When Organs Fall Apart.....Tastebuds Also Seem to Change.....

I used to be fond of a lot of not so healthy foods before I was diagnosed with cancer. I was a "coffee addict". Drinking a cup of coffee just after I woke was a must, or I felt like a zombie walking around half asleep. It was a daily habit for me to have a slice of bread or a piece of biscuit with my coffee to break my fast.
Then only at about 11a.m. I would have a light lunch or perhaps you could call it brunch. Now, since I was hospitalised on 14th December, I took a dislike to coffee!

I had a sweet tooth, and chocolates were my favourite. I remember it was not a problem for me to finish off a tin of hazel nuts or almond chocolates by Van Houten or Cadbury within two hours.! Now, I no longer fancy chocolates, and had not touched any since my hospitalisation.

It is so ironical that when I was healthier, I would go for long walks, did aerobics, etc. but found it difficult to shed even 3 kgs. Now, since my illness, I had lost 15 kgs without much effort.! Eldest sister cooks healthy and nutritional food and prepares healthy drinks for me everyday......I eat and drink them without much relish, and even the sight of sumptuous food does not stir my appetite like it used to!

My best friend, Geok Sim, and I would go for our usual once a month visit of our favourite "Don Cafe" at China Square, where we would order our favourite crab beehoon. Now I no longer miss the dish or any seafood. Funny how one's tastebud
seems to change when one is ill.

My beloved sister tries to vary her cooking style so that I will not get tired of my food. I appreciate her love and effort. I know when God heals me, I will no longer revert to the old "greedy Choo" who just eats everything, but I will be someone who is more fastidious with healthy eating.

Gan Cao

When Organs Fall Apart.....Things are less taken for granted.

Today is 28th of January 2011. In just five more days I will be seeing my beloved brother Kee Seng and his wife as they are flying to Singapore to spend Chinese New Year with me. The following day, my beloved niece will come to Singapore with her older daughter, Zen. Wow! I am so excited. Simply because this is the first time,
that my relatives will be spending reunion dinner at my small but cosy flat.

On New Year's eve, my beloved nephew Samuel will come with his wife and four lovely daughters, and his brother Daniel and wife, will also have reunion day with us. They will drive down from Johore. My two sisters Lee Lee and Ean Ean will still be in Singapore with their spouses, and my niece, Christmin who lives in Singapore will
also join us for dinner with her family. Eldest brother is happy about the Chinese New Year Eve arrangement, although he would not be able to join us as Canada is too far away.

All these years, I hardly spend my Christmas or New Year celebrations in Singapore.
It would be spent in either Malaysia, Canada or Australia. There was once when I spent Christmas in Taiwan.

Now for the first time, I have most of my relatives to spend Chinese New Year with me. I never realise that when a person has stage four cancer, she becomes like a
little "queen". :-)

Today's visit to Dr. Karmen Wong confirmed that my liver has improved tremendously,
and Dr. Wong was able to give me my third chemotherapy, much to her delight and joy. She confided in eldest sister that when she first saw my medical report, she
was extremely worried and dared not give me any chemotherapy until three weeks later, when thank God, my organs have improved to some extent. I told sister that I already knew the gravity of my condition, but I just wanted to be thankful and grateful to God that I have lived this far at 57 years and 12 days! I definitely wanted to be cheerful and postive with the remaining days with my relatives and friends.!

With God's blessings, I hope I can spend many more Christmases and New Year celebrations with my loved ones. For now, I only pray that I will be strong enough to take my two sisters to see the Sakura in Japan this coming April.

For now, I am looking forward to five more days.....

Gan Cao

When Organs Fall Apart ......Kids Make Me Laugh the Most!

A friend from the toastmasters' club, Michael Rodrigues sent me the email below. I always enjoy stories about little children. They are so pure, innocent and candid. If there were toastmasters' clubs for little children, this one would have won first prize in story telling!

Enjoy!

The 'Middle Wife' by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself,but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back.


When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.


Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.


She holds up a snapshot of an infant. 'This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday.'


'First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord.'


She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.


'Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. 'She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)


'My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this.' (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.)


'And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!' (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands mimicking water flowing away. It was too much!)


'Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe.
They started counting, but never even got past ten Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center, (placenta) so there must be a lot of toys inside there. When he got out, the middle wife spanked him for crawling up in there.'


Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat.

I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another ' Middle Wife' comes along.


Now you have two choices....laugh and close this page or pass this along to someone else to spread the laughs. I know what I did!!!


Live every day as if it is your LAST chance to make someone happy!!!