"Are you afraid of dying?" I asked when she laid beside me. "No." she replied weakly. " I will always be with you. I had a long day and need some rest now. Would you sing the 'Goodbye Song' for me to sleep?" I sang and tear filled through my eyes when I heard her whispered a goodbye to me softly.
Allie, my elder sister, was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 17. She had flu and fever almost every month and mostly it lasted for a few week or more. My parents did not take it seriously and only gave her vitamin pills.
One day, when Allie was having her Physical Education class, she had a bad headache and fainted. While sending her to nearby hospital, the teacher called my parents. The doctor hospitalized my sister and asked her to do a body check-up. After a month, she was surely diagnosed with late phase of Acute Myelord Leukemia (AML), a rare cancer, which affects the white blood cells formed in bone marrow. Dr Martin told us that it is hard to be treated and only 20% to 30% of patients were cured each year. Allie was expected to live only half-year from then.
From that day, everything changed. We prayed and went to the church more frequently to hope this nightmare could end as fast as we wish. Allie quited school and started home-schooling. After first chemotherapy, my sister lost most of her hair and she vomitted a lot. Dr Martin stopped her to chemo since her antibodres were too weak. Our mum changed too. She cooked every day to make sure the food was clean enough for Allie. Sometimes, mother would hide in the toilet or room to cry, so do I.
After some time, the doctor suggested Allie to do a bone marrow transplant. Every relatives and friends came to do the Human Leulcocyte Antigen (HLA) tissue test. Unfortunately, no one was matched. Dr Martin gave her some medicine which was not going to help but just to buy time. He also warned us that the end was getting closer and closer.
On March 2006, Allie got her SPM results. She achieved 11 A's and we were so proud of her. After a year of diagnosis, she left us. The night before she left us, she came into my room to sleep with me. We chatted for an hour. I sang her to sleep and burst into tear after she closed her eyes. In a special way, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.....
Carmen Summer
♥
