DOT 7 : MIGRAINE

Daniel (7+ years old)

 

Mom called Dad frantically. 

Dad said to take You to the private hospital near our condo immediately. So Mom drove like a maniac in that short distance. 

Thankfully, we arrived at the emergency entrance safely. 

At the hospital, the doctor asked for your symptoms, and Mom blurted out everything in one breath. You were on the examination bed, looking quite stable at the time. The doctor checked You, and finally suggested You might have had a migraine attack.

Migraine? 

That came as a complete surprise to Mom. 

Totally unexpected. 

Yes, said the doctor, nausea, vomiting, severe headaches are all symptoms of migraine. Could it be anything else, Mom wanted to ask but hesitated. 

Don’t trouble trouble, or trouble will trouble you. 

Remember the rule. 

That is the rule of the game in our family. Started by Grandpa, confirmed by Aunt Tracy. We know the rules, we play by the rules.

Leave it. It’s migraine. 

 

Justine and You had a lot of fun on this red beetle.

 

 

PRECIOUS CHILD 

By Karen Taylor Good.

 

God sent a complete stranger to email to Mom some very comforting songs, received last night (Jan 26) one of which is PRECIOUS CHILD. His second daughter too is in Heaven. You must have met her and probably told her your mother spends a lot of time listening to songs. She must have whispered to her father to email this beautiful song to Mom. It's difficult to see the video properly with tears streaming down at each line.

 

DOT 6 : PROJECTILE

Daniel (7+ years old)

 

You kept repeating, “I can’t do it, I can’t do it.” 

Mom took You to the washroom... 

splashed some water on your face to refresh You, and hoping to calm You down, assuring You at the same time that of course, You could do it ... 

You'd never missed your planks before ... 

You’d be okay and You needn’t be scared. 

You were not listening, You were edgy and fretful. 

Your next line was, “I have a headache.” 

Mom grimaced, and asked, “But You were fine in the car, right? Did the headache just come?” 

You nodded shakily. 

Ah well, that confirmed Mom’s initial suspicion that You were worried about the performance. However, looking at You so terrified and unsettled, your mother soon began to worry. 

You did look a little pale, she had to admit.

"It’ll be okay, Son, let’s go rest on the sofa for a bit," Mom coaxed. 

Just calm down, You’ll be fine, the assurance continued. 

You barely sat on the sofa for a minute before your body hurled forward and You threw up ever so violently. 

Paralyzed with shock, Mom froze on the spot ... 

There was only this one other time that your mother had seen this projectile vomiting and that was when your Aunt Tracy threw up, in that same way, before her doctor confirmed a metastasis from her bones (knee) to the lungs and to the brain. 

The naughty cell had clearly got your mother’s attention.

 

 Here's Justine and You striking a pose outside our previous condo at Faber Ria.

DOT 5 : NERVOUS

Daniel (7+ years old) 

 

It was the first Saturday of November 2002. 

Grandma’s kindergarten was having its annual concert. 

You graduated from her kindy the year before. Some of the previous students, including yourself, who took Tae-kwon-do class, were invited to present an item during the concert that day. 

In that demonstration, You were supposed to do a flying kick and break a one-inch plank. Justine remembers till today that You “always, always” (she says with emphasis) break the planks.

We were at Bukit Jalil Hall. 

It was around 12 noon. 

The concert was due to start at 2 pm, or was it 3 pm. 

Anyway ...

Justine and her friends were distributing concert flyers to the parents and guests in the hall. Mom and You were hanging around outside the hall. Dad was outstation at the time. 

Mom remembers vividly the events that enfolded that day.

You were very restless, distracted and agitated. 

When You finally spoke, You said, “I can’t do it.” 

Mom thought You were nervous. 

It was understandable ... 

You’d never demonstrated before a large crowd. Mom assured You that You would be great, and that it was okay to be anxious and a little nervous. 

 

 Here's Aunty Diana with You ...

During your tae-kwon-do test ...

DOT 4 : GANGSTER

Daniel (7 years old)

 

You came home on the first day of school (Primary One), walked through the door, flung your bag down on the floor, and made a big announcement. 

You said, and your exact words were, 

“Ma, I’m a gangster.” 

Dad was smiling. Mom was horrified. 

However, before Mom could say anything, You pulled out a small notebook from your shirt pocket, and said excitedly, 

“I have 5 gang members.” 

Mom took a peek at your notebook and remember seeing Bryan Chan’s and Shatthish’s name on it. Dad signaled not to make a big fuss, and later explained to Mom that You were just so excited to be in school with your friends, and that was just your cute way of expressing your friendship that You had with your friends. 

Your “gang” of friends, You meant to say perhaps. 

Dad seriously doubted whether You really understood the real meaning of “gangster” then. Dad said to Mom, your son is not talking about your kind of gangster – your sapp part chai (name of a triad when Mom was in college). 

Mum felt much better and calmed down.

It was during the middle term of your Primary One year, that You began to have headaches. You would come home and say, 

"Ma, headache ..." 

Sometimes, Mom would give You 2 pink panadols (pink for kids) and the pains would subside. Other times, the headache would leave shortly after, untreated.

Initially, Mom thought it was because of the hot sun, your shirt was always drenched with sweat by the time You came home. You seldom made a fuss. It did not affect your daily activities. Not once did your mother see You moaning with pain or crying over the headaches or complaining in a way that triggered in your parents, an urgent, 

"Let's take You to a doctor ..."

