| Friday, 4 April 2008 |
| 'dream of the ones who came before' |
I just came back from the wake of the man who brought me into this world.
Most of you would probably think that that's quite weird. I mean, how many of you out there are on speaking terms with the Doctor that delivered you those many years ago? Okay, I admit that I wasn't that close to him, but yes, I had met him and talked to him a couple of times and he offered me lots of valuable advice, not just on being a future doctor, but also on how to be a proper human being. So yeah, I knew him more that just being the Doctor who delivered me when I was a baby, I also knew him as a sort of mentor into this world.
The wake was filled with people - his family, his lifelong friends, his colleagues, heck I even saw Prof. Bay there! But the majority of people there where his patients and all of them, including my mom and two of my aunts, were genuinely upset at his sudden passing.
You could see that he was more than just a doctor to them; he was also a friend, and most importantly, a good man that they could trust. I think that impressed me the most, that he could become a doctor of such repute and outstanding character that his patients felt a deep connection and friendship with him. Here was a doctor who showed society how to really be a doctor. And to be honest, he achieved so much more.
Apparently, he was still seeing patients the morning he passed on. In fact, he was on his way to a meeting when he was struck by a massive heart attack, and in just ten minutes, despite the best efforts that the A&E department of the hospital could provide, he had moved on. Such is the unpredictable nature of life.
I still remember meeting him two years ago, when I just got the results of my University postings and was waiting to enter medical school. I was waiting for my mom to be done with her checkup when she suddenly asked me to come into the room because the Doctor wanted to speak to me. Feeling sorta nonplussed as to why an OB-GYN would want to speak to me, I went in thinking that I had did something wrong or something. All he did was to congratulate me on getting into Medical school, and giving me advice about the long road ahead, that 'Medicine is a tough line to get into, and you really need to persevere. But if you ask me, all the hard work is worthed it, especially when you see the smiles you managed to bring to people when you managed to help them.'
And in my mom's subsequent visits, he always never failed to asked about me and my progress in medical school, and also kept giving me advice and tips on how to handle the daily stress and challenges of the medical profession.
'To help others, you must first be healthy yourself! So do remember to exercise!'
This was the last advice I ever got from him before his untimely passing. I guess he knew I was a lazy boy. But then again, I stayed in my mother's womb for a total of 10 months - that's one more month than the normal gestation period, because apparently, I was lazy, even as a fetus, so yeah, he would have known. Plus, according to me mother, I was a memorable child because my mom's umbilical cord was constricted around my neck... so yeah, he had to do a cesarean to get me out.
It's very sad isn't it, that we can predict when a baby is due to enter the world but not when a person is due to leave it.
Thank you Sir, for bringing me into this world. I won't ever forget the advice you gave me, and I'll do my part in doing some good in this world.Labels: soul |
posted by voldemort33 @ 23:48  |
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