Here is a picture of my mother (Mie Lin) and father (Francis), enjoying a beautiful sunset stroll with their one and only grandson in Melbourne. A day like this has been long wished for, and after many months of planning, we were so grateful to have the chance to spend some time together, breathing in the sights and sounds of nature. Having given decades of their blood, sweat and tears to ensuring my brother and I had a future, they were now ready to retire. I couldn’t wait to show them what the world had to offer and had secretly started to plan their next trip to Melbourne.

However, it turns out that God had different plans.

Fast forward 4 months, to the night before Christmas Eve, we received the most devastating news…Mum was diagnosed with gallbladder cancer, one of the most aggressive yet silent cancers, which had grown to 10cm in size. I couldn’t breathe. As I tried to fight back the tears, my mind was racing, desperately searching for answers – How did it grow so quickly? Were there really no symptoms? How did all of this happen??

I met my parents at the airport a few days later and was shocked to see how gaunt my mother’s face had become since I had last seen her. As I leaned in to give her a hug, my heart broke at the touch of her bony frame poking through her clothing. Reality started to sink in.

I could feel her apprehension as we waited to see the oncologist. My once cheerful and chatty mum was silently staring into space. This place brought her many sad and traumatic memories. Just 5 years ago, we were sitting in this exact same room. Except then, it was dad who was just diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer, and we were waiting to see the same doctor. I recently learnt that throughout his battle with cancer, mum had kept every detail of dad’s treatment plan recorded in a little red notebook, ensuring that each instruction was followed with diligence and care.

We were initially told by friends in the medical field that our best chance of fighting this cancer was to surgically remove the tumour first, and we were hopeful that this could be done. However, our hearts sank as the doctor explained that it was now far too advanced and had metastasised into a Stage 4 cancer. The prognosis was also very bleak, with 12 months being the best-case scenario.

Mum was prescribed a treatment plan that was long and expensive, but we were optimistic and determined to fight this battle together and started both immunotherapy and chemotherapy immediately. However, barely a week into the treatment plan, she started to experience excruciating abdominal pain. We rushed her to the emergency room but became increasingly concerned as her condition began to worsen. Despite the IV drips and medical intervention, I watched in horror as her face grew pale and she became out of breath, struggling to complete her sentences. Soon, she started to lose consciousness. My mind went blank as countless nurses and doctors rushed into the room and I was told to wait outside. Never in my life had I felt so helpless and terrified at the same time.

The doctor explained that mum had experienced a sudden but torrential internal bleed, most likely due to a ruptured blood vessel. As she fought for her life in the critical care unit, our eyes were swollen with tears, realising that there was nothing the medical team could do to save her. My brother, who had to keep the family store open to ensure that there was a steady stream of income, was desperately trying to come to us. As fate would have it, there was a cyclone in Mauritius that suspended all flights for a few days and in a matter of hours, he had lost his closest friend without having the chance to say goodbye.

Mum was the glue of the family – The pillar of strength that kept our close-knit family of 4 together. Our world was ripped apart as God took her home, but little did we know, there was more around the corner. Just 3 days after the funeral, at the height of our physical and emotional fatigue, we discovered that all 3 of dad’s major arteries were completely blocked. He was advised to undergo an open-heart bypass surgery urgently. Despite believing that everything happens for a reason, the feelings of emptiness and despair that consumed my heart were suffocating, and I couldn’t help but feel like life had dealt us a cruel, unfair blow.

Apart from the medical expenses that escalated overnight, there were heavy additional costs associated with the repatriation of mum’s body back to Mauritius to allow my brother and grandmother the opportunity to seek some closure. Our financial burden is also compounded by the fact that the family store must remain closed for an extended period, cutting off our family’s only source of income, so that we can look after our father as he recovers from the bypass surgery. The road to full recovery is long and will require intensive support from a professional nurse as my brother re-opens our store and I return to my own family in Melbourne. However, we are thankful that the blockages were detected in time and that we avoided an imminent fatal heart attack.

As I clutch her little red notebook in my hand, I am reminded of the beauty of mum’s essence – an embodiment of kindness, generosity, and selflessness. Despite the deep valleys we have experienced this past month, we strive to remain strong and hopeful as we learn to rebuild our lives.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for taking the time to read our story. We greatly appreciate your kind thoughts and prayers. If anyone is in the position to make a contribution, in any amount, to help alleviate the burden these tragedies have inflicted upon our family, we would be eternally grateful. Truly, no words would be able to describe our gratitude.

This beautiful piece of writing has brought me solace in the darkest and most difficult moments. If you have experienced a deep loss yourself, I pray that it brings you some consolation in your time of need.

“God saw you getting tired,

And a cure was not to be;

So he put his arms around you,

And whispered, "Come to me"

With tearful eyes we watched you,

And saw you pass away;

Although we loved you dearly,

We could not make you stay.

A golden heart stopped beating,

Hard working hands to rest.

God broke our hearts to prove to us,

He only takes the best.”