No more oily food and giving Bagus a miss?

My aunt, who is in her 70s, suffered a heart attack while on holiday at Bangkok two weeks ago. She passed out while stepping out of the plane and her heart stopped beating for 20 minutes. Miraculously, she survived, but not after having undergone a by-pass surgery.

She's back in Singapore, recuperating at home. I paid her a visit today. Sitting on a wheel-chair, she's a shadow of her former robust and healthy past. I remember her as the aunt who was full of life and energy. Despite her age, she took the public transport, often travelling alone from Onan Road where she lives to Chinatown to do her marketing.

It was truly remarkable that my aunt survives the heart attack. According to my nieces, the doctors in Thailand tried more than 30 minutes to get her heart back to pumping again. One would have thought that she would have been brain dead for the lack of oxygen but she could still recall my name.

I remember too, that my aunt was extremely careful with her intake of food, or so I thought. It transpired that she was extremely fond of pig trotters and fatty meat. From this episode, my nieces have taken upon themselves to ensure that my aunt consumes only steamed food henceforth. There'll be no more fried chicken, Char Kway Teow and anything that's oily. This despite the doctor's assurance that my aunt should be able to revert to eating anything she likes upon recovery. Doctors sometimes don't know better and my nieces aren't taking any chances. They themselves have also sworn off anything that's fried, and advised me to do the same. How pleasurable can life get?

I've been pondering hard since about my lunch with Bagus. To say our lunch is sinful is an understatement. Just to name a few - roast duck, Char Siew and roast pork, nasi bryani, prawn noodle and Char Kway Teow. How can life's little pleasures be life's greatest perils all at the same time? Why oh why?

A couple of moons ago, I told myself I'll eat more greens. Sometimes, I'd go on a lettuce-tomatoes-fruits buying spree, making my very own salad for breakfast and lunch. This usually happened when someone I knew met with some unfortunate incident, like my aunt (Yes, I've just been to NTUC and bought lots of veggie for my salad tomorrow!) Unfortunately, my affair with my salad is rather platonic. It comes and goes and does not seem to sustain for long. And before I know, I'll be lunching with Bagus at various eateries and the 1000-people restaurants again.

Of course, to be really honest, the problem lies not so much with having lunch with Bagus, for I have the freedom of choice when it comes to hawker food. But it's hard to resist the temptation if you see one of the Bagus chaps like Victor eating Char Kway Teow and I have to be contended with a bowl of congee.

Life's never fair :((

Category: Health