Autobiography (Part I) - The Beginning of a New Life

I wouldn't know if you will find this autobiography of myself boring, but I'd like to share. You will see in the end, as the saying goes, that life isn't a bed of roses, but neither would anybody expect it to sometimes be a bed of thorns. A bed of roses with thorns would bring maturity to people, but a bed of thorns is what people have to sometimes experience.

After waiting for about seven years, a new life was born in the year 1988 (I could only assume that my parents were happily married in around 1980 or 1981 at the latest), on the 8th day of the fourth month of the Gregorian calendar, or the 22nd day of the second month of the lunar calendar. Initially, this baby was scheduled to be born in May, so what had caused the delivery to be a month earlier?

An ultrasonic scan done by one of Ipoh's top gynaecologists revealed that at eight months, the position of the foetus was incorrect (perhaps a reverse baby), prompting the doctor to do some manual adjustments. The risks of doing so was well informed to the mother, who consented to the adjustment. As expected, the amnionac sac broke, and the mother had to undergo days of fluid transfusion to replace the lost fluid from the womb.

Another fact was revealed soon. Not only was the baby in a reversed position, but a normal delivery wouldn't be possible because the placenta was below the neck of the foetus; a normal delivery could suffocate the baby. The verdict was done - a Caesarean delivery was necessary. And on the glorious 8th of April 1988, a new life was born. And he was given the name Yew Guo Zheng.

Weighing about 3.75 kg, the doctor noted that I was an inch longer than almost all babies who were delivered maturely. As such, the doctor predicted that this individual would grow to be a very tall person.

Being the married couple's first and only (not knowing that he is also their last) child, they showered him with love and care. Taking care of this baby was not much of a trouble, for he wasn't one who cried a lot; even if he did, it would be soft at first, before getting louder due to mere impatience. In order to take care of this new member of the family, the mother had decided to quit her beauty salon business, while the father continued to work for the family. Back then, we lived in a rented house in Taman Falam Bintang, a small housing area in Kampung Simee.

It wasn't long before my family decided to move into their very own new home in Taman Sri Kurau, a bigger residential area off the village of Bercham. Well, whether was it a new or old home didn't matter to the new member of the family. What mattered most that he was able to experience the utmost love of the family.

Initially, the plan was to include another member of the family to live with us - my paternal grandfather. I was about a year old already, but still unable to walk (some male babies were already able to walk at the age of ten, which seems to me a bit far-fetched, or eleven months old, which is more probable), and my grandfather was still in The Netherlands enjoying his tour with his sons and daughters who had migrated there for a long time already. During his tour, it was unfortunate that he caught pneumonia and passed away there before he could even step his feet into our new house. His body was flown back to Malaysia where he was buried in Kampung Tawas. The day when he was buried seemed to be quite a memorable moment, for while my late grandfather took his first step to heaven, I had then taken my first step on my own feet. Immediately after returning from the burial ceremony, the miracle happened. I stood on my own feet, as I had always been doing (I had almost never crawled on the floor; I enjoyed standing and walking about with my hands supporting myself on a rail, or running about seated in a baby "wheel-chair"), and unhesitatingly took my first few steps. My parents were stunned for a while, only to laugh when I dropped on my fours after a few steps.

Life for this young individual may seem to be like a bed of roses, but unknown to him, challenges and trials were lurking just right in the corner.

To be continued...