Abang in memory - 1943 - 2014

I have 5 half-siblings and 12 siblings of my own. We share the same father. Our age gap is vast ranging from 10 years to over 20 years. Abang could have been the father figure of my younger siblings. Suraya, the youngest of us all is 42 years old which means that her age difference with Abang is 29 years !!! The age difference between Abang and I was 18 years old. My family is old .... Abang had no children of his own. He had one adopted son whom he adopted when he was already in his fifties. Thus, Ridhwan is only 24 years old - recently graduated and has just started a new job when Abang was admitted. The poor, young man had to grow up fast. Yet, with Abang Omar's guidance ... insyaAllah, he will be able to cope with the loss, his new job and take care of his adopted mother.

Abang was first admitted to Kuala Lumpur hospital last December 2013. Partly the reason why our annual "cuti-cuti cari makan" last year was centred around KL/PJ area. He had shortness of breath and was admitted for observation. We went to see him during Munir's wedding reception after we returned from Sabah for Akmal's convocation. When we went for the first time, he was sleeping so I did not enter the CCU ward to see him. Later, he was sent to Prince Court hospital for diagnosis as HKL took some time about it. Since Abang Omar had a friend there, he was sent there. Abang was as stubborn as Bapak was (I guess it runs in the family .... :-}) but he had no say in the matter anymore. When he was confirmed with blockages of his heart, Abang Omar decided to contact friends with National Heart Institute (IJN). When we visited him before his by-pass, he was still his usual self - soft - spoken, calm and just being "Abang" .... That was the last happy photo we took together when he was smiling and still looked healthy.

Slowly, his health deteriorated. After the by-pass, which was a success, he snatched out the tubes in his throat in his semi-consciousness state causing it to be injured and badly scratched. Thus, he lost his power of speech as he could only talk in a hoarse whisper. We had difficulty in understanding him and he was frustrated when he could not relay his thoughts. His lungs were infected. Since IJN could not handle the lungs, he was then transferred to Gleneagles hospital. There he underwent observation for his lungs. Abang Omar transferred him there for faster treatment. He was in the ICU for almost 2 weeks before he was transferred to the normal ward. Later, when everything was  stabilised, Abang could return home. Abang Omar hired two private nurses to take care of him round the clock as Kak Ita also had her own health issues. When he had problems with his diabetes, he was sent to University Kebangsaan Hospital (HUKM) where he also underwent speech therapy. Thus, during my last visit to him in June 2014, he could speak much clearly and he was audible to us. He returned home for almost a fortnight before shortness of breath caused him to be readmitted. According to Kak Che Mah, they went to visit him in the morning, left him to rest and Zohor prayers as it was Ramadhan, and he was already gone. It was so fast and easy. Kak Che Mah and Abang Omar were dissatisfied and questioned Abang's private nurse but he could only say that it was very fast. The doctors could not do anything much. The nurse called them to inform them about Abang's passing. Abang's final stay in the hospital was only for one night. He passed away with no family except for his private nurse who had been taking care of him for almost 2 months. The 2 young male nurses did 12 hour shifts to monitor and personally gave their best, tender and professional care.