An event that has shaped your life and the person you have become

The event that changed my life occurred just five months ago.

On 4^th September 2013, my mother was admitted into the hospital, diagnosed with a stroke. Albeit a mild stroke, the news came as a huge shock to me and my family.

My mother had always been a strong woman; both mentally and physically. However, her strong personality also included stubbornness that resulted in the delay of her visit to the hospital. She had missed the crucial 3 hours of treatment that could have alleviated her symptoms more effectively.

It was the first time I saw my mother so helpless and hopeless on the hospital bed, unable to control her movements properly. My heart broke. It was so agonizing to have to put up a strong front whenever I was with her and be positive about her condition to make her feel better. Thankfully, with her determination and support from the whole family, she was discharged from the hospital 3 days later.

Life became completely different for me because I had to take on much more responsibilities than I ever had. (I should mention that my father’s work is based overseas and my sister and brother-in-law were expecting a baby at that time.) I had to give up a huge portion of my social life because I wanted to be home to take care of my mother. I took over my mother’s duties at home and became in charge of the household chores. It was really difficult to keep a balance between home and school.

Friends around me often asked me why I always had to rush home everyday when school ended. I never explained the real reason to them because I felt that this was really private to me. Now that it’s been almost half a year, and my mother is pretty much recovered, I am comfortable with talking about it.

This incident taught me to never take anyone I love for granted. I changed drastically, becoming more family oriented and showed more concern to my family. Although I sometimes feel like I’m missing out when friends around me are out having fun, I know that it is a sacrifice I have to make to spend as much time as I can with my mother.   

Edited: 13 Feb 2014