I can share to my readers only what I experienced. This time, my close encounter with death. At 50, I was hospitalized for 10 days, because of complication from my diabetes. My lungs were engulfed with phlegm so that I could hardly breathe. I had pneumonia and the phlegm was drained and sucked by a plastic tube through a hole bored on my right side. I thanked God I survived that operation.
That was the first time I realized I could die from too much abuse. At 35, I was diagnosed with diabetes. But I did not change my lifestyle. I ate and drank with no limits. When I got out from confinement, I listened to the doctor’s advice and slowed down on my intake.
Last year, I was 62, in March, I had a loose bowel movement. When I was younger, that illness which I called cleansing of my system, never bothered me at all. But this time, after the first bout, I could hardly stand. I felt my strength was drained out of my body. I crawled upstairs to my bedroom.
I slept the whole day, but not before I prayed to God. I said: “Lord, I’m already satisfied with my life. If this is the day when I die, I would like to thank you for my life. I have experienced joy and sorrow. I’m no longer attached to my life, to anyone or anything in this world. I am attached to You only. My wife is also sickly, but she has the same attitude as mine. Our children are already independent. They can face life’s struggles without their parents. Thank you for giving me life. But if this is not yet my time to die, please heal me.”