Immortal | But I Smile Anyway...

Last night we were all busy, watching the England game.

What a cracker!

Now, I’m no footy fan, but when it comes to international tournaments like this, the patriotism kicks in and I have to sneak a peak at the results mid game, or secretly actually watch the whole thing!

Pops is alone at the moment, as Mum is eagerly awaiting the arrival of grandchild number four at my brother’s place.

He told me he’d be going to watch the match at my cousin’s house.

No worries. At least he wouldn’t be on his own.

As I mentioned before, that match was just amazing! Tension beyond belief! And it ended up in extra time, followed by penalties, and at the very last kick and save, we WON!

The country went crazy. The first time England had gone through on penalties in the World Cup. Ever!

And by the time all the coverage was winding down, it was past 10 pm.

Whenever my mum is away, Pops calls me, or messages me to let me know he is on his way home from the yoga classes he teaches, or that he has arrived home safely.

I waited a while, left him a message, and drifted off to sleep.

Morning came, and as I checked my phone, it struck me that Pops hadn’t called, messaged or anything.

Strange.

Not to worry. He may have just been tired so went straight to bed.

Then I checked his WhatsApp status. It showed he hadn’t looked at his messages since before 8pm the night before.

That was a bit concerning. He will always check that before retiring for the night.

I called the home land line. No answer.

Okay, still things could be okay. He might be in the shower or maybe doing his prayers.

After a few moments of holding myself back, I called his mobile.

It rang for a while but then he answered. Thank God.

But with a very weak voice.

That’s not my Pops…

“Hello Beta, sorry, I didn’t call you last night, I was in hospital…”

Wait – WHAT???

Apparenty he’d been en route to my cousin’s house, and experienced extreme dizziness and sickness. He’d stopped the car, vomited, then continued the journey, where his stomach began to cramp continuously.

Now, my Pops doesn’t complain about his own discomfort at all, heck, when he was suffering a heart attack, he didn’t allow the doctor to call an ambulance from his local GP surgery, instead, saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll just walk back home and do it myself”… whilst having a heart attack!

But this time it was bad, so my cousin called the ambulance and they admitted him for a few hours. There were ECG’s and heart check ups, blood tests and all mapper of investigations.

Thankfully it all came back clear, though his pain hadn’t subsided in his abdomen. He was diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis. So a horrible tummy bug, that may be from a germ in his gut, or eating contaminated food somewhere.

But I was devastated this morning.

Why hadn’t I been called?
I was nowhere near him
What if something had happened to him?

Then I was equally thankful.

He didn’t want me to be contacted late at night – what would I have done, other than rush over, causing more worry, on a long distance drive?
We are lucky to have such an amazing extended family – even though I am not there, Pops doesn’t want me rushing over, he is with my cousin, who is like another daughter to him, and her own sons and daughter-in-law are with him 24/7
Nothing serious did happen to him. I know he is groggy from the morphine shots for the pain, but aside from that and not being able to eat properly yet, he is fine. The test results showed a healthy heart and all other organs, so something to be hugely thankful for.

It’s equally tough for my mum, brother and sister-in-law. They are even further than me. We all worry, constantly, but thank heavens for those angels we have to rely upon.

I’ve spoken to Pops several times over the day, banned him from taking the Yoga classes for a few days – the students can manage without him for a while – and he is staying with my cousin for a good few days yet. I’ll go and see him on the weekend, as he told me not to rush over. In fact, if I go now, he’ll tell me off!

Mum has been in touch a few times too. We are mutually reassuring each other that he is fine – a little weak, but fine.

My cousin, her daughter-in-law and my other cousin have all called me to convince me he is okay too.

I know, deep down, that he is okay, but it really hit home today.

Our oldies, they aren’t immortal, as much as we’d like them to be… Pops and Mum, they are my inspirations. They are the reason I am here, and responsible for making me the person I am. I love them so much. I can’t bear the thought of life without them.

And so, I leave you with this thought:

Love your elders now. Respect them now. Talk to them now.

Don’t wait until it’s too late, when the only love you can show is flowers on a gravestone, the only respect you can show is remembrance services, and the only talk you can have consists of their memories…