Why I haven't blog...Part 3 (Final)

1 month on, and there we were, my dad and I, listening to Mr R, the specialist on Chemo. Mr R thought that my dad could not understand English, thus he was very blunt and straight forward in explaining about my dad's medical condition. He was saying things like "It is bad as its Stage 4 cancer and has spread to his liver and lungs", "We don't know how long he will live, but its gonna be worst" etc etc. I looked at my dad but he looks cool. Then I interrupted Mr R and told him "My dad understands English. You can explain directly to him". Mr R went red in the face, poor dude, but we understood that he meant well.

There are a few options in getting Chemotherapy. Option 1 is a daily dose but he has to come weekly for it, Option 2 is a 48 hours dose but on alternate weeks, Option 3 is 5 straight days in the hospital on a monthly basis. There is now a tablet form also that you can take at home but its a bit costly. After discussing with my dad, we chose option 2.


The good part was, treatment is at Ward 4C, a 3rd class ward, but for chemo, he would be placed in an isolation room, similar to a 2nd class. The first time everyone was nervous, including myself, coz we didnt know how my dad's body would react to the drug. The 3 days in the ward was with little interruption from the nurses, its as if we were just temporary visitors. First day went by, and apart from slight increase in body temperature, nothing else happened. Same goes for the rest of the stay. I was grateful that there were no serious side effects.

The 2nd visit was easier, with the ward already waiting for my dad to come in. A special mention to my dad's attending physician, Dr Farhan, a soft spoken Kelantanese, whom immediately clicked with my dad. He was in-charge for administering my dad's medication.

We have now come to our 4th visit next week. During the last visit, Dr Farhan said that the cancer markers were still increasing despite the Chemo. Thus, maybe my dad needed a much stronger 2nd level Chemo but could only be administered in HKL (Kuala Lumpur General Hospital). A stronger cocktail of drugs would certainly bring some side effects, I am sure.

My dad and I has gotten much closer since then. I was there by his bedside no matter how tired I had worked during the day because I know that the few moments together were very precious to me and him. Everytime on our journey back home, we would stop by our favourite Mamak restaurant, where we would have father - son conversations over lunch. The topics has gotten heavier though, and I try to digest them while trying to put on a brave face, not to show my sadness.

I am thankful to the Al Mighty coz I am blessed with the means and time to be with my dad. To me, it's the greatest gift of all. I hope and I pray that I am given the courage, perseverance, patience, time and the means to go through what's ever coming in the future.

For those of you who have yet to bond with your old man, now is a good time to start.