And then came Rina's turn...

Yesterday was my planned “rest day”. I was planning to visit some PLWHA clients for Raya the next 2 or 3 days, so one rest day would be good for me to recharge my batteries after working overtime in the kitchen during the first few days of Raya when my family members got together. I was thinking maybe today I could visit Hana before proceeding to Mrs. K’s house to fulfill their Raya invitation.

But as early as 9 am yesterday, my hand phone rang with the James Bond ring tone. Yep, that’s my PLWHA assigned ring tone. Rina’s name appeared. It was her mother.

Remember Rina? If you missed her earlier story, you can read it here.

Apparently after more than a month being hospitalized, Rina was discharged from the hospital on the 9th day of Ramadhan. She was supposed to come back for her appointment on the 24th of October – that’s next week. But Rina’s mom said Rina was not able to get up and had also lost her appetite. She’s worried how she’s supposed to bring Rina to the hospital for her appointment next week. I told Rina’s mom I should be able to help her out and that I’d call her back to confirm.

Since Rina is staying in Ipoh, I thought maybe I’d visit her at home these next few days to see her condition. There was no sound of urgency when her mother called. She just wanted to avoid a last minute call for help as what happened the last time.

Later last night, around 10.30 pm, I received the following text message from Rina’s older brother:

“Sorry ganggu puan. Adik saya Rina baru sebentar tadi masuk ke Hospital Ipoh. Dia mengetap gigi. Mungkin pasal sejuk kipas. Dia rasa nak makan tapi terima sudu sahaja. Ribuan terima kasih kepada puan dan sahabat yang membantu hingga sekarang.”

I replied the message to ask which ward Rina was in. Since she’s already warded I might as well just visit her at the hospital.

The reply came from her brother only at 12.30 am as he was on night shift and only read my SMS later. Only thing was, the reply came with additional unpleasant news. Besides telling me which ward Rina was in, the message also read, “Doktor beritahu emak dan adik saya di hospital, Rina tiada harapan.”

OK I thought, I’d better visit Rina as soon as visiting hours start today.

Then later at about 3.50 am while I was fast asleep, my hand phone’s SMS tone woke me up. The message read, “Adik saya Rina telah kembali ke rahmatullah.”

Oh dear, I haven’t even visited Hana since Rashid died on Monday. Now Rina?

I did plan to visit Rina today, but I was hoping to see her alive and wish her Selamat Hari Raya. But we can only plan…

Just as I was getting ready to leave my house this morning, Rina’s younger brother called from the hospital mortuary to inform me of Rina’s demise. He didn’t know his older brother had already informed me earlier. Anyway, at that time I was told that once ready, they’d bring her body back home for prayers before her funeral.

When I got to Rina’s house, the doors were closed. Nobody seemed to be there. I was thinking that if her body was to be brought home, surely there’d be someone at home for the preparations. As far as I know that was her family home as Rina had been staying with her mother since she got separated from her husband.

I called Rina’s younger brother to find out. They were all still at the mortuary. So I headed straight to the mortuary.

There were many unfamiliar faces when I reached the mortuary. Finally I saw a familiar face… Rina’s mom. It was then that I learnt that there was a change of plan. Instead of bringing her body home, due to transportation problems, they’d bring her straight to the Muslim cemetery from the mortuary.

Anyway, I managed to have a chat with Rina’s mom. When her mom called me earlier, Rina was already bed-ridden but still conscious. She had lost her appetite but she was still talking. As I mentioned earlier, there was no urgency then. Apparently later at night around 9 pm, Rina was found to be clenching her teeth and soon after she became unconscious. Her younger brother who stayed together with them, immediately called for an ambulance to bring her to the hospital.

The rest was as per the story above.

I don’t know if Rina’s estranged husband was told about Rina’s death. I didn’t dare ask Rina’s mom. After all that he had done to Rina, I don’t think her mom would appreciate any mention of his name.

Rina’s mom will be taking care of Rina’s 8 year old son. But the family is not a well to do family and so I may just drop by for a visit some time to assess if they need any help for him.

2 of my PLWHA’s death within the first week of Raya. That was totally unexpected. I can only plan to sit back and relax, but if that was not what God had planned for me, then it was not meant to be.