A smile to remember

While I was on my trip to Israel with my parents, I happened to spend a great deal of time with my parents’ friends who were also doing the trip with us. The group was… well, to be honest a bit loud for my taste. I guessed it was because they had worked hard during the last couple of years to fulfil their responsibilities to their families and now that they were into their fifties or more, they wanted to enjoy and they seemed to enjoy being loud… so why grudge them?

Maybe that is why I noticed her. This lady was probably around 50 considering that her three children had all grown up and flown the nest for further education and jobs. She did not speak too much… just enough in her soft voice (I had to strain my ears to hear her over the din) but what was fascinating was her smile…. no kidding but she always had a smile on her face. Even when there were delays and people were no doubt upset and frustrated but you had to just look at her to feel that yes, !@#@ is happening but it is going to get alright.

About a year or so may have passed; I had traveled to many more places and work was hectic. In between all this, I was at my parents’ house in Kerala for the weekend and I happened to see a photo of our Israel trip and we were reminiscing about their friends when they told me that this aunty had been diagnosed with cancer. I was saddened on hearing this. But my parents were quick to assure me that she had access to the best possible care that money could buy and she would be ok soon.

Another year or two went by after which during one more trip down memory lane, my parents reassured me that all was well because of timely care provided. It had been both a terrifying and expensive ordeal but she was doing much better. By this time, we had heard of several cases of cancer in the circles our family moved in.

The good thing was that because of timely diagnosis and best care, they had been in recovery mode.

Now, how was the diagnosis timely? Because of periodic health check-ups and analysis.

And that ‘best care’ does not come cheap. In fact, it is very expensive. These families had money saved up and those savings were used and it is going to keep on putting a dent there because of the constant check-ups and medicines even after the chemo.

Then I heard of some cases in my company as well as others where after the insurance company pay-out, since the balance was quite high, the respective companies paid for it. That is just awesome!

But, what about people who have no insurance cover?

Even those who do have, be sure to read the fine print whether cancer care is covered in the general health insurance that you do have. Luckily for us, now there are specific plans covering cancer care from various insurance companies… take cover when you can.

My parents read about our Israel trip on my blog and we talked about everyone and that’s when they told that the cancer was back and it was bad… they were not really sure how long she had. After everything they had done… that really made me very sad indeed.

She is gone now… it was the end of her role in this world and the curtain fell on her act. My parents could hardly recognize her when they went to pay their last respects. From her shriveled body to her rather small face, every bit of her had changed in these weeks…

All except for that smile on her face… she seemed to be resting in peace. Adieu Aunty, I will always remember your smile.