My dear little Cek Mek…

3rd June 2009, at 2.40 am, while I was asleep, I was awoken by the James Bond ringtone on my hand phone. That was the assigned ringtone for my HIV clients (now dah boring, so I’ve changed it to Mission Impossible… hehe).

At 2.40 am? Yep, and the call was from Sharifah, a 19 year old unmarried pregnant girl. Sharifah, who hails from a state up north was staying alone at a flat (courtesy of a friend of my fellow volunteer who allowed her to use the place temporarily until she delivered).

“Kak, sakit kak… dah keluaq ayaq… macam mana nak buat ni?”

Uh oh… I had earlier promised to pick her up at 9 am in the morning to bring her for her hospital appointment as her c-sect was only scheduled for 2 weeks later; but apparently the baby could wait no longer!

There wasn’t much time for me to think. If I let her deliver all by herself at the flat, I’d have more problems later on, so yep, the next best course of action was to get out of my house at such an ungodly hour, fetch Sharifah at the flats, and send her to the hospital. Tak pernah dibuat seumur hidup, I tell you! That was my first time! Luckily the flats were not that far from my kampong, and from the hospital. I managed to get her to the delivery hall by 3 am.

I didn’t wait with the fathers-to-be at the waiting area though… after making sure Sharifah was in good hands, I immediately headed home to continue with my sleep. Besides, my mother was fast asleep at home when I left, and I didn’t want her to wake up in the morning to find her 46 year old daughter missing!

Sharifah finally delivered at 9 am through normal delivery. For whatever reasons, the doctors decided not to proceed with c-sect. My guess is, although the MOs who saw her earlier told her she’d have to be operated as soon as possible, by the time the specialists got there, it was too late for c-sect.

Ah yes, and so a baby girl was delivered that morning. And that was not all to it. Puan Nur, Sharifah’s mom (who knew of her daughter’s pregnancy and accepted her – but Puan Nur & Sharifah decided it was best if Sharifah delivered in Ipoh instead of at their hometown to avoid the news spreading to relatives and neighbours) couldn’t come immediately as she had to arrange for her leave from work and for her other children’s needs. And so I was sort of Sharifah’s “mak angkat” temporarily (although both Sharifah & Puan Nur call me Kak). That makes the baby, My Little Cek Mek, my cucu angkat!

I had blogged a whole lot about Sharifah and Cek Mek last year. I had to go through a whole lot of new experiences because of the little girl. Little Cek Mek had left a rather big impact on me. It would be a loooong story if I were to recap everything in this posting, so those who hadn’t been following Cek Mek’s story earlier, you can read my previous postings about Sharifah and Cek Mek at the following links:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, and Part 11

Actually there were a few more follow ups after that, but basically the above 11 series would cover the basics (the basics alone in 11 parts???!! Goodness, Cek Mek, you’re really something – I’ve never written about anybody else in that many series!!)

Anyway, Sharifah is now back in her hometown, and working. She still keeps her hospital appointments in Ipoh as she’d be using the opportunity to visit her little girl at the shelter home.

And the little baby who caused me to go through those blood-pressure-rising moments? Tests so far showed she’s spared from the virus, alhamdulillah. And oh, she’s one year old today.

To my dear little Cek Mek,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE! May you lead a normal, healthy, blessed and happy life full of love!

Hugs and kisses,

Opah Pi