LOVE ENDURES ALL THINGS

As I was walking to Petaling Street with Ann on Thursday night to collect her wedding bouquet, I recalled the incident where she was hospitalized due to blood clot in her lungs caused by the complication in her heart. She has a hole in her heart since young.

She was only 23 years old then. I found out about this only when I text her one morning to tell her I was on the way to Genting for the weekend and asked how she was? She told me she was in the hospital. She had been in the hospital for a week! I cursed those “well meaning” friends for not informing me.

I quickly went to see her at University Hospital, the moment I came home from Genting. She appeared to be in a perky mood, albeit looking anorexically thin. I guess my gift of Ribena cheered her up a little. Any kids and adults alike love Ribena!

I learnt that she was unconscious for a few days and heavily sedated with loads and loads of morphine to make her sleep. She had been hallucinating. She didn’t even know she was bed ridden for the whole week. The doctors told her mother to be prepared for the worst. 50-50 chances on survival.

Friends who had visited her said, she looked quite horrific and some even wept at the sight of her laying motionless on the bed. I could feel the pain as I had seen my own aunt bedridden due to removal of a tumor in her stomach before.

What touched me most, was her boyfriend, Alvin, who had kept vigil by her bedside since the first day she was hospitalized. She learnt from her mother that, he had not been eating or sleeping well for the past few days when she was unconscious. Hence, he lost so much weight and looked gaunt. I have seen a few relationships faltered if an issue of such grave magnitude occurred. It is sad sometimes, that the one that you think you loved with your whole heart, deserted you when you needed him the most.

So what if he is not a romantic person who doesn’t send you flowers on Valentine’s Day? So what if he is not a man with many surprises? So what if he is a man of a few words? So what if he only cooks you maggi mee once in a blue moon?

Action speaks louder than words. He has proven that he is someone worth to spend the rest of her life with, just by being there when she needed him the most.

Their relationship withstand the test of time and they remain having faith in each other. They had seen the best and worst in each other, yet love each other just the same.

Last Friday, I was honored to be invited to attend their marriage registration ceremony at Thean Hou Temple, after 9th years of courtship.

I firmly believe that such great love will see them through till they are old and grey, as LOVE bears all things, believes all things and endures all things.