A Husband and Wife Undying Love – True Story about My Cousin

I have just got an email from Australia that my cousin’s wife who was suffering from Muscular Dystrophy has already passed on. I remembered as a young primary school student; the first time I met my cousin’s wife when they were newly married in London and he brought her back to my hometown. They were one of the loveliest couple I have ever met. Not long after they got married, they moved to Australia, where my cousin’s wife, an avid cook became quite popular among the community there. She regularly holds cooking demonstration in Australia and I think she wrote a few cooking books as well. Unfortunately she was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy more than 18 years ago. Slowly, her health deteriorated, her movements are impaired severely and she became wheelchair bound. As times goes by her condition worsened and she would even choked on her own saliva at times. My cousin quit from his job to take care of his wife full time. What amazed me was, despite his wife condition, my cousin would take her travelling to other countries every year. They have even visited many third world countries like Botswana, South Africa, Vietnam, and Cambodia and even climbed the Great Wall of China. Every year they will visit all our relatives across Malaysia. I cannot imagine the true grit, love and determination that my cousin has, to travel all over the world with his wife who needs 100% support from him all the time. Same goes to his wife as well, to be able to travel in view of her health condition. They were in KL before Xmas last year and we went over to Pavillon for our dinner. My cousin wanted his wife (a foodie, like me) to taste some of the food there although she was actually taking special food via a cavity and pipe through her stomach. I remembered that he had to order soft food like lam mee (noodles) to feed her. Then he used a special powder to make the ‘teh tarik’ (milk tea) thicker so that she will not choked as all her muscle function is gone. Whenever we met, she would whisper very softly and incoherently in to my ear, ‘Hi Peter’. I never thought that this would be our last meeting with her because over the last 18 years we would see her almost every year visiting us in KL without fail! But then it is rarely for someone with a condition like her to live that long. Even, all the doctors in Australia were amazed that my cousin’s wife survived that long. I guess the answer lies in the true love and care!