Carousel tune: Amazing Grace

Go in peace, Melissa

It was with a feeling of sadness, mixed with relief that I accepted the news of my cousin Melissa passing away peacefully 3am yesterday morning. She had suffered from brain damage for 3 years, and was also in and out of the hospital frequently. I guessed all of us had expected this for some time liao, cos after Melissa came out of coma, she was not quite the person she used to be. I could tell she did not recognise any of us, and at first, she even had difficulty walking and feeding herself. It was very heartbreaking to see her like this, and all this came without any warning at all. According to my uncle, the family was having dinner together when Melissa suddenly went into violent fits. She was immediately admitted into ICU, where she stayed unconscious for a very very long period of time. That was 3 years ago, when she was just about to take her 'O' levels. We were so happy when she finally woke up, only to realise that the virus had damaged her brain to the extent that Melissa's IQ was reduced to a 4-year old child's. From then on, her parents had the difficult task of taking care of her, not to mention the huge financial burden than came over them as they were just a middle-income family with 2 more children to feed.

My uncle and auntie were originally very jovial people, esp my uncle who is considered the joker of the family. After the incident, one can sense this constant sadness in them whenever we meet up for family occasions such as Chinese New Year and Christmas. Yesterday at the funeral, my aunt's eyes kept tearing, esp during the service conducted by their church friend. To some degree, even though there is this sense of relief in everyone, knowing that Melissa's sufferings can be ceased finally and that her family can also experience some sort of closure, its never easy for a parent to accept the death of her/his children. As what the Chinese saying goes, 白头人送黑头人 is always something very very tragic. I really hope my uncle and aunt, together with Melissa's siblings can, slowly come to terms with Melissa's death and form deeper bonds with one another. For me, I've learnt firsthand, that the future is always unpredictable and I should treasure each and everyone of my family members, friends and loved ones. And instead of keeping these emotions inside me, perhaps I should show my love more openly so that the people around me know they are being appreciated and cherished.