Another incident which showed us the miracle of love happened to my family a few months ago. My 80 year-old father became very sick due to his deteriorating kidneys. In late July, he was hospitalized with a bout of high fever, vomiting and weak body. He was rushed to Mount Alvernia Hospital where he stayed for one week. Doctor found that his red blood cells were too low and he was given 2 rounds of blood transfusion to bring it up. He was discharged after one week but a couple of days later, the hemoglobin level dipped again and this time he was feeling nauseous coupled with hallucination, fever and vomiting. He was sent to Gleneagles Hospital where his regular kidney specialist doctor could do a thorough diagnosis. What followed was a 5-week emotional roller-coaster. First, he fell in the toilet causing his breathing to become shallow. They found blood in his stool and discovered 3 polyps in his rectum. The doctor removed the 2 small polyps but he didn’t remove the large polyp given his poor unstable health condition. Subsequently, when his breathing worsened, he went into the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) and had to breathe through a tube inserted into his mouth. Then they discovered that water began to accumulate around his lungs and heart and they had to insert a tube through the organs to drain out the fluid. His kidneys stopped functioning such that he could not purge the urine and toxin out of his body. The doctor started him on kidney dialysis.
One day, he had heavy bleeding while passing motion and the doctor had another colonoscopy to remove the large polyp. During this period of various traumatic medical interventions, we saw him literally withered away into a gaunt body frame within a short period. We thought we were going to lose him and we felt his end was near. In fact, we were prepared for the worst. My father is a very kind and hardworking man. He was the sole bread winner for a family of 6 children for many years until he retired in the early 90’s. He is respected for his excellent work attitude and adored by his children for his innocent demeanor. Despite 6-weeks of severe body pain and suffering, he was surrounded by his children and grandchildren showering him with tender loving care and attention everyday. Besides doing whatever we could in terms of best possible medical care, we also prayed to higher force for any help we could possibly turn to. When we were told that doing mantra chanting which created certain positive vibrations could help in his survival, for 2 weeks I would visit him daily in ICU and do chanting of mantras to infuse higher energy in him. He would sometimes fall asleep or be in silence of peace. When he told me he enjoyed listening to the chanting and I was overjoyed in tears. A group of 5 Nithya Spiritual Healers also came to give my father a group healing in the ICU. Even my younger brother would stay with him late at night and do Buddhist chanting. Continuously, during the entire period, he was showered with attention, care and love. Miraculously, after a 5-week ordeal, his organs began to stabilize and all kinds of internal bleeding stopped suddenly. He started to recover slowly and was transferred to the normal ward for another week. The nurses applauded my father for his fighter spirit and strong will to live. On the day of discharge from hospital, three of his daughters came to shower him and brought him home. On the way home, I asked him what he learnt from this incident. He broke into a contented smile by saying “Xiang Fu” (meaning enjoy the blessings) by the love and care of his children. How many old folks get to enjoy this level of love and attention? Very very few. This very personal experience taught me the healing power of love and attention which gives us strength and courage. Perhaps all the sacrifices and past good deeds that my father had sowed in the past also bought him some more time so that he could enjoy a longer lifespan in this body. Now, even though my father is on thrice weekly kidney dialysis, he knows that his life has been a great blessing after many years of sacrifices and hardship.