Lemonade

By Jackie Ng

Synopsis: Jackie Ng is a 56-year-old Chinese female from Malaysia.

She was diagnosed with brain tumour in 1998. Two brain surgeries

and a series of complications caused her to live with

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pen Culture Solutions
• Release date: Nov 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638125914

Jackie Ng

Ng Ah Keat nació en 1966 en un pequeño pueblo chino de Malasia.Licenciada en Economía con honores por la Universidad Nacional deMalasia. Trabajó como ejecutivo de operaciones y después en eldepartamento de merchandising del sector minorista, antes de jubilarse pormotivos médicos.

Book preview

Lemonade

Copyright © 2022 by Jackie Ng.

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63812-591-4

Paperback: ISBN: 978-1-63812-589-1

All rights reserved. No part in this book may be produced and transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Published by Pen Culture Solutions 11/10/2022

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Content List:

Introduction

Chapter 1, My Humble Beginnings

Chapter 2, 1973-1985

Chapter 3, Life Without Father

Chapter 4, A Ball in My Brain

Chapter 5, Disastrous

Chapter 6, Epilepsy

Chapter 7, Light in the Tunnel

Chapter 8, First Diving Trip

Chapter 9, Certified Scuba Diver

Chapter 10, Coral Conservation

Chapter 11, Pilates and Physiotherapy

Chapter 12, Mother

Chapter 13, My Journey with English

Chapter 14, Feeling Vulnerable

Chapter 15, Things Mother Likes To Do

Chapter 16, My Siblings

Chapter 17, Awakening

Chapter 18, Life Is Not a Bed of Roses

Chapter 19, Life is Full of Uncertainties

Chapter 20, Guangzhou Trip

Chapter 21, The SARS Covid-19

Chapter 22, Where There is a Wheel, There is a Way

Epilogue

Lemonade by Jackie Ng

Introduction

Ladies and gentlemen,

Do you know what a brain tumor is? Can you imagine the effects of having one?

I was born healthy and chubby in 1966, and I am a product of the local education system. Upon graduation from the National University of Malaysia, I entered the corporate world. I had a satisfying working life, I was looking forward to better things ahead when my life took a turn for the worst, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor at 32.

Four days, after the diagnosis I had to go through brain surgery, for 8 hours! After that it took me 6 months to recover, I was bed-bedridden speech was badly affected and I had double vision.

I was wrong when I thought the tumor was gone forever because the neurosurgeon found a residual the following year. He said the residual must be removed to avoid further neurological damage, but invasive surgery was not an option because the residual was situated very near to the aorta. He recommended stereo static radiosurgery, whereby a very powerful beam is focused on getting rid of the residual without affecting surrounding tissues. Six months after the SRS procedure, I experienced a grand mal seizure, when my whole body convulsed violently as I lost consciousness for a few seconds. After the seizure, I have to rely on a wheelchair and walking devices for mobility. This time, recovery was nowhere in sight.

Facing life with a disability, I retreated into my world, as time passed, I forgot how to laugh, how to communicate with others, and to be gay again. I fell into depression. Fear of creating more inconvenience for my loved ones made me take hold of my life.

I started serious physiotherapy six years after the first seizure. Physiotherapy is a long and tedious journey but I am determined not to let my condition go from bad to worse. In addition, I swim every weekend. My personal best is breaststroke 1000 meters in 45 minutes.

A stronger body boosted my confidence, as I participated in various activities, the most memorable was diving (yea diving into the sea to explore the underwater world), a catwalk contest where I used a walker to walk a 40 feet platform.

Although I have limitations, I chose to focus on the things I could do. For example; reading and writing. I used to keep a journal and a blog. I submitted articles to a local newspaper where they were published. Encouraged by feedback from readers, I wanted to share my story with more people. Therefore, at the end of 2020, I published my medical memoir in English and Chinese. Rising and a Chinese book entitled 窗外有蓝天。

After the books were published, I need to be prepared for the interview, so I joined Toastmasters, it is also time for me to brush up on my speaking and listening skills. My goal is to become an effective speaker and evaluator in both English and Mandarin.

Thank you for continuing to read.

Chapter One

My Humble Beginnings

I was born in 1966 into a below-average income family. My parents have eight children, two boys, and six girls; I am the seventh child. My mother gave birth to a girl in 1954, followed by two boys in the next three years, followed by six girls in a span of eight years. Unfortunately, the youngest did not survive, a natural born defect caused her demise in infancy. Luckily, none of the girls was given up for adoption, a common practice in those days. With our paternal grandmother, we live in a wooden house in a squatter’s area very near to Kuala Lumpur city center. Behind our house, there was a pond and a plot of land where we kept our garden of flowers, vegetables, and tapioca and papaya trees. The mother reared chickens and ducks near the pond. Every day the ducks would have good times swimming in the pond when the weather was hot and humid. The lake was grown with duckweed which the mother used to pluck, cut, cook then fed the ducks. In front of the house was a very big space, a relative’s construction company sometimes sent unwanted or used woods wood. Woods that could be used as firewood, we would chop and keep for a cooking fire, woods, which were hard and good, were kept aside for future use; to repair or renovate the house. We used water in the well for washing, cooking, and drinking. There was no electricity in the house