Last Wednesday when I was in Batu Pahat, I accompanied my mum to the government hospital for her annual medical checkup early in the morning. She also goes there regularly to take some medicine from the pharmacy. Until she told me so, I had not realised she has been going there alone, even before my dad passed away.
She said, “After all, I have so much free time.”
She was glad to have me with her. We prayed together before leaving the house. Her spirit was lifted up.
We easily got a parking space. There were already some people waiting in front of the entrance. More and more people were coming, mostly senior citizens. However, there were no proper queues. My mum revealed, “Sometimes, my blood pressure increases due to the chaotic situation like this!”
A nurse finally appeared to order the crowd to line up and remind them not to push one another when the doors were open later. She said that a patient had fallen the previous day while waiting outside.
A small argument broke out among a few men because one of them had cut queue. I saw my mum who was standing in front of another entrance door commenting to an uncle that men should behave in a more gentleman manner.
At about 7.35am, the crowd was allowed to approach the reception. My mum received her number very fast. Then I followed her to 4 other places inside the hospital. She was walking quickly and was so familiar with the building that I had the impression of following a tour guide! Everywhere we passed by, I noticed lonely elderly people.
My mum met an acquaintance who complained that she was feeling great pain in her arm during and after the injection for the blood test. My mum had been attended by the same nurse earlier and only experienced minimal pain.
With her little command of the Malay language, she also chatted with a Malay woman who had just had her eyesight examined. I was impressed by my mum’s ability to engage strangers. She often tells me that being a homemaker for half a century, she is not good at socializing. Her actions proved otherwise.
Everything was very smooth. I saw her relaxed and all smiles. I remember once she told me she was accompanying my dad to the hospital for his checkup by the specialist, before he was diagnosed with cancer. She was filled with worries and anxieties.
I thank God that now my mum can cast all her worries to Him because she knows He cares for her.
A Woman's Journey To Wisdom 