Saturday 31 May 2008

Going into transit

On divorce ...


I've moved the piano back to my parents' place - I'm sick and tired of being seized with fear and anxiety whenever the letters threatening to seize the property and goods arrive. At least the rest of the items are not that expensive compared to the piano.


It's such an irony that I know nuts about divorce although I was divorced once. I called up a hotline on divorce and I was advised that any marriage below 3 years has to seek permission from the court to divorce and compelling reasons why you can't wait till 3 years to divorce have to be stated.


The flat is purchased for less than 5 years so it's highly likely that HDB will take it back after the divorce.


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Yesterday, we were taken to Terminal 3 for a workshop. My group leader was the man who lost his wife during delivery last year.

I managed to speak to him more and realised that things are far worse than I'd thought.

His wife had actually developed the fatal condition during a natural delivery. Previously, I'd always thought it occured during a Caesarean. But no. It happened after the waterbag was broken by the doc.

I was shocked to know that the doc would ignore the baby's state until they revive the mother, or prove that she's unreviveable. Apparently, the mother had lapsed into unconsciousness when the rare condition occured and the doc was trying to make the mother come to before he would proceed to deliver the baby.

All the while, the baby was left in the womb while the waterbag's water leaked. The doc couldn't perform a Caesarean on the mother while she was unconscious because it would endanger her life.

When the baby was finally out of the womb, he was seriously lacking in oxygen and it resulted in brain damage.

To date, the baby can't swallow food. He has to be fed using a tube going into his stomach.

The term 'brain damage' didn't sink into me at that moment when he talked to me. I thought he was exaggerating, given the optimistic and sunny person he is. He didn't even make it sound sombre or serious at all. It was more like a casual talk.

After the term sank in, I was horrified and inspired at the same time.

I'm inspired by his sheer strength to face all these on his own. It was a joy-turned-trauma episode which has repercussions that last.

For a moment, it makes me feel that what I'm going through is insignificant compared to what he has gone through. I'm just leaving a die-hard gambler who doesn't care two hoots about his 'family'. Although the baby will not have a father, like Coco, having a gambler father is worse than having no father at all.

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