Finding Grace - 11 November 2015

It was a mad sort of day.Went to the gym as usual. Came home, sent Mom for a haircut, had my brekkie, hung the laundry, picked Mom up , then helped her to clear the dining area to convert to a bedroom. Just as I was clearing the old stuff, bro calls me to tell me that they were conducting physio at the hospital at that moment. And as the caregiver, I needed to go in to observe.I dropped what I did and immediately rushed to the hospital...only to be stuck in good ol' KL jam. By the time I got to the hospital, physio was over, and it wasnt visiting hours yet. I wasnt allowed to hang around the ward, so I went to the cafeteria for a drink. Went back during visiting hours, and found that Dad had had his meal. I was nicely surprised that he had consumed quite a lot of his lunch..I thank Fahmi the male nurse who looked after him.. he is a real gem, a really nice and patient guy. We've always thought that women are better caregivers, but I think male nurses are a lot more patient.

So after visiting hours, I went back to the cafeteria again, and rushed back for the physio. Yesterday dad still could not lift up his right hand or moved his right leg much and today he made remarkable progress! he was able to lift up his right hand and straighten his right leg, although bending it he needed some assitance. He was also able to turn right and left while he was on the bed. He was able to stand up with some assistance as well. I thank God that he has made progress so quickly. Now the trick is to keep him going at it.

Meanwhile, bro was looking for nursing homes where we could check Dad in while we renovate the room. Yesterday when we went for dinner at a kopitiam at Jalan Ipoh, we happened to walk by a Stroke nursing home. I believe this is the providence of God. So brother went to check the place out today, plus another one in Damansara Perdana. The latter looked a bit miserable and run down, and the former was fully occupied. But he found out that they have another branch close to our home! It was a "coincidence" that God had led us to that kopitiam, which led us to that nursing home, which led us to the one near our home! He sent me pictures of the home and it looked really nice, clean and plush. In fact, I'd say that Dad would have better living conditions than me!

The other good thing is that i have been so tired, that every night I just completely knock out and get uninterrupted sleep. In fact I sleep better now than on normal days. I thank God that I am not having sleepless nights but instead am able to sleep very well.

It's been a long tiring day. But today I feel like I can smile and crack jokes. As mentioned in Peanuts, “Every time you find some humour in a difficult situation, you win.”

I may have graduated from the University of Western Australia, but really it is the University of Life that has taught me so much more.