For my Mom
This was the obituary I wrote in December, 2019, accompanied by an illustration of my brother playing my mom sleepy keyboard music as she rested in her bed. The next illustration was inspired by her love of The Little Prince, where I created her own bibliophile planet where she could focus on her paintings and caring for her plants. This illustration would later on be used for her tombstone design.
After battling stage four ovarian cancer for five years, my mother Margaret Ng passed away on the afternoon of Monday December 2, 2019 at the Victoria Hospice Society. Throughout her illness, she had never thought of herself as a patient and fought hard to continue living life on her own terms. She spent her final years painting incredible works of art, learning Tai Chi and becoming a pain management workshop facilitator to give back to the community. She never let her illness stop her from doing what she wanted. I am thankful I moved home two years ago, and Aaron moved home a year ago, because we were able to spend quality time together as a family while mom was still able bodied.
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After being in and out of the hospital since September, we were told about a month and a half ago that chemotherapy was no longer effective in managing her illness. Our doctor said that she had only weeks left, and we were transitioned into palliative care. After being stabilized in hospice, we were fortunate enough to spend three weeks as a family together at home. We spent everyday together - eating and cooking, painting, listening to music, looking at old photo albums, going on adventures around Victoria on mom’s good days and listening to stories recounting her wonderful life. This time was overwhelmingly filled with love, gratitude and appreciation. The photo attached is a painting I did of Aaron playing sleepy music to mom as the sun set. Mom told us to count our blessings every day and to appreciate that we are given another day instead of counting down the days. It brings my family great comfort to know that mom was surrounded by immeasurable love in her final days.
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Everything that I am - my skills, my aspirations, my personality is all thanks to her guidance and support. Words cannot describe the immense loss I feel. But I’m glad that every time I look at a piece of art I can hear her voice and opinion, every time I try on clothes I can hear her telling me whether or not they fit properly, every time I sleep in a little too much or am not dressed warmly enough I can hear her telling me to take better care of myself. Although she has left us physically, her spirit lives on strongly in our hearts and will not easily be forgotten.