coordinator of the group. So when Ayah called to say that Uncle Mansor was not well, I cried. I was so worried, that I accidentally sent a text to Uncle's phone. It was meant for Tamhid. The text says: "Uncle Mansor not well. He can't breathe." Anyway, that night, we went to Haig Road. Uncle gained some energy to walk to the hall to welcome his guests - his mother and siblings.
15 April 2009 - Received call that he was taken to the hospital by ambulance. He was sent to ICU. That was the last time I saw him conscious, with a respiratory support machine, just like Mum last time. I kissed his hand, strapped with the call-button remote. He was gasping, trying to coordinate his breathing. Before I left, I told him I was going back. I recited Selawat Azamiyah, trying to tell him to do the same. He nodded. I saw Tamhid putting his hand on uncle's forehead. I couldn't let uncle see me cry, so I made a quick exit.
16 Apr to 19 Apr 2009 - We visited him at TTSH' ICU. He was sedated. Updates of his conditions fluctuated; mixed of good and not good.
20 April 2009 - I could not visit. Only for today.
21 April 2009 - Upon reaching work around 9.30am, got a call from Ayah. The doctors have called Andak and Mardhiyah to come to the hospital immediately. Uncle was not responding to the most expensive antibiotics administered. The moment of truth, doctor has informed that Uncle Mansor has weakened. To get all the family to come. I left work at 10am, clueless, aimless. Somehow, got myself to the hospital, there I saw Uncle's last moment. Then, he was gone. For REAL, he was gone.
Uncle Mansor will be remembered...
For his working charms on babies and young children; as Guru Mengaji; for his beautiful voice reciting the Quran or Qasidah; for the Biryani he cooked with Andak at weddings and events at masjid Kassim; for the month-long project he has during Ramadhan, at Masjid Kassim; as the friendly and helpful Comfort taxi driver. SHA 4323.
Ya Allah, I truly miss my uncle. He was a good man, and you are Most Knowing. Forgive his sins, and shower his space with light and beautiful things. Ya Allah, you are Most Merciful. Amin Ya Rabbal Aalamin.
