Tiny Eyes Comics

A touching story of how my grandma’s death inspired my mom to take control of her health

Here is the final part of my collaboration series with Tiny Eyes Comics.

Hope you enjoy!

**Click Below To Listen Now**

Click here for part 1.

Click here for part 2.

My mom is a health nut. She’s a beast at the gym and a disciplined clean eater. She won’t take an Advil for a headache but she’ll try a mysterious herbal concoction if it says it’s it’ll prevent disease XYZ.

Her health is her top priority and this stems from having experienced one of life’s hardest moments at a young age.

My mom loved her mom (my Por Por). She died too young and too soon to meet my sisters and me. So ever since I was a little kid, to preserve the fond memory of her, my mom would tell us this touching story.

It’s the 1970’s and my mom is a free-spirited yet strong-willed young woman in her early 20’s. She’s not one to be held down by tradition. She’s a fearless bell-bottom wearing hippie on a mission to experience what the world has to offer.

So much so that she leaves her mom, dad, brother and boyfriend (my dad…yeah, she left him in the dark like that) from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong to the cold and desolate city of Winnipeg, Canada.

She flies there alone with no one to meet her, nervous but excited to start her new adventure.

Over the next year, she makes friends, completes beauty school and starts her first Canadian job as a hairdresser.

She calls home once a month, sharing all the shenanigans she’s been up to with her mom (this was a time when you had to drive out to the city centre to place a call and it was damn expensive).

Between calls, they would mail each other cassette tapes of what’s been going on day-to-day. Her mom would remind her to dress warmly while she would remind her to take care of her health.

She does the long-distance thing with my dad. I remember seeing all the letters and tapes from him, professing his love, asking time and time again when she’s coming back.

One day, she gets a call from her brother telling her that their mom was admitted into the hospital. She had suffered a stroke and it was not looking good.

My mom gets on the earliest flight to Hong Kong. When the plane lands, she immediately rushes to the hospital.

She arrives at the bedside.

Her mom is connected to multiple tubes and wires. The hum of the monitors drown out all the noises in the hospital.

Tears flood my mom’s face as she grabs my Por Por’s hand. She sobs uncontrollably while uttering the words, “I’m sorry”

My Por Por can’t speak or move but she squeezes my mom’s hand tightly as tears roll down the corners of her eyes and settle into the pillow.

This was their goodbye. No words were exchanged, only the love between a mother and daughter. She was 55 years old.

My mom often finishes with the moral of the story; if she had been there for her mom (to cook healthier food for her, to go on walks with her, to educate her on diet and exercise), my Por Por may be alive today. However, she will never know.

As I reflect on why she always ended the story that way, I think she was indirectly telling us to take care of her when she’s older. The guilt she feels about her mom makes her afraid that her daughters will treat her the same way.

She’s also worried that she will turn out like her mom so she does whatever she can for her health and treats her body like a temple.

For every year she lives past 55, every grandchild she gets to meet and every day she gets to spend with her family, she is eternally grateful.

And this is something I strive for as a mom. On days when I’m exhausted or frustrated or stressed, I’ll think of this story and feel grateful about all the people that I love who are in my life.

And at that moment, instead of wallowing in that negative state, I prioritize my health and do something to make myself feel better (like a quick workout or a short meditation session).

This Comic inspired me to write this story, staying motivated to live a long and healthy life so I get to see my daughter experience what the world has to offer.