We’re all equally vulnerable

I got up late today and expected it to be a slow day for me, being the beginning of the week but an sms and a phone call changed the pace for me.

Drama number one. I received an sms on my phone from Alex, my university friend saying that John, one of the guys from our batch was in the hospital. Subsequently my friend sms again saying he spoke to John’s wife and found out he’s been diagnosed with cancer and the cells were found in his liver, lungs and brain. He’s now awaiting chemotherapy. Though I’m not exactly acquainted with John, I was saddened by the news. It was even more depressing when the wife said he was pressing to be allowed to go home to see his kids.

Drama number two. Immediately following that sms, my pal Evelyn called to say she was having breathing difficulty and was at the doctor’s. She asked if she should check into the A&E, I thought that was the most logical thing to do so I told her to do just that. I quickly had my shower and took a cab to the hospital.

Drama number three. The ride to the hospital. The cab driver kept swerving the car when he was driving. I noticed that he also kept shaking his head so I suspected that he was feeling sleepy. When my phone sounded, he got a shock and jumped slightly. True enough, he was dozing off while driving! Then when we were going through the underground tunnel, I noticed that he slowed down for no reason. I couldn’t see his face from the mirror so I pretended to clear my throat and gave a loud “ahem!” and again, he was startled! He actually dozed off again! Thank goodness we were nearing the hospital. When we finally reached my destination, the total cab fare was $12.50. I gave him $14 and told him to keep the change to buy a coffee for himself. Told him not to endanger his life by driving when he’s feeling sleepy. He kept thanking me. He should be thanking his guardian angel that nothing happened during the journey.

At the hospital, I realised that my buddy too risked her life by driving there when she was actually feeling so sick. She didn’t get her colleagues to send her there. She didn’t want to inform her family because she didn’t want them to worry. Anyway, to be on the safe side, I told her to let her sis know. And not surprisingly, when her sis got the news, her mum and her other siblings all turned up one after another at the hospital. After running several tests and a few hours of observation, her condition had stabilised. Initially the doc said it could be stress induced. Yes, she was definitely highly stressed by her work recently. But the test results showed the problem was caused by an overdose of the thyroid drug she was taking. As her breathing had stablised, the doc allowed her to go home and gave her three days’ MC.

So much drama for a day which I expected to be slow and boring. It goes to prove that life is totally unpredictable and we are all equally vulnerable. Anything can happen anytime. A reminder to everyone to live every moment like it’s the last moment of your life. All those workaholics and perfectionists out there, please treasure your life, don’t take it for granted.

As for my pal, I hope she’ll recover by this week as I intend to take her on a short but much needed break next week. Thailand anyone?