Tough and Sad Times

The past few weeks have been rough....

On my family and people around me.....

First, a few weeks ago, the daughter's daycare provider and her family got into a road accident. They were struck head-on by a drunk driver driving on the wrong side of the road. Broken ribs, broken bones, three people in three different hospital rooms which were all on different floors.....it was terrible. Yes, I helped out. Quite a bit actually. I was "asked" and "chosen" to help by the family, because they trusted me more than others (how I love that).

My rakhi-bro's wife fell down in her bathroom and injured her face. She got stitches, and it took several days to heal. My brother was also not feeling well at that time, and they went through a tough week of both being unwell. I helped them out too....little bit. Delivered a hot piping delicious meal the day this happened. Emotional support after that.

Then, one evening, I went down to the cafe at work to get my afternoon green tea. A friend who I used to play Racquetball with often before I had kids asked me if I had a few minutes to talk. I was told that both his kidneys have failed. He is looking for a transplant, and needed help from my huge network of friends and family here. He is a young man in his early thirties, single and was thriving, until this illness hit him from nowhere. I'm helping him out as much as I can.

Then my dad had an accident couple weeks ago and was hurt. Thankfully, it was nothing major....but what bothered me is that the person who hit him, chose to go check on his vehicle instead of attending to this 60+ year old man who had a scooter on his leg. Dad also called for help from a nearby panwaala who refused to come over and help saying "sir this happens everyday".

And today morning, I woke up extremely exhausted. The kiddo has a bad cold, and did not let me sleep all night. I had missed my dad's call last night so I thought I will speak to him and mom. I called our home phone and no one picked up. That is an instant cause of worry. We usually know if they are going out somewhere, especially in the evening. I called his cell, and my bapuji (dad's elder brother) picked up. Mom and dad got hit by a car (they were on a two wheeler, the person who hit them ran away but they have the license plate number) and got injured badly. They were in hospital when I called. Mom lost a lot of blood coz the ambulance took half an hour to get to the scene. She has several stitches on her forehead, and a fracture near her eye/nose area which needs further evaluation once the bleeding stops and swelling goes down. There are several other bruises and injuries that both of them got. I was profusely crying when I heard all this going on. I called my sister....told her everything. One of us is planning to head back home and be with them for few weeks, even though everyone is saying we are not needed and that they can manage. I even blocked my tickets to go tonight, but I have to get some tests done before I can leave, so I told dad that I'll wait a day or two before I make plans.

This is one of the times when I truly wish I was living closer to them. However, by no means it makes me feel guilty of coming to the US and having a career here, as I know that they are truly happy for the choices I made and the professional growth n success I was able to achieve so far here in this foreign country. Things happen....sometimes they are great, sometimes they are horrible. I hate people going on a guilt trip about the choices they have made just because something bad happened to them. Since I can't help them out physically, others are reaching out. An aunt has made plans to stay with mom and dad for a month - she is my second mom, and she's always been there for us. We have absolutely amazing neighbors as well - even though I hate the fact that I am not physically there for them, I know they are taken care of by some very compassionate souls.

My daughter saw me upset and crying today morning, and told me "Soddy mumma, it's okay" then gave me a hug and a kiss. She is also such a sweet compassionate soul......I'm grateful for her presence in my life.

Anyway, I hope this string of accidents and bad news stops for a while. I cannot take it anymore. I might be in India for some time....I'll know by this weekend. I'll continue to write here though, coz I feel it is the best way to relieve my stress.