Al-Fatihah To A Friend

I lost a friend today, to stage 4 stomach cancer.

It is so sad. I knew her since we were like 18, 19 way back during college years. We were even working in the same company after both of us graduated from Uni.

About 2 months ago, she decided to quit her job and be a full time mom. She messaged me via Facebook asking about things to do at home, things that could earn money while carrying her task as a mother of two. Her 9 month old daughter is still breastfeeding when she was warded to the hospital.

I am glad that I made time to chat with her that day. That was the last time we communicated before she fell sick and went offline. And then I found her status stating that doctor suspected she has lymphoma cancer which turned out to be stage 4 stomach cancer. It then has spread to her bone marrow. I visited her in the hospital on 16th September, almost didn’t make it but now as I am typing this I was glad that we braved through the heavy rain. She was surrounded with family when I visited her.

Seeing her on the hospital bed, with blood infused to her vein, bruises all over her body, no longer able to digest food with sick and bloated tummy made me realized how short and frail life could be. It doesn’t matter what kind of car you drive, how big your house is or how much money you make and have in the account, in the end if you are lucky, it’s your loved ones that will be by your bedside day and night, and that is priceless.

That night after I visited her, for the first time as I lie on bed waiting for my son to fall asleep, I feel really blessed to be a mother. I imagined her not being able to breastfeed her daughter and not even able to see her 4-year old son in the hospital since before Hari Raya.

I pray that she is in a better place now. Al Fatihah.