Good Luck, Madonna

5/4/2009

I hardly know anything about Madonna’s stardom or singing, but her recent news on adopting another child from Malawi aroused my interest.

Madonna, a soon-to-be a single mother of three, with great wealth, wants to adopt a second child from poverty-stricken nation is admirable, and indeed shows her humanity of the highest degree. While many philanthropic millionaires are prepared to part with their money supporting charitable organisations or programs, Madonna goes one step further by sharing her love with the orphans. Whether she is going to raise the child personally or employing a nanny to do it on her behalf, the adopted child will no longer have to suffer the torture of nature’s elements, be fed, clothed, educated and medically looked after.

Short-sighted public will view that her action of adoption as selfish and against human rights. People who can afford food to fill their stomachs do not understand what real hunger is. They might go on 40-hour fasting campaign just to experience the suffering, but after which hunger is just another word. Continuous hunger and poverty do not give much hope and dignity to the sufferers. What can these do-gooders do to help alleviate such reality?

Madonna has fame and wealth. Her sincere action is not for publicity; she was greatly saddened by the decision of being knocked back by the Malawi’s High Court in adopting the second child. Her facial expression revealed her disappointment and sadness from within. She wanted this girl, Mercy, to be a sister to the first adopted child David, both are three years old.

What she has done and hopefully continues to do may be considered as an act of “pay-forward”. I do not believe she will ask for any financial return from her adopted children, but I do believe her goodwill will probably influence many more people with good intention to follow her footsteps. Further, when these adopted children grow up, they may do a better job than Madonna in helping more needy people, in Malawi or anywhere else in the world.

This is not the end of her journey to adopt Mercy. While Malawi’s High Court’s concern that the case could open the flood gate for trafficking children seems legitimate, Madonna’s previous adoption has set a precedence and thus provides a good hearing of her appeal.

Financial support does not necessary express love and humanity. Nothing is more comforting, fulfilling and getting a greater sense of security than a cuddle from another human, especially that from a mother.

My regular visit to an aged care home

The events are real, but the names of the characters have been changed for privacy reason - 1/4/2009

I am a community health visitor. The people I visit are my known as clients, not patients. Not all of them are frail, bed-bound or wheelchair-bound; some choose not to live alone after their spouses have passed away. My role is simple – just to chat with them!

I used to visit late Tim, a 92 years old gentleman, living in an aged care home. Normally I spent an hour or so chatting with him in his room, a confined area, which at times the air was filled with strong scent of medicated oil. Later, I decided to accompany him to the dining room where he had his lunch with the other residents. Since then, I got to know some other dinners.

Early last year, due to my returning to real estate profession, I could not make time to visit Tom for a few months, until the beginning of this year. By then, I was told, Tom had left his ill health and pain to a world where probably suffering was unknown. I continued to drop in because I had could chat with the dinners who shared the same table with Tim previously.

This afternoon was 30ºC, too hot and unbearable for my liking. I arrived at the aged care home around 12:25pm. By the time I reached the dining room, Bev had already finished her lunch and returned to her room. I greeted the usual residents, Bill, Paul, Jack and Ashton, whom I knew better than the others.

I sat between Paul on my left who was on his wheelchair at the head of the table, and Jack on my right. Ashton was directly across me. Before I got into the swing of things, Paul finished his meal and an assistant helped him back to his room.

I believe I am good telling stories not only to children, but also to adults – including my students at colleges. Besides story, I can turn boring and difficult subjects into something interesting and hair-raising at times. Today’s story was about how the “Tree Man” in Indonesia underwent numerous operations and treatments that brought him back to normality. The Tree Man looked very horrific, and as a child would say, he looked scary. Before he contracted the disease, he was as normal as the rest of the members in the family – parents, brother and even his children. However, there was no mention about his wife.

The Tree Man’s face was dotted with dark scales caused by some form of virus. The excessive growth covering the hands resembled tree branches, and the legs tree roots. An American medical professor had the opportunity to visit the Tree Man prior to the operation, and conducted biopsy on samples of the “growth” from various parts of the body. The results showed that warts caused the growth – the same type that could attack anyone. A normal person possesses immunity to destroy the warts, and prevents uncontrolled growth.

Jack and Ashton were really fascinated with the story. Jack added a few comments along the way, but the quiet one Ashton had his eyes wide opened, and jaw dropped. I went on describing how the surgeons used power tools to cut off the “branches” and “roots”, a total of more 6 kg. The Tree Man received chemotherapy and medical treatment to kill off the warts from within, and using the uninfected skin from his back to graft on badly affected area after numerous operations.

By the time I finished the story, the dining room was almost empty. Jack and Ashton were ready to return to them respective rooms. I walked Ashton to his door, and bid him goodbye.