I Gave My Uncle $100
About a week ago, my Mom, Lola, and my sister saw me cry. I broke down in front of them and I whaled. I couldn't take it anymore because of what is happening in my life and to the people around me.
My Aunt messaged me saying that I should tell my dad to visit my Uncle. He is sick for months now and went for a couple of check ups already. My Aunt visited my Uncle last week evening and she told me his condition. My uncle lost weight and is looking pale.
I told my Aunt that Papa wasn't around the time that she messaged me and he was still at work. The following message that my Aunt sent me was telling me to tell my Dad to go there and to see for himself the condition of my Uncle who is the eldest among them. Even my Aunt can't look at my Uncle for too long because she pities him and she avoids crying in front of him.
My Uncle suddenly had lumps on his neck area. He works as a construction worker. He told us that it started to appear in November after they got rained on during working. He developed lumps on both sides of neck and tried to self medicate. After a few days of self medication the lumps subsided.
It was my Grandfather's birthday when we saw each other again after so many months. I think I have already told this before in an article but my Grandpa was the one who noticed that my Uncle has lumps on his neck. I felt bad for not noticing it the whole time that we were talking and when we were still at home.
We were telling him to get it checked out by a physician and he insisted. I know he was thinking about the money that he was going to spend. He was just a hard headed man and I understand why.
The money that I gave him was from the educational assistance from the DSWD. We just needed to be on the list and bring the requirements as a proof that we are enrolled for the second semester.
I really wanted to give my uncle a portion of the money even before that I haven't had it yet. I was planning to give him $20 and also tell my sister to give some of hers too. But the night I cried was the time we decided to just give all our money that we received.
I went straight to my room the moment I got home. I put the money inside an envelope and gave it to my Dad for him to give it to my Uncle. I'm not going to be hypocritical, I have planned weeks before what I was going to do with that money. In fact, the time I went out with my friends to eat Korean barbecue was part of the budget allocation. And the rest will be put in my bank account to save up for the laptop that I've been eyeing to buy.
Did I have regrets giving up the money that I received? No, not at all. I love my Uncle and I want him to live long. As my Mom would always tell us, money can be earned but a life can't be replaced. To be honest, all I am thinking now is that I was God's way of giving the money to my uncle. That I was just the messenger and I was just the prophet who passed the money to him.
My uncle was already checked out by a Doctor last week and the update about the lumps was that it had subsided. He still needs to have several check ups in the future to monitor the lumps.
Closing thoughts 💭
Why did I share this? It isn't to boast about the help that I've given my Uncle. But to give light to other people that a life is what matters the most than money.
This is actually in my drafts for the past weeks. I just allowed myself to heal. This is also a way of telling you guys that it is okay to allow yourself to be humans. To feel emotions. The more you keep it inside, the more it will hurt. Thank you for reading this.
Check out my previous blogs:
You have made me remember things from the past and I have cried a little I admit it. A few months before the pandemic started, one of my father's brother was really bad, it all started with a cough and slowly turned into something worse, where my uncle could no longer breathe, he had to use an oxygen machine. Everything happened really fast, in less than 30 days everything got worse for my uncle.
My father had come to live with me to take care of his brother, as my uncle and I lived nearby. I was very busy at work and college, but I spent all my free time with my father, my uncle and my cousins. We all contributed all our money for all the tests that had to be done, for food and to be able to buy oxygen pumps, we were also paying nurses who could take care of him at home. In our hospitals there was no one to take care of him to know what was wrong with my uncle, so we had to pay a lot of money for an ambulance to take him to another hospital in another part of the country to take care of him. In the new hospital they treated him better, they found the problem he had, but my uncle died the day after arriving, so they moved him back to where I was with my father, a few days later he was buried, they were really sad days for us. My uncle died one day after his birthday
Your mother is right, with a lot of work we can have money, but with a lot of money we cannot always save a life, life cannot be bought with money. Your money will soon come back to you, but when someone dies, that person will not come back, they will only live forever in our memories.
Always take care of your family.