Mum’s MJ session with her Joy Luck Club was cancelled last evening hence she decided to join me & BFF for some Japanese-fare dinner, and spend some time together.
It was great. With the both of them, I managed to open up quite a bit to my half depressing-yet-discovery week break and reckoned that I probably wasn’t cut out for ‘tai-tai’ lifestyle just yet. I was practically bored with pockets of time in between activities, nothing to do and having to spend a lot of unnecessary money such as having tea at a cafe just so that I could get a seat and read a book. While being alone and spending me-time was a beauty, it had its disadvantages too. Didn’t know what exactly came over me, but the more we talked, the more I opened up. I think it freaked BFF a little at one point that she concluded how much “Nat has changed” and she couldn’t believe it. It was a good thing, I supposed.
Me-time does incredible wonders. It makes you discover and re-discover new things about yourself. Your likes, your dislikes, your goals and more importantly, lets you realize things that you tend to take for granted.
Anyway, we must have overstayed our welcome at dinner when the restaurant presented us with a bill to proceed for payment at the cashier’s. We all got up reluctantly (since we’re having such a great time chatting) and mum was who seated on the other side of the table tripped while taking a step down from the platform our table was elevated on. I saw that she was trying to reach for a grip and quickly went to her aid but before I could do that, she had slipped on the lower ground (which was also the common walkway) and slided to beneath of the table on the other side. My heart sank as I heard a loud thud and saw her head hit against the stem of the leg. My first instinct was to call out to her to ensure that she was not unconscious. I was also afraid that the hot pot of soup on the other table would fall on her, thankfully not. BFF & I quickly held mum up back to sit on the chair while another patron who happened to be a nurse rushed over to check mum’s head for any major bumps, and quickly requested for a bag of ice to numb the wound. Mum was a little dis-orientated and in shock, while I was fighting to stop tears from flowing, but stayed calm and collected instead.
The restaurant manager later came up and asked if mum needed a doctor’s consultation. She explained how she would have to put this request up to the operations manager for the medical claims, and later on explained again that her operations manager would then have to appeal to the management for any form of compensation. Compensation aside, we asked if any similar incidents have happened before also stating how 30 minutes prior, we saw a waitress slipped and break a tea cup at the same spot. The restaurant manager meekly admitted that 2 other patrons encounter similar hazards on the other side of the restaurant and how she herself had slipped twice along the same floor mum slipped on. How irresponsible! This had happened previously and they had obviously not done anything to rectify it. What if it was an elderly lady? Or a pregnant woman? Or a little kid? Need they wait till something serious happened before re-thinking and not compromising on safety? The raised platform which the table was on was in the same colour as the common walkway, and the drop-off ended exactly where the edge of the table was. Was it our fault that they didn’t take note that we were leaving and hence wasn’t able to tell us to ‘watch our step’ like how they claimed they usually would tell their patrons?
BFF noticed blood on the bag of ice we placed on mum’s head and I decided that we had to take mum to the hospital for a x-ray scan just to be sure especially since she was travelling the next day (and I knew she was really looking forward to it). The restaurant had requested that we fax them a doctor’s report before being able to access if they were able to offer any form of compensation – but seriously, this incident happened due to the restaurant’s negligence! Called for a taxi to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and while on the way, I kept asking mum if she felt giddy or wanted to vomit. I was darn worried, but glad that she wasn’t stuttering of any sort and she could still joke around.
An hour later in the A&E;, we were relieved to hear that mum’s scans showed no fracture on the skull or signs of serous head injury. Praise God! The doctor had also gave the green light for mum to travel (though she had to continue self-monitoring for any further swelling) which was fantastic news to her very worried Joy Luck Club group who was constantly asking me for updates while we were waiting for consultation. Bobo was a sweetheart too, ending his night of celebration with his colleagues early to come see us and calling in between to check if everything was alright.
It was by God’s Grace that mum had hit her head few centimetre short of potentially damaging her ear drums and the back of her head (which may have caused a blackout). Mum was also glad that she had wore the rockport sandals which had a good rubber grip to break her fall instead of heels which may have caused something more serious.
Everything happened so suddenly, but I’m just very thankful and happy that mum’s in good shape now and I pray that it will stay that way.
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