Thank You For Your Wishes!

Hi All,

This post is dedicated to the wonderful people who have poured out their well wishes, thoughts, prayers and blessings for me following my accident during the Woodlands MAEC Pulau Ubin Heritage Trail held two weeks ago on August 18th, 2018. Find out more about my adventures (and misadventures) that day here!

I have been awarded with a Certificate of Appreciation by the Woodlands MAEC team following my contributions to their Pulau Ubin Heritage Trail

Today marks the 18th day since my accident on Pulau Ubin and the scars of my wounds have been etched and might as well be permanently embedded onto my skin - but I honestly look pretty cool with it. As the pain begins to fade and the wounds begin to heal, one thing still remains - which is my gratitude and appreciation to everyone who had poured their well wishes, thoughts and prayers for me in the days that followed.

On Monday, August 20th, my mom accompanied me down to Tampines Polyclinic to get my wounds redressed following Dr Nadia's advise. There was quite the amount of pus developing from the wound so it really was pretty timely for me to get the wounds cleaned up again. It was a pretty treacherous journey down to the poly I might say, as I recalled having to spend twice as much time moving from one end to the other given my handicapped status at that time. However, what I did not expect was for the wait to see the doctor and getting my wounds redressed to also be painfully as long.

After nearly two hours waiting for the doctor and another hour for my wounds to be redressed, I limped my way down to the pharmacy to collect the medication given by the doctor which included antiseptic cream and painkillers. The nurse who helped to redress my wounds also recommended me to head down to the external pharmacy to purchase some cosmopores, which was sort of like a huge plaster. I bought five, thinking that it would suffice me for the next few days but man was I wrong later on.

Anyway, while I was waiting for my medication, I received a phone call from an unknown number. I answered the call and there was a man on the other line speaking to me in Mandarin. I nudged him thinking that he might have called the wrong number, but then he suddenly switched to English. He mentioned that he had a delivery stated for my exact home address. I asked my mom if we were expecting any deliveries but she replied saying that she was not aware of any. I then questioned the delivery courier as to whom the package was from and he replied saying that it came from someone in Sembawang GRC. 

When I heard him say Sembawang GRC, I honestly could have guessed that it might have come from Mr Amrin Amin who was one of the MPs from that constituency. I told the courier to hand it over to my neighbour for safekeeping as we were still outside.

After spending the entire morning in the polyclinic and attaining 2 days of MC, my mom and I made our way back home, still curious as to whom and what exactly the package came from and what it was. Luckily enough, my neighbour caught us as we were settling down in our house and handed the package over to my mom while I was in my room resting from a surprisingly tedious journey to and from the polyclinic. My mom chatted with my neighbour for quite a while, mainly because my neighbour asked about me given the nature of that package.

I then moved myself into the living room and there it was on the table, a huge basket hamper filled with fruits, a beautiful arrangement of flowers as well as a greeting card that said, "Get Well Soon!" I opened the card and surely enough, it was from Mr Amrin. What caught me off guard though was who the intended recipient was supposed to be. It was actually directed to a Mrs Goh, which then kinda answered my question as to why the delivery courier was confidently speaking to me in Mandarin. I was puzzled and began to question if that hamper was really meant for me, but when I looked at the customer's copy invoice attached to the card, my address and name was stated on it. I figured that there might have been a typo in the name, perhaps Mrs Goh was the person who ordered the hamper to be given to me on behalf of Mr Amrin but something happened somewhere and the names got switched around, hehe.

Thank you Mr Amrin for the lovely hamper!

Nonetheless, it was a beautiful and thoughtful hamper and I quickly texted Mr Amrin to thank him for the surprise, and also joked about how the name of the recipient was wrong. He confirmed that the hamper was for me, and also joked me by addressing me as Mrs Goh. 

The following Wednesday on August 22nd, it was Hari Raya Haji. Hidayat and Zaidi, from Woodlands Malay Activities Executive Committee (MAEC) had previously arranged to come down to my place because they had plans to deliver their own package. I was honestly surprised as to why they would send another package over and I told them that I had already received a hamper from Mr Amrin. They said that the hamper was a small matter and that what they were about to hand over to me was the real deal. Curious, I awaited for their arrival.

Towards the evening, the both of them came and they really had something pretty big within their grasps. Coincidentally enough for that day, my mom had prepared quite a feast as we were expecting my brother and his wife to come over for Hari Raya. She cooked some delicious Sup Tulang Merah or Lamb Bone Marrow Soup, and there was definitely more than enough for Hidayat and Zaidi. So, with open arms, we invited them to indulge into the meal and they really loved it! It was extremely spicy though, but there's nothing us Malays can't handle, hehe!

Thank you Hidayat and Zaidi for coming down to hand me the wonderful gifts!

After the meal, Hidayat and Zaidi held a mini prize-giving ceremony as they proceeded to hand me a Certificate of Appreciation, in recognition of my contributions for the Woodlands MAEC Pulau Ubin Heritage Trail. I did not really know that I could have played that much a part for them , but they together with Mr Amrin reaffirmed themselves that I played a huge role during their heritage trail and were thankful for my involvement. They also gave us gift vouchers to help us with our grocery needs and my family and I were extremely thankful for their kind gesture.

Apart from Mr Amrin and the Woodlands MAEC team, there had also been an outpouring of well-wishes from my friends online. Even former Pulau Ubin residents whom I have befriended on Facebook offered their thoughts and prayers for me. I was moved and extremely touched to receive such a kind gesture from all of them. My best friend even came down and visited me to hand me one of the most amazing gifts any sick person would receive; she bought an entire pot of chrysanthemum flowers! Normally, people would give a bouquet of flowers, but receiving an entire pot really amazed me. At least now I have a new plant to tend to in my garden!

Thanks Pam for the flowers! <3

This post like what I have mentioned above, is a dedication to all of you whom have placed me in your hearts and minds while I recovered from my accident. The amount of love I received during that period was astounding and it really helped me in achieving a speedy recovery! It was also a clear example of how a kampong spirit really was and I was happy to see it in my own eyes. 

I am now able to walk comfortably and I am just awaiting for my final flakes of skins on my wound to drop off naturally. I have yet to return back to Pulau Ubin and I am planning to return back soon. I miss the island, and I miss the people there most.

On a side note, Wan's Ubin Journal had also received over 5,000 visitors last month and almost 100 likes on Facebook! I'd like to also take this moment to thank everyone who had taken their time to ready my stories and adventures on my blog and also for showing me your unwavering support in all that I am doing for Pulau Ubin, and for Singapore's kampong heritage. Thank you!

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Read up on the Woodlands MAEC Pulau Ubin Heritage Trail post here!
"The Day I Shed Blood on Pulau Ubin"

Read the previous chapter in "My Ubin Journey" here!
"That Was FUN (Friends of Ubin Network)!"