It was August 31st sometime around in the evening. I was with my family out in the nearby park when I got a message from my dad’s wife – Dad has had a heart attack and has been admitted to the GH in Penang. I remember that evening being a blur as I rushed to pack a small suitcase and catch the next flight out to Penang. That night I was on the AirAsia flight (which as usual was delayed) and by the time I got to Penang, it was almost 1 am in the morning. Aunty (dad’s wife) came to pick me up and the next day in the afternoon we went to visit dad.
Dad was in good spirits, possibly he was happy to see me and was very animated. We talked about how fortunate he was to have had this heart attack here in Penang, rather than 24 hours earlier where he was in Chennai settling some bank matters. Dad knew it was a narrow miss and he was thankful to be alive.
After going through a marginally successful stenting procedure that same week, Dad was discharged and returned home. I visited him again that weekend to ensure he was doing fine at home. I would never forget the words dad told me as I came down for that second visit. Right by the airport pickup area dad said “I am so touched you live the furthest and yet you have come twice in a week to see me”
Those words still ring in my ear from time to time. I say this because my father is no more. On 11th February he passed away rather sudden at around 5:45 am. While it was sudden, it was also a peaceful one for dad. Unlike mum, who had to battle her cancer with chemo and surgeries, my dad had a relatively swift passing.
On the 11th of Feb the whole family flew up to Penang and I had to make arrangements with Aunty for the funeral. We decided to have a 3-night wake in light of the situation (I was informed that there was no place in the mortuary) and for some reason the undertaker was hasty in moving things forward while there were other things that Aunty and I had to settle for Dad’s funeral.
In any case, while there were some hiccups here and there. Dad’s wake and funeral went very smoothly. Although his mad sister came down to pay her last respects to her brother, there was no commotion or drama. I had the privilege of preparing dad’s eulogy (which I will also share in my next post) but all in all, we all knew dad’s life was coming to an end.
As I said in my facebook post – Dad lived a complete and full life at the end of the day and there’s no doubt about that. Perhaps some day (hopefully this also doesn’t drag on too long) I can write some memories of my father – snippets and stories to just remember him throughout the years – from my early childhood days through my teenage years and well into my young adulthood phases and finally as I myself became a dad. I do have moments of dad in all my life stages and its quite important I jot them down here in my blog before I start forgetting them as well.
More reflections to come soon as there is so much more to unpack and ponder on.
