At around 2:30pm today, my mom calls my cell at work and says,
Mom – Julie... you're not going anywhere tonight... are you? *sniffs
me – well, I was going to go to volleyball like I do every Friday night. Why? What's up?
Mom – your poa-poa is in the hospital... I want you to go visit her with me...
It's been a while since I felt my heart break like that... a literal sense of something gripping your chest to the point where breathing normally seems to be a little more difficult. My mom doesn't cry in public, so I know when she's sniffing, it's serious. My poa-poa is my grandma on mom's side. She and gong-gong (grandpa) pretty much raised my siblings and I from birth to the end of elementary school back in East York. I love my poa-poa... she says I'm her favourite. =)
Mom had mentioned to me yesterday briefly that poa-poa fell outside, but she assured me that said it wasn't serious. When I went to the hospital today, she seemed okay. My aunt was there and had been there overnight as requested by the patient. I could see in her blood-shot eyes that she was tired and had cried some time before we got to the hospital.
Apparently, my grandma went through a couple hours of an extreme headache that caused her to feel nauseated, made the room spin and the walls seemed to want to crash down onto her. According to my aunt, she was yelling things like it was going to be her last day alive, that the heavens will have to take her life and that she can't stand the suffering here. It was after this incident that she called my mom and thus, mom called me.
While we were there, poa-poa seemed to be doing well: semi-energetic and talkative. She laughed at my jokes and nodded in approval when I told her my work softball team were the champions, it made me happy. =) (I thought this was a funny pic of her - taken probably 7-8 years ago, but she looks the same)
As the 4 of us were talking, the topic of boyfriend came up (go figure). She knew someone from HK who just finished grad school in Toronto and she wanted me to meet him and blah blah blah. I couldn't be too sarcastic with her, so I basically made it come down to: Is he taller than me? Knowing he was from HK, I sorta knew the answer already. HA – dodged the bullet; he was shorter than I! Then they started talking about so-and-so's son that's single or that family friend that is looking for a daughter-in-law, or that guy who is quite handsome, etc etc.
I couldn't escape.
Eventually, I changed the topic... but really... sigh... must it always go back to Single Aging Julie needs a husband? =/
The drive home was quite pleasant. All my childhood memories came back... I remember the days when I was a fat kid who tortured bugs in the backyard all day, walked around Taylor Creek Park with the family, played with rocks and Ninja Turtle figurines... I remember when poa-poa would pick me up from school and everyday I would ask her to buy pizza from Diamond Pizza for me. She did twice of the millions of times I asked. It killed my bro and sis when she said I was such a good child and that they should be as nice as me. Suckers. Little did she know though...
Anyway, it was a good visit. She will be there for a few more days, I think.
For those who believe in God, please pray for her... for those who don't, please pray also as I think God will hear you too. =) Thanks
