Singapore - A City of Samaritans

My fall was totally unfortunate.

But it is also because of an unfortunate event that I count myself fortunate;

Fortunate - to be on the receiving end of acts of goodwill from many kind people whom I’ve met;

Fortunate - to have a rare chance to see the compassionate side of folks in Singapore.

Remember Mr Samaritan the day I fell?
Frankly, if I were him I would have tried to walk off (discretely).
Why? I have had someone fell right in front of me before and I was so stunned I didn’t know how to react…
But he took the initiative to offer help (and risked missing his bus ;P)… THANKS~

And not forgetting the bus driver on that same day..
He could have driven off without me too (who knows how long I’ll take to get my butt up, and whether I’ll still be taking his bus?)
But he chose to wait on.
This is what I call ‘a small act of kindness goes a long way’… THANKS~

And here’s more…

One week later, on the day that I went for my appointment with the specialist (yes..that was the ONLY day I stepped out of my house since 8 Aug…booooo)

I had called for a cab, and the moment I settled down in the taxi I was greeted with a warm ‘Morning!’ from the cab driver.

Wwoh… when was the last time I’ve had a cab driver greet me (with such enthusiasm)? And without me doing it first too?

It really came as a pleasant surprise. I happily greeted the cab driver back and needless to say, the rest of journey was a smooth one. His attitude was great~ I could sense his cheerfulness even when his face was hidden behind his sunglasses.

A smile speaks a thousand words, he certainly helped kick off a good start to my day :)

After seeing the doc at TTSH, I had to collect medicine at the pharmacy and as expected, there was a long queue. While waiting, I saw a familiar face walking towards me… It took a while for me to recall her name.. Ah yes, Meifen!

We acknowledged each other as we were schoolmates from the same secondary school, but we’ve only had a few brief exchanges before. She was working there and without saying a second word, she offered to help me ‘jump queue’.

So it took me only 5 mins (‘stead of 15-20mins at least) for my name to be called! Yet another pleasant surprise for the day.. I really wasn’t expecting her to do me (and my mum too) this favour. It was very nice of her… Thank You :)

Over lunch at the foodcourt, we shared a table with a couple who sat opposite us.

There were some uncleared trays on the table and when they saw my mum approaching with a tray full of food, they immediately pulled the dirty tray over to their side so that my mum could put down hers.

I told the lady it’s fine we have enough space, and the lady replied with a smile, ‘It’s ok, we’re leaving already’.
It was very thoughtful of them, we smiled back to express our thanks.

After we’re done, mum flagged a cab to head for home. I was surprised when I saw the driver hurriedly stretch to the back seat to open the door for us (prolly coz he saw me on crutches).
So nice right…

On the journey back, he asked about my condition and that reminded him of his daughter who recently fell down while playing on her roller shoes. She had injured her spine and I could tell he was very worried as his daughter is only 8 years old, and spine injury is no play-play business.

When we arrived home, he cautioned me to be careful so my mum will not have to worry about me.
Wei2 ren2 fu4 mu4 xin1 ah….
It was very nice of him to show concern about my injury, and I would like to wish her daughter speedy recovery too!

This day was a day filled with pleasant surprises and it really feels good at the end of the day to have met all these samaritans.

What they have done could be a small effort on their part that seems insigificant, but what I have received was at least 10 times more.


We have to remind ourselves that many a times, it’s the thought that matters.
It’s the little gestures that really mean - A LOT.

Perhaps if we can learn to give more, and expect less from the people around us - be it your loved ones, someone whom you are not very familiar with, or just a stranger - everyday can be a G-R-E-A-T day =D

OUCH!

No no… This entry was supposed to be some good news that I’ve been looking forward to share since weeks ago.. But because of an unfortunate twist of events I’ll have to leave that till later..

For now, here’s a report on that fateful night of national day eve.

I fell down, for some strange reason.
At the busstop opposite YIH (NUS folks will know which one I’m talking abt).

I was going down the flight of steps when I saw my bus approaching…
*PLOP*
I landed on my butt the next second.

There was no balancing act or what crap. It all happened so fast I only realised I had fallen when I found myself sitting on the steps..

For a few seconds I was sunken in a state of shock, until I heard a voice that triggered my senses,
“Are you ok??”
Erm…
I tried twitching my right foot to see if there was any pain at all.
OUCH.
Okay.. as I had expected..
I didn’t wanna try bending my elbow. So I turned my arm around to check.
To my horror, I saw an abnormal bump on my elbow.
Shucks.. what’s that? Is that my bone?!?
I almost went weak in my knees..

To save myself from embarrassment, I replied Mr Samaritan, “Ya ya I’m ok” (when in fact I’m not), hoping that he would leave me alone to let me think about what I should do next.
The next thing I realised the bus was still there waiting for me!
(Btw I owe both Mr Samaritan and the bus driver a Thank You coz I was too seh to thank them that day.)

Barely recovering from the trauma, I hurriedly made my way up the bus, somehow.
On the bus journey home, I was silently groaning in pain. I’m not sure where the pain was coming from, it was just all over.
I was terrified.
I didn’t know how bad the injuries were, and I didn’t dare to look.
Yes I’m such a weakling.

Finally I got down the bus, Sis was there to pick me up from the busstop.
I was so happy to see her, I cried.

Luckily for me, the bump at my elbow was only due to the sudden impact of the fall (yes it’s not my bone.. haha I’m really good at scaring myself) and it had subsided by the time I reached home. After putting down my stuff, my family accompanied me to TTSH.

I did an Xray and Miss Doc found a small chip (or is it a crack) in my ankle bone. She advised me to see a specialist one week later and meanwhile to prevent it from worsening, here is the present I got for National Day…


Elephant foot :(

And because of the thick bandage (it’s not a cast, btw), I had to be put on this…


The first time in my life (and I had to pay $30 for it…)

Seriously, I had never expect to spend my National Day like this…

And my plans all went down the drain… my Siglap performance @ VCH yesterday, chill-out time at Dawn’s place last night, my intended shopping spree this weekend.. and missing work (I feel quite bad about this coz I barely just came back to office for work after my WCG trip and now I’m on one week MC..)
And most importantly, my M-O-B-I-L-I-T-Y for one whole week.

It isn’t a pleasant experience, making my family members run around to send me to hospital that night and coming back only at 2am when they had to wake up early the next morning (even though it’s a public holiday) and make accommodattions now that I have problems moving about.. thank you so much, papa, mama n sis :)

I’m just resting as much as I can now so that I’ll be well again very soon… =D