Visiting Dad
I received a text message several days ago that my dad–my biological Chinese-Filipino dad in Pasig–suffered a stroke. I earlier had sent my dad a text message asking him how he was and got a reply from my aunt instead. She apparently used my dad’s mobile phone to break the news. I took an emergency leave early morning and drove from Molino, Cavite to his house in Pasig.
My trip was fast and reached my dad’s house soon. I stepped out the car and walked to the doorbell. From the gate grills I could see my dad picking some gewgaws by the windowsill in the garden, a usual habit he does when at home. I called him and he turned around. He then walked in his lotus feet careful not to fall. His gait was a disoriented control. His hand was covering his left eye while his right arm was outsretched grasping air for himself to keep in balance. He took the key. He then bowed down, reached for the lock, and opened the gate.
When he looked up at me I saw that his eyes were askew. His left eye was not moving in pace as his right’s. Foretelling, his eyes showed a problem looming that day. He then quickly covered it. The left eye had only partial gaze; he has been seeing double. He covered his left eye to see me clearer.
My aunt went out in a second and told me that my dad had been hiding his condition from me, mother, and my siblings in Bulacan for quite a while. She could not take the secret anymore, and told me about it. She told me that we had to go to the hospital to pick up his CT Scan and blood test results. I opened the car door and helped my dad go in. I secured his safety belts, while my aunt settled at the backseat.
This is a visit that I dread.
