Monday, July 07, 2014

Life at 70 ... awwwwwww !




July 7, 2014 ~  My mom is now in her 70's just like my father too. For her special day on 1st of July this year, I travelled from Singapore to Philippines to be able to find her a much needed wheelchair and movable bed in Bambang with the help and assistance of my brother and step-sister. I had been near Bambang area about 27 years ago when I gave birth to my 1st daughter in a hospital nearby. This place is not a place you'll dream of going to , filthy, suspicious looking people wandering all over the place ( watch out for pick pockets here too ) ... but it's well known for the reasonably priced medical equipments so it's the main reason why I went there. My sister got her car so going there was pretty easy but going back to my hotel was quite a problem coz the big boxes of equipment filled up all the seats in her small car. Ooopppsssss !
. So brother and I took the local LRT ( Light Rail Transit ) back to where I stay in Makati. Geezzz... I had never ridden LRT for so many years ! I was excited to be in there again despite of the crowd staring at me coz maybe I looked and dressed up differently .... LOL!

 
I decided to buy the wheelchair from this shop coz I saw a lot of buyers going in and out... hint ... they have good service and price for sure !

Brother Rowel and sister Wincess waiting for all things I had purchased to be properly packed.


Bambang LRT station ... just took us less than 15 mins to reach Makati from Bambang. Wow !

Lucky for me I had saved a bit of money from my monthly allowance so I was able to buy mom what she badly needed for her condition , a much needed wheelchair and some additional medical supplies..



For her birthday on  the1st of July , I surely surprised her with something she had been asking for. A wheelchair that can transport her out of the place where she and the family of my youngest brother live presently. I invited my  aunties and uncles she had never seen for a while to cheer her up plus I got her a Red Ribbon Black Forest Cake that she loves to eat too. She couldn't even wait till we start singing her a happy birthday song that she started nibbling on the cherries of the cake immediately like a kid . My poor mom !

Due to sickness and old age she cannot walk on her own anymore after few strokes and damages done by her falls in our bathroom floor. It's really very dangerous for old people in their early 70's to be walking on wet floors while alone at home. Slipping accidents are innevitable, she had even fallen on the living room floor  when I was on vacation there a few years back. She was way too heavy I couldn't even lift her up from the floor so I told her to slide up bit by bit till she can turn and go on her knees so she can hold on to the chair beside her. It was an experience I would never forget with her that day.

She's now most of the time in her bed and couldn't even sit on her own to feed. Just like a baby being fed and with pampers being changed. It's not the usual sight I used to see when I come home a few years back before. I used to see her walking around most of the time by the kitchen either cooking or washing something. I can even still remember her watering her pots of plants beside our house.


 How she loves her flowering Gumamelas, orchids and some other flowering plants adorning the sides of our old house. She was born with a green thumb coz her plants always had flowers to cheer us up !


How I miss those beautiful and memorable sights now. I'm sure she misses it more than I do too. Just a pity that people comes to this part of their lives when they can't do what they used to do. This is a feeling I would surely hate to experience but its a fact that time will come, we won't be able to avoid it.

Life is not easy in the Philippines for old people like my mom. Without physical help from my siblings, she won't be able to see what's happening outside the house. She has no idea what life is about out there unless her wheelchair gets pushed out of the door and rolled to the streets by my other half sister who can only do it once she's off from work once in a week. So my poor mom is just laying on her bed 6 days a week. Lucky if weather is good so she can breath some air outside. If it's rainy, no luck to see anything but hear the gushing wind and the drops of rain hittng the walls and glass windows beside her bed.

I always hope that mom can again stand on her own and walk a bit one day. Her mind is still very much alert although her voice had soften and had almost dissappeared . She's like whispering when she tries to say something these days. She just nods her head when she says yes or no. I felt so frustrated seeing her like this but since I'd been living here in Singapore far away from everyone, I can't do much to help her either. It makes me feel so sad .....

My sadness gets solved from time to time by going out with friends and family wherever I go . I'm blessed with good family and great friends around me . Thank God for that sincerely !







and of course doing my beading whenever I'm at home too .




So far, when I'm not partying with people, beading is still my best therapy ever aside from being busy with house chores which I do all by myself every single day.

I know my back problem hits me like a big rock crushing on me sometimes but I'm pretty ok still compared to my mom  in the Philippines. I can still luckily sit on my own and create my beaded creations whenever I want to , not like her .

I can also still enjoy taking my grandsons somewhere when I'm on vacation in the Philippines and enjoy my time with them eventhough I can't carry them due to my back problem.

Grandson Raphael enjoying the supermarket cart ride !
So happy to see smiling little faces when they picked me up in Manila.

I just hope old age doesn't get too harsh with me someday like what it had done to my mom. I don't wanna be bedridden nor not be able to go outside and play with grandchildren nor not be able to bead anymore. OMG... I must be feelin horrible if my beading stops one day and can't do anything much !

Old age gets me worried somehow ... imagine life at 70 ?
All I can say is ...... awwwwwwwwww !


 
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