There’s so much to be thankful for this year. The arrival of our little angel, good health for my family… but I dedicate this post to my youngest brother, Vincent Lian.
Bob as we fondly call him – short for
“pa-baby” (I don’t recall how it ended up it Bob) – is my youngest sibling. I can say that he is closest to me as I tend to baby him more since I’m the eldest and he’s the youngest. Whenever he needs money he asks from me, I’m the first he calls/texts when he’s had problems in school, I’m the one he makes
“sumbong” to when Mama and Papa scold him. I tend to give him what he wants since I’m a little bit guilty and I felt I owe him. You see, when I was in my fifth year in college and those were hard times in the family, Lian was forced to stop going to school just so I can graduate. My schooling was prioritized over his, so for that, I felt I had to make it up to him.
Lian is the typical teenager. He loves going out, he loves playing computer games, he’s “
mabarkada”, he’s having a hard time in school most probably because he tend to go out more often than he studies.
Saturday night of last week is a usual night for Lian, he went out to attend the birthday party of his friend but come early Sunday morning at around 1 am, he figured in a motorcycle accident that left his face swollen and bruised beyond recognition, some of his teeth missing and some pushed up into his gums, his arms and legs with deep wounds and a CT scan showing a blood clot in his brain.
My father was the first one who heard the news and immediately called my sister, RK, working then on the night shift. RK then told me it was the first time she heard our usually calm father – his voice tensed and trembling when he told her “An, naaksidente si Lian. Hindi maganda ang lagay ng kapatid mo”. Everyone of us, his siblings, rushed to the hospital on Sunday morning as soon as we heard the news. All of us were shocked and were stopped in our tracks when we saw him. We cannot recognize him. We wanted to cry but we can’t so Lian won’t see us crying. My mom tried to hold her tears as she talked to him saying, “Kamusta ka, Anak? Kaya mo yan”, then she would turn her face away and cover her mouth with her hand so Lian won’t hear her whimper and cry.
We stayed there the whole day of Sunday waiting for news regarding the blood clot that was found in Lian’s CT Scan but since it was a weekend and the next day was a holiday, no doctors were around (or was it just there at
Perapetual Hospital that it’s like this?). Everybody went home except for my parents and my sister RK. I cried when I got home and saw the pictures of Lian at my son’s baptism. It was just yesterday when he was smiling and he’s being his makulit self, his pictures then showing his usual pa-cute smile, his face not swollen and bruised.
Tuesday, a surgeon arrived and informed us that there was also some mild swelling found on Lian’s brain but since Lian is conscious and can talk, there is nothing to worry about – yet. He should be observed for 2-3 weeks for the manifestations of the blood clot and the swelling on his brain to appear. Lian is cleared for discharge on Wednesday. Hopefully, the medications that the doctor gave him will treat the blood clot and the swelling. He is now at home recuperating from his wounds.
As I’ve mentioned before there’s too much to be thankful for, but this year, our family is most thankful for the second life that our brother Lian is blessed with.
Thanks to all the prayers, the moral and financial support that everybody gave us. Please continue praying for Lian’s fast recovery.
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Johan finally sleeping at 6am 
