i am very, very close to my dad. actually, all of us siblings are closer to our dad than to our mom. nasa pulitika kasi mom ko dati so she was always busy and we felt that she didn't have enough time for or didn't want to be with us.
i was born in the province and my dad wasn't there when i was born. he was here in manila buying a car. so i think he wanted to make up for not being there when i was born so he always took care of me when i was a baby. and he said when i was a kid, ayaw ko magpatimpla ng milk or magpapalit ng lampin sa iba, dapat siya lang.
and when i first got my period, he was the first one i ran to, even asked him to go inside the bathroom with me and i showed him my panty. haha. then he said, go talk to your mom about this. he felt so awkward. haha.
lahat kami spoiled sa kanya, he always gave us what we wanted but he mad sure din we worked for them, like get high grades, etc.
there was a time that my parents used to fight a lot. mom wanted to run for higher office and dad felt enough was enough. we never had privacy, there were always so many people in the house. minsan may dadating pa sa bahay ng madaling araw na duguan kasi may sinaksak daw siya at gusto niya mag-surrender. nakakatakot. dad was only thinking about us, but it seemed that mom wasn't so lahat kami naturally turned to our dad that's why we're all a lot closer to him than to mom.
when dad was rushed to the hospital last year for abdominal pain, i was at a loss. it was the first time he was rushed to the hospital and my sister woke me up early morning to tell me. that has been the hardest time for me. we didn't know what was wrong, his heart was being tested eh abdominal pain lang and we didn't know why. to cut the story short, he had to undergo triple bypass surgery and it would cost about 1M, which we did not readily have. as a daughter, syempre you'd want to do everything so he could have the surgery. but he didn't want it. sayang daw ang pera, we will have better use for it. wag na daw gumastos para sa kanya, kung mamamatay siya eh di mamamatay siya. how do you react to that? wala kaming nagawa kundi umiyak na lang kasi kahit anong gawin namin, ayaw niya magpa-bypass.
then his sisters went to the hospital to talk to him about the surgery. we don't know exactly what they told him but in the end he agreed. then before my titas left, they talked to my oldest sister. don't worry about the money daw, give her account number and they'd deposit half of what we needed. big help. at that point, i was willing to do whatever it would take to get the remaining half. i'd sell my car, my jewelry, everything basta lang humaba pa ang buhay niya. ganon din ang mga kapatid ko.
i never got to meet both my lolos. i don't have a kid yet and i always wish that my dad would live long enough for my future kids to get to know him. that's one reason why i so want a baby already kasi i feel that time will soon run out and my child will not be able to spend enough time with his/her lolo.
with God's help and with help from our relatives and with the best team of doctors, dad had a successful surgery. but it was again a pain to see him in the ICU. i spent the least time visiting him because i could not bear to see him so weak and in so much pain. but i was always there in the hospital, i never left. pero hindi ako pumapasok sa ICU.
it's been 7 months since this whole ordeal. dad is a lot better. normal na lahat. but he has diabetes and sleep apnea so his monthly medical expenses are beginning to hurt the pockets. just yesterday i bought his supply for june (my sisters and i take turns para hindi naman mabigat masyado) at grabe sa mahal! pero hindi namin painapaalam sa kanya kung magkano ang mga gastos namin sa kanya kasi sasabihin lang nanaman niya mas mura kung hinayaan na lang namin siyang mamatay.
and where is mom? she's abroad again. we sent her there to stay with our brother kasi mas lalo nas-stress dad ko pag nandito siya sa pilipinas. haha.
so am i close to my dad? yeah, very. and my greatest fear is losing him.