Besides, the headaches did not stop You from doing your daily activities. After the panadol, You would just carry on with whatever you were doing – whether it was playing with your GameBoy, your remote control cars, or disturbing your sister. 

It was not apparent to Dad and Mom that the naughty cell was about to create some really serious, big-time, trouble.

 

 You won 3 Gold Medals that day.

 

 You have always hero-worshipped your sister ...

Daniel in Standard One. Sports Day. 

DOT 3 : BLINK

We noticed ...

You had a strange way of watching the television. 

You would sit in your little sofa, Justine would be in hers, your body facing the television, but your head would be turned to your extreme left, and You would watch the television screen from the right corner of your eyes. 

A bad habit, your parents had thought initially. 

Somehow, You would look so cozy and comfortable in your little arm-chair, and so engrossed would You be in the cartoons, that little fuss was ever made about your bad habit.

Now and then, Mom would try to move your head to face the television properly, but You would still turn back to the left side immediately, and continue to watch the cartoons from the extreme right corner of your eyes. 

At times, we would find You blink blink blinking, staring at the screen, squinting, shutting your eyes tight and opening up to look again, as you watched cartoons, like You were trying to adjust the clarity of the vision in your head. 

This blinking habit appeared to be a problem only when you were watching television. When you were playing or swimming or flipping through picture books or running around in the playground, You were like any other energetic child. No blinking nor squinting.

Very normal ...

You were so full of life and filled with excitement all the time that the blinking habit somehow was never thought to be a serious problem. This went on till You were about 6 years old. 

On hindsight ... 

Dad and Mom were oblivious to the fact that a naughty cell had made contact with You. Yes, Mom suspects even as early as when You were born. It could have been a microscopic dot at the time of birth. 

Nevertheless, the seemingly insignificant dot would soon create havoc in our lives.

 

 

Daniel at one week old. 

 FRIENDS FOR DINNER

Land Before Time. Click on title to view.

You enjoyed singing only the one line 

"Fliends for Lin-ner." 

Your voice still rings in our ears ... :D

DOT 2 : DISTANCE

You were about 4 years old... 

when Dad and Mom began to notice that You were blinking your eyes quite a bit. 

This only happened when You were watching television, we noticed. 

At that point in time, Justine and You would spend a lot of time in front of the telly watching your first Disney video, Jungle Book. 

This was soon replaced by your second video, Land Before Time. 

The first time You sang along with the dinosaur video, You had sang loudly: “Fliends for Linner” (Friends for Dinner), which thrilled us to bits. 

Your third video was Hercules ... which You'd pronounced as "Her - choo - lis." :D

Dad and Mom remember clearly how You would sing at the top of your voice, the one and only one line : 

“I - CAN - GO - THE - DISTANCE.”

No matter how many times You watched Hercules, You would only sing this one line, when the song came on. You did not know the rest of the lyrics, only this one. :D

On hindsight, Mom reflects that even at that tender age, You had given your parents a little clue that your life would be somewhat different from the lives of boys your age.

You would soon be tested to go the distance.

 

Daniel at 4 years old. 

And now ...  looking back ...

Now that You've made it to Heaven, You really have gone the distance, Son. Mom would never have guessed, no, not in a million years, as You entertained your family with your high-pitched vocals of : 

"I - CAN - GO - THE - DISTANCE" at that age ... 

and with your chin up and head back, that some day, some day real soon, like say ... 21 January 2010, You would be going quite, quite a distance.

God's plans for You ...

I CAN GO THE DISTANCE

From the movie HERCULES. Click on the title to view.

DOT 1 : HEE-DAKE

Dad was driving. 

Justine and You were in the back seat. 

You were unusually quiet that day. 

Mom turned to You and asked, "Is Daniel okay?" 

You pointed to the side of your head with your chubby little pointer-finger and said, rather adoringly, "Hee - dake." 

Mum was taken by surprise and exclaimed, 

"Did Daniel say, head--dake?" 

You nodded. 

"Aww ... Come here," Mom said.

Your mother reached out for You, holding both her arms out in open embrace. You pushed yourself up clumsily from the back seat and made your way to the front. Mom cradled You and held You against her chest, assuring You in a soothing tone, that ...

"little boys do not get headaches."

Mom stroked your head gently and lulled You into slumber. You closed your eyes and drifted to sleep almost instantly. 

How peaceful You looked in your mother's arms.

That was the first time You mentioned this word ...

Headache.

You were two years old.

Mom wonders where You could have picked that big word from.

Hee -- dake.

Perhaps You had seen Dad on an occasion or two, resting on the sofa with his arms over his forehead, and possibly with his eyes closed. Mom remembers one time when You had asked curiously, "Why Daddy, why?" and Dad had said, "Daddy got headache. Go play with Justine, okay?"

Pause.

Was that where You learned the word from?

Mom couldn't have known then, but this word would soon sprout its evil horns, force its ugly presence to be felt and turn our happy little world upside down. 

 

 

Daniel at 2 years old. 

"Who can say what God's plans are?

Only Time ..."

ONLY TIME

By Enya. Click on title to view.

The Orange Dot stories are originally written on Daniel's Facebook under Discussion.