Update on my mom

It was around 8 pm when my mom called me from her cellphone. She was concerned about my swollen feet and wanted to know if I feel better. As always, she would put everyone else before herself. Fifteen minutes later, I received another call from her cellphone but this time it was a man on the other end. He asked if I knew the owner of the cellphone. I said yes, and he informed me that the person has been in an accident and was unconscious. He asked if he could contact her family members. It was as if a dagger was stabbed into my chest as I gave him my dad's phone number. The Good Samaritan finally contacted my dad and by the time he got to the scene (which was very close to my parents' home), the ambulance was already there.

Being almost 500 kms (300 miles) away only intensified my panic and worry. Brian was out and it was the longest hour as I waited for news on my mom's situation. As my dad was frantic with worry and riding in the ambulance, I was calling my uncle and aunt who are in Ipoh to get an update instead. I felt so helpless being so heavily pregnant and so far away. There was nothing I could do except to pray and remind myself that God is a good God - one who loves, sees all things, cares and is omniscient. 

Soon Brian was home after I informed him of the situation.  We prayed and waited. And waited. By the time my sister arrived in Ipoh (from Kuala Lumpur) at 12:30 midnight, mom had been transferred to a private hospital from the General Hospital (a government hospital). We were finally able to get mom an x-ray and detailed scan to find out her condition by 2am.

We are so thankful that none of her injuries are life threatening. Her right fibula and right toe were broken. Her right arm was dislocated. Her elbows' bone are slightly crushed but other than these are external injuries. As her condition was not life threatening, she was only wheeled in for surgery in the morning at 6:30am. She was out by 9 am and the doctor says that she'll be fine.

As I'm so advanced in my pregnancy, no airline would let me fly to Malaysia and the 8-hour bus ride to Ipoh would be too difficult for me. I long to be with my mom but have been advised to stay put in Singapore. It hurts me so much to know that my mom is in so much pain. I'm praying that she'll find some comfort in the pain management medication and that God will give her peace in her soul as she recovers in the hospital. Knowing my mom, she'll be worrying about me, about my sister and a host of other things except about herself. I hope she'll have the peace to rest and heal. Due to her age, it may be awhile before she is mobile again.

We found out subsequently that it was a hit and run by a speeding motorcycle. We know for a fact that God was watching over her as her injuries could be so much worse than they are. Also, a Good Samaritan who acted so swiftly was truly God-send. As we reflect with much gratitude for God's mercy and goodness, we continue to pray that my mom would recover smoothly and quickly. 

Baby update

We visited the gynecologist today to see how Craig is doing and found that he's doing great. He's big and long compared to an average baby in utero his age. An average baby at 31 weeks weighs around 3.3 lbs (1.3 kgs) but Craig weighs 3.74 lbs (1.7 kgs)! No wonder I feel so heavy! He also has been extremely active moving around inside and often we can see his movements as my belly thumps and swells. Sometimes he punches and kicks so hard it hurts!

Meanwhile, his room is almost ready. The crib and changing table were delivered over the weekend and we're slowly but surely setting up Craig's room. We find it hard to believe that in less than 8 weeks' time, it will be 24/7 - Craig!   

Heavy and tired

I (I'Ching) am glad that the weekend's here. I've been feeling especially heavy the last few days and tire easily from simple tasks. Today, I napped for 15 minutes on the train coming to work! I suspect that this depletion of energy will continue till Craig is done with his mothership.

We have lots to do this weekend. We went shopping for baby's crib and other outstanding stuff last evening. His crib plus changing table will be delivered on Sunday. Hopefully by then we would have gotten our act together in having all his clothes washed and room ready for the furniture. I also need to think about packing my hospital bag...

Meanwhile, today, on my way to lunch, I spotted the following which may tickle you...

If you see something strange in the neighborhood, you'll know who to call:

Chivalry isn't dead, apparently

Pix credit: www.travelblog.org

It's just my observation so far and I could be wrong but I think men are more compassionate to pregnant women than women are! The number of men who gave up their seat for me on the train far surpasses the number of women who did the same. I'm pleased to announce that I did get seat today as a kind man stood up as soon as he saw me board the train.

Bus, trains and automobiles

I (I'Ching) started commuting to work from our new home last week. From a mere stone's throw away, now I live 20 minutes away (by car) from the office. There are three options for me: 1) train (30 mins) followed by bus (15 or so mins); 2) bus all the way (1 hr 20 mins); and, 3) taxi: 20 mins but costs $15 or more one way.

I took option one the whole of last week. It was wonderful the first two days as even though the trains were packed, I got a seat - as I'm pregnant. On trains here, there are a few seats designated "Priority Seat" sort of reserved for the elderly, expectant mothers and parents with young children. I say, "sort of" as there is a sign above those seats that read, "Please be considerate - give up your seat for someone who needs it more." So, this means, the occupant of the seat can decide to not be considerate and not give up his seat. A needy person, like my present-self, has no right per se to ask him to get up. In other words, it all depends on the civic-sense (some call it commonsense but I do question how common that is nowadays!!!) of the seat-occupant.

On the third day of my commute, I boarded the train as usual and moved right up to where the priority seats are. Lo and behold, the two ladies occupying those seats did not give a hoot to the fact that I'm 7-month pregnant and need the seat badly (before my feet bloat to size 15). One gave me a look and continued to enjoy her iPod while the other continued to read. I was tempted to ask them for their seat but I remembered a recent story about how a pregnant woman asked a man for his seat and he shouted at her saying that he has no reason to give her his seat: "Why do you deserve this more than I do?" he asked!!!

So, afraid that I'd be publicly humiliated like that poor woman, I decided to stand till someone else with a seat leaves. Thankfully, a few stops later, one of the two UNKIND ladies left and I took her seat.

The same happened the next morning... So, nowadays, I do not take for granted that I will get a seat on the train just because I am a loadful. Kindness can be so rare in this society...

On a cheerier note, we put up our Charlie Brown Christmas tree last night. We made spiced apple cider, listened to carols, put up the tree and afterwards watched A Charlie Brown Christmas on dvd. A wonderful end to my birthday...

Settling in...

As I'm logging this in, the joints of my hands hurt with every tap on the keyboard - thanks to baby Craig, my joints and feet are swollen. As we enter the third trimester, we are experiencing all the related symptoms warned on every pregnancy website. When we visited the gynecologist last week, the remark was that Craig is big for his 29-week age. His thigh bone measured 5.3cm. Since both Brian and I are not exceptionally tall, we reckon that it must be someone else in either of our family that Craig is taking after.

Since we arrived back from the US, we've been busy packing and moving and finally we moved into our new apartment end of last week. We are enjoying our new place thoroughly! We are mostly unpacked except for a few boxes that are still in Craig's room. Once we get those out of the way, we will start work on the nursery.

My mom and sister came over the weekend to help with the unpacking and it was really nice to have them as first guests at our place. As always, their visit entails much good food and shopping. We managed to squeeze in a home-cooked meal by mom which was wonderful! Nothing beats mom's cooking, huh?

Having tea at Ikea's Cafe with my mom

Hmmm... perhaps this evening we'll break out our Charlie Brown xmas tree...

Pix: Our first Christmas in Singapore in 2005