The Stomach Bug Came Calling Again

This was Ariz yesterday around 8pm. From the time I arrived home from work yesterday to 8pm, he had thrown up about 5 times. The last time was greenish, indicating there's nothing else in his tummy.

He became thirsty and parched and asked for ribena or water and as soon as he plopped himself back after drinking it, he would weakly said to me "Nak muntah .." and I quickly got the puke bowl to him and held him while he wretched and he shuddered.

MrGart went out and got him 100Plus. That spent about 5 seconds before it too got ejected out. At 3am, he was still throwing up every single drop of liquid he drank.

It was harrowing. This was painful for a mother to go through and this was nothing, mind you. Apatah lagi, the mothers whose children have much much more severe illnesses than Ariz's. Astaghfirullahadzim.

In those wee hours of the night while MrGart snored and Ariz rested in between his throwing up sessions, I rubbed Minyak Yuu Yee on his tummy and patted him to sleep. I was reminded of Kak Jun who babysat Ayisha when she was 2 months old until she was about 9 months old i.e when Andes came for good.

You see. Kak Jun is such a strong person. At that time, she was caring for Fatin, her 9 years old invalid daughter, body twisted, bed-ridden and was fed through a tube. Fatin always laid in the middle of her quarters at the Kompeni, a few doors from the Kompeni's Nursery where Aliya was. Kak Jun's husband was paralysed on his left side froma stroke suffered a few years back. But he still went to punch his card in the morning and came home. The Kompeni kept him on its payroll.

Kak Jun was so determined to give the best to Fatin and her other sons. But sometimes things got a litle harder. Ayisha was once left to the care of her 15 yo son (who is now at Germany, I believe studying Engineering) while she carted off Fatin in a rickety stroller to the nearby Pantai MC. Mind you, she had to push the stroller, rather heavily too, down a hill, cross a very busy Jalan Pantai and up the hill to the Hospital. All because she couldn't afford a cab fare. If she had told me.

Once, she told me while I was dropping Ayisha off hers, how she was so tired that she didn't wake up and Fatin was seizing for a good half hour due to her high fevers. She felt so guilty because of that. And during the day, she still had the tenacity to care for Ayisha who was the most strong-minded baby I and she has ever known.

You see, Ayisha loved to nurse. Fullstop. Straight from the breast. Nothing else matters.

So, we've gone through a gazillion teats, bottles, formula and none worked. In the end, what worked was feeding her my expressed breast milk from a syringe. Imagine that! Even I was not that patient. She was used to it, she said. Sometimes she used a spoon. But syringes were easier. I cannot thank her enough for her patience and I so respect her for her strength and determination.

Kak Jun now lives in a flat at Sentul. Fatin passed away at 13, a coupe of years ago and her husband was finally terminated under a medical board by the Kompeni and they had to vacate the quarters. Her eldest son, Idris is now a clerk at the one of the Kompeni's subsidiary where I always go for meetings in PJ and he recognised he immediately. I thought he looked familiar but never would've guessed the connection. The son, who was minding Ayisha on that fateful day, is studying at Germany and I'm sure the mother is proud of him and his other son.

Anyhow. Kak Jun might have lost her only daughter Fatin, but I can assure you that throughout Fatin's short life, Kak Jun cared for her with such love that was above herself.

Today I took a day off. I did not answer phonecalls. So to Sara-With-A-Fizz and Ken, I will speak to you on Monday. Bukannya apa, I hardly slept last night for fear of Ariz running up a temperature. So, I was napping with him. Ariz when he's sick, became a clinger, a super-clinger. So I had no choice but to snuggle on the sofa, with a glass of iced coffee and the Astro remote.

Ariz meanwhile ate nothing today. But alhamdulillah he could keep fluids down and has not vomitted anything yet today. But he stil refuses to eat. I guess I could keep offering and he's bound to accept a bread or some porridge later. Insyallah.

I think we can skip the trip to the clinic la since he's getting better. He's doing the Madagascar 2 dance right now. His favourite. The one Alex performed while both he and Zuba was cornered by the newyorkers.

Ah well.