Tired.. Busy.. Stressful.. The workload in medical posting can be really overwhelming. But amidst the busyness and the overcrowding in the ward, something caught my attention. It was a chinese lady in my cubicle and her son who is probably in his thirties. When i first clerked her during admission, her son was the one who accompanied her, answering most of my questions. At times, i am not sure if he understood my question because he just smiles and say yes to most of my questions.
His mother has severe kyphosis with a very hunched back. She was put in the first cubicle which is very far away from the toilet but her son patiently took her hand and walked small steps with her to the toilet. I told him that he could use the wheelchair because it is safer and easier for his mother. He smiled at me and nod. His mother's bed was an extension bed and i would say that it was not easy to manipulate a wheelchair in between the limited spaces either, but he was patient=).
This aunty was in the ward for 3 days. Everyday it was only her son sitting by her side. There's not much conversation but he would sit there by her bedside day and night, attending to her every needs. Everyday, his son would come and ask me " Dr, when can my mummy go home?" ( the exact same words but in chinese). Most people in their ward only use the word mother or mum or mak or mama ( mandarin); so hearing the word "mummy", it somehow feels heartwarming because i myself call my mum mummy too.
Finally the aunty can be discharged from the ward. Usually, when a patient is for discharge, it takes a while to settle everything because we need to prescribe the medicine and write referral letters. And family members will be bugging us at the counter asking us when can they go and how long more they need to wait. But i remember him particularly because he was different. It was the other way round. Despite me and the staff nurse telling him that his mother's discharge is ready and he can settle everything at the counter, he just smiled and nod each time. It was 5pm and almost dinner time, perhaps he was waiting for that. He waited patiently for dinner to be served at 6pm and waited for his mother to finish her dinner.
This poor aunty has very severe kyphosis and is suffering from backache which prevents her from sleeping at night. I wrote her a referral letter to orthopaedics and i hope they could help her ease her pain.
So there's goes the story about the aunty and his son.. Through him, i see the love, sacrifice, patience and responsiblity of a son to his mother..Makes me miss my family dearly and reminds me to love and give to my parents just as how they love and made sacrifices for me.
I will remember this heartwarming tale about this aunty and his son. And yeah, i am still tired and exhausted..
when you love somebody, whatever you do for them shows no boundary taking into accounts of every simple details like the way the son making sure his mum had her dinner before going home.
ReplyDeletewhen you can judge the goodness of people, remember others can judge you too by the way you carry yourself in every situation anytime anywhere.
so whatever we do is very important, do good people admire and praise you, do bad people talk bad about you.