Blink Blink: Memories of Guakong

Friday 31 October 2008

Memories of Guakong

I'll not be celebrating this coming CNY. Because my grandpa from my mother's side passed on two weeks ago.

Guakong used to be a very quiet man. Mostly he would sit at his chair there reading newspaper or watching television when we went to visit them.

Guakong loves to rare fishes and maintaining his little garden. Guakong is also a handyman. He made a lot of wooden stools and tables for us to study. He also made us few blackboards so that we could do some drawing when go to their house.

Frankly speaking, I seldom visit him when he was alive. I only found out that I actually miss guakong as much as everyone else.

Guakong started to get sick two months ago. Both his eyes were not in good condition. One has become totally blind, while the other one is 80% blind. We didn't know when he started to have eyesight problem because he kept them as his lil' secret.

Things turned bad when he lost his appetite and always reject our offer to bring them out. All because of his eyes.

Guakong was sent to the hospital on one Tuesday morning. But guakong kept on telling everyone that he is going for an eye operation. This means that he had been dreaming of undergo an eye operation, but we failed to meet his dream. Doctors told us that he can go for an eye operation once everything gets well. But guakong's health was not getting any better.

Guakong inside the quarantine room

Guakong was quarantined few days before his death. One night before he passed on, on his death bed, we sang Amitabha song for Guakong and kept on telling him not to worry because we are all grownup people already.

We spent the whole night in the hospital accompany Guakong. Time was so precious to us.

1am in the morning. The place was so quiet and isolated.

Guakong was still conscious before he died. He pulled away all the apparatus attached onto him including the feeding tube. After hours of struggling, Guakong finally passed on at 02.30am on 19 October 2008.

A few of us stayed back that night to accompany guakong and his corpse. And someone came in the morning, saying that we were having a party last night. Celaka.