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He came to see mum at the hospital, I remember, back in April. Mum was on the eleventh floor, and I believe it was just after her digestive bypass surgery.
He is the younger brother of my uncle's wife (mum's first brother), so in a way, he's an uncle too, albeit a distant one. Growing up, when I was much younger, I would spend some time in the south, and this uncle would often pass by after work and bring lots of goodies and dessert. I remember him as a strong and athletic man, a medic in the air force, always so cheerful and energetic.
Cancer changed all that. It has been over a decade since I last spoke to him. I saw him once only in this period of time, last year and from a distance, as he was just about to leave in a car after going to see my grandma (Mum's side). I was shocked to see how thin he'd grown, and how on his scalp there are the markings of a surgical incision.
I had heard that he has cancer and has been battling it for several years, perhaps for longer than my mum. His is a rare form of brain tumour, and he went through several surgeries and treatments, but still the cancer kept coming back and getting stronger.
When he came to see mum, he sat down next to her and held her hand. "We must be strong together..." It was such a touching scene, and I was almost crying when I saw that. He said he's become a sort of lab rat, and the doctors are giving him clinical trial drugs at no charge. In his stage of advanced cancer, you just try to do what you can. Or as they say here: "treat a dead horse as if it were still alive".
Before heading down to the south, I called my aunt (my uncle's wife) to see whether we could get together with all of mum's siblings for a meal. She told me the news then. I was speechless.
But in a way I knew also its for the best, for he no longer has to undergo treatment and pain. The saddest is that he still has two young children...
He came to see mum at the hospital, I remember, back in April. Mum was on the eleventh floor, and I believe it was just after her digestive bypass surgery.
He is the younger brother of my uncle's wife (mum's first brother), so in a way, he's an uncle too, albeit a distant one. Growing up, when I was much younger, I would spend some time in the south, and this uncle would often pass by after work and bring lots of goodies and dessert. I remember him as a strong and athletic man, a medic in the air force, always so cheerful and energetic.
Cancer changed all that. It has been over a decade since I last spoke to him. I saw him once only in this period of time, last year and from a distance, as he was just about to leave in a car after going to see my grandma (Mum's side). I was shocked to see how thin he'd grown, and how on his scalp there are the markings of a surgical incision.
I had heard that he has cancer and has been battling it for several years, perhaps for longer than my mum. His is a rare form of brain tumour, and he went through several surgeries and treatments, but still the cancer kept coming back and getting stronger.
When he came to see mum, he sat down next to her and held her hand. "We must be strong together..." It was such a touching scene, and I was almost crying when I saw that. He said he's become a sort of lab rat, and the doctors are giving him clinical trial drugs at no charge. In his stage of advanced cancer, you just try to do what you can. Or as they say here: "treat a dead horse as if it were still alive".
Before heading down to the south, I called my aunt (my uncle's wife) to see whether we could get together with all of mum's siblings for a meal. She told me the news then. I was speechless.
But in a way I knew also its for the best, for he no longer has to undergo treatment and pain. The saddest is that he still has two young children...
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