My grandma was one of the most selfless people i know; she always put others’ needs before her own.  she was also stubborn as a mule and that was how this all started two weeks ago.  Grandma had been ill for a while and was already very fragile, but when she needed to use the loo at 5am in the morning, she didn’t want to trouble anyone in the house, so she shuffled quietly to the bathroom on her own but tripped and had to be rushed to the emergency ward.

Grandma broke her femur, a serious injury in itself really, but fatal in her case as she was deemed by doctors as too weak to be operated on.  can you imagine having to heal a broken bone naturally?  Grandma hated being at the hospital, old people were treated without much dignity there, but whenever the family visited her she’d always try to keep her spirits high: a wink here, croaking along to her favorite tunes when we sang to her, a firm squeeze of my arm to convey “i’ll be alright” when visiting hours were over and i worried about leaving her alone through the night. 

Sadly the combination of pain killers and heart medicine and prolonged pain proved too much for Grandma, and she finally left us on August 2.  Even in her final hours, when she was struggling even to keep her eyes open, she made sure that all of her 8 children arrived before she lost consciousness, so that they all had the chance to say goodbye to her.  

Bye now Grandma, I’ll miss you, but I’m sure you’re in a better place and are finally together with Granddad.  I’ll think of you whenever I hear 魚火閃閃 …