‘On that night when my family all went to bed, there came the agonizing scream of my husband. Twitching with pain and grasping for breath, he had his right hand feebly drop.’
It dawned on Mrs. Chiu that her husband had suffered a stroke horribly. Without a second thought, she called for help. It was in the early hours that her husband was driven to the hospital immediately.
‘Waiting excruciatingly in the corridor of the hospital, I was told that he had intracerebral hemorrhage and that his brainstem was dead.’ Hardly could Mrs. Chiu believe such a ruthless fact. No one would have thought that her husband was alive a few hours ago, but at this moment, he was lying dead. ‘How vulnerable our life is’, sighed Mrs. Chiu.
‘Before I could recover from my loss, a nurse came to me and asked if I would consider donating the organs of my husband.’ Tears burst out of her eyes. She could not accept that her husband, as though sleeping sound, had passed away still with a warm body. ‘Do you know how tormenting it was when I had to make such an important decision even before my family came to see him for the last time?’ She completely lost it at that moment. However, what sprung to mind were the blind people. What if she donated her husband’s corneas to open others’ eyes to the world and passed on her husband’s blessings? In the end, she gave her consent to donate all his appropriate organs making a contribution to those desperately in need.
She added that his husband, though homely, was an ordinary and liable man who devoted his life to the family. However formidable times might get, he never worried them. That made her believe donating his organs was a sensible decision which could inspire new hopes in other patients.
She said, ‘sometimes my two diligent girls comfort me the other way round.’ Mrs. Chiu is very grateful to the Yan Chai Emergency Assistance Relief Fund for paying the burial fee and offering her an emergency fund.