2004

I have just retrieved data from my desktop hard disk that crashed in end-2004. There were so many photos in there that I had not backed up but thankfully, I have not lost them. It has taken me 4 long years to get myself to retrieve the data. Going through the stuff made me realize why.

2004 was the turning point for the worse. It was the year that marked the beginning of Jeannie's drastic downhill slide; health wise. The arrival of Prince Cheah into our lives on July 27th was the best thing that year as he added so much joy to Jeannie's life as she struggled with her health.

2003 had been good. We moved to Bukit Antarabangsa in June 2003 and after 5 years in a condo, moving back to landed property was a refreshing change. Jeannie and I managed a trip to Korea in September before a family holiday to China in November. Things were almost exactly as what we dared to expect them to be. Jeannie at 44 looked her best ever (in my eyes anyway) and I was hopeful it was a mirror of glowing health internally.

Just before Chinese New Year in January of 2004, Jeannie began having abdominal problems. For a change, we spent Chinese New Year (late January) in Langkawi but it was a miserable holiday as Jeannie was not well at all and was already losing weight drastically. A barium enema examination immediately after, showed a constriction in her colon. A colorectal specialist at a medical centre (a Dr. Q) was quick to "confirm" colon cancer (99.90% sure it seems-without even a blood test or biopsy) and recommended surgery. Our world fell apart but we should have realized then why he specialized in rectums.

The only reason why we consented to the operation was because surgery was the only option to remove the constriction that was restricting Jeannie's bowel movements. He was so certain it was due to a growth within the colon and not something external like adhesions. He should not have been so smug about his cancer diagnosis. He could have spared us the trauma of cancer anxiety and he could have prevented a chain of events that ultimately cost Jeannie her life-I shan't elaborate.

Somehow his remark after the surgery, "Mr Cheah, it's a miracle! The 0.10% came through!" did not sound comforting as he went on to confirm that the constriction was external and due to adhesions! Now, even you know why he specializes in rectums. The last I heard, he attributed another of his patient's unexpected improvement to a miracle too; it must be his habit or he must think he is Jesus Christ or something!

Jeannie never really recovered from that trauma and the surgery also took its toll. Certain people will rot in hell (if there is one) for the chain of events caused by the trauma. That was how 2004 and Jeannie's battle with weight loss began. The following pictorial tells the story (please also see slide show at the end of this post):













































































































































































































































































































































































24th December 2008 UPDATE:

Created the above slideshow of photos from 2004.