Another Sudden Passing
Yesterday, around 6pm our time, we got news from one of our Uncles in Hong Kong that our 3rd Uncle (the next older brother on my dad's side), suddenly was admitted to the Emergency with a stroke. Within 45 minutes, we were told the burst of the blood vessel was in his right brain, that they cannot operate on him. My 3rd Uncle is a survivor of an aggressive form of leukemia, it had been cleared by his oncologist that he was cancer-free. With the stroke, the doctors told his family that they need to prepare that he will be leaving soon.
This morning, our time, 8:45am.. my Uncle told my dad 3rd Uncle has passed away.. Hong Kong time, December 3rd @ 12:45am.. Now, dad is looking at flights to return to attend the funeral.. they are looking of arriving a week before Christmas and stay at least 2-3 weeks.. My parents just returned from Grandma's funeral, as they stayed in HK for all of August.. Now with this sudden passing of 3rd Uncle, my parents have to make another trip back.. Flights are super expensive though..
I'm actually not feeling the grief from his passing compared to Grandma, as I've never been close to him or his family (my cousins). I just feel more relieved that he passed away from a stroke and not during the time he was suffering from cancer treatments.. I think I'm more worried for my Aunt, as she always have a positive energy that projects from her and she's always smiling and joking around.. this sudden death, it must be a huge blow to her.. My cousins, both are married, the eldest, she has a son that's like 10 years old already.. and the younger sibling, he's married for not even 2 years yet, no kids.. So, even if his passing was this sudden, I think he's relieved that at least his kids all have their own family now..
I'm lucky I'm not too close to him, or this second passing, after Grandma, would've been an additional hit to my grieving journey.. I'm just feeling a little sad, that's all.
So now, my mum suddenly proposed that we could return as a family, and do our planned family vacation now instead of in November 2025. If I return now, attend Uncle's funeral, at the same time, maybe I could get some closure as I go visit Grandma at her grave.
It turns out my other Uncle who lives close to us, have decided to return to HK too, once the funeral date is set. My dad will be going for lunch with this Uncle and my Aunt (the eldest sibling on my dad's side) this Friday. Where I'm sure we'll hear whether or not my Aunt has decided to return for the funeral too. She hasn't made any comments about it in their siblings' group chat. On the contrary, she didn't seem to take the passing of her brother that seriously. Sending messages saying maybe the attending physician gave the wrong diagnosis to my Uncle, then sending a smiling/laughing emoticon when the news from my 2nd Uncle said he had passed away. So, we're not sure what my Aunt is thinking, or if she's in her right mind. Or maybe she doesn't want to show her vulnerable side, and used humour to mask her feelings. Who knows. I'll wait and see how lunch goes on Friday with my dad.
A heads up, we might be leaving as early as next Monday.