TWO FEELINGS ABOVE ALL and A WORD OF CAUTION

Post-hospitalization, I called up a friend of mine who has been undergoing chemotherapy for his leukemia for almost a year now. This was the first time I was to talk to him since his treatment began It was then whilst talking to him that realized that the experiences I had in hospital for 3 days(extreme nausea, fever, chills, pain, boredom, etc.) were only a tiny-miny glimpse of the nightmare he was going through.

GUILT. I am very sorry it took me so long to look up on him since his treatment began. I was planning to go visit him in the very beginning but it never happened, and as time went by, I was lost in my own self-indulging world again. The very least I could have done was call him, but even that I didn’t do. The only thing I did was send him an sms which by the looks of it now was just to small and too little. But most of all I am ashamed for the very fact that I never even bothered to understand the seriousness of his situation.

ADMIRATION. That was what I felt when I finally did call him. He is still undergoing the chemo and he still has a long way to go. At the time of the conversation he was still suffering from nausea, but he still shared with me all his experiences willingly as I shared with him mine. All that I had suffered, he too has suffered, plus a WHOLE LOT MORE. My 3 day hospitalization is nothing compared to all that he has gone through and is still to come. His highest quality is his faith, courage and determination in battling the disease till the very end. He is a fighter who knows he is going to win and he has great plans and dreams for a normal life ahead.

NEVER EVER TAKE YOUR HEALTH FOR GRANTED. You may think this warning is overused, over-cliched and overly paranoid, but it still bears truth. You may be healthy today but you never know what may strike you the next. And never take your youth as a safeguard against disease. I have known of healthy peers who were have passed on due to cancer and pneumonia, with the youngest only at 16 years. When my food poisoning hit me, I had no indication it was coming and until today I still don’t know how it got there. I’m also very sure that my friend had no warning coming that leukemia would be upon him, as are most other cancer patients. If you are well-read, you should know that these diseases manifest suddenly and without warning even in the healthiest of people. There is no known reason how they came by in the first place. Hence, there is no CURE. But we do know that most diseases in their early stages, show no symptoms as they build up in your body, and by the time you start feeling bad, the disease is in its late stages. The best you can do, is to lead your life as healthily as possible, and to change your ways if the current one you are living is deterioratery. And if you do know of anyone currently facing a major illness,lend your support to them as it will mean a lot, and it will probably make a big difference in their struggle, without you or even them realising.

Ju Liang, for all that you are going through, know that you are not alone, and that you have the moral and spiritual support of all your friends. Most especially, thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us so that we too may better understand.
Best wishes, peace be with you, and Godbless!