Christ in Life – Christ in Death
by: Jerry Liao
August 28, 2006 (Monday) at exactly 6:50 in the morning, Heaven was rejoicing and was waiting for the grand homecoming of their child – my wife and my angel Eva.
August 26, 2006 (Saturday) – Eva requested that she be allowed to eat some of her favorite food like fish and pizza. She was on a strict diet then – only vegetables and fruits. She told me that for one day only, there would be no food restrictions for her the next day. We told her that we will grant her request that made her so happy.
August 27, 2006 (Sunday) – As early as 8am, I went to market to buy Eva’s fish and pizza ingredients. By 10:00am, we’re already preparing Eva’s lunch, and we’re glad that a friend offered help. We prepared “Sinigang sa Miso – Tuna”. Eva enjoyed her lunch so much that she had two servings. She really missed having regular food. Around 2:30pm, she asked me to give her a bath which I did with the help of my daughter and yaya.
Around 4:00pm, Eva was already asking for her pizza. My daughter prepared an all-vegetable pizza which Eva jokingly said that it was all vegetable still. She enjoyed it and thanked my daughter for making the pizza for her. Around 6:30pm, she asked for the soup again and said she wanted it to be her dinner. Again, she enjoyed it a lot.
7:30pm – Eva asked my daughters to kiss her neck, head and arms, she asked me to kiss her legs. It ended the entire family was kissing her all over and that made her so happy. She was laughing out loud. Then we decided to relate some stories on some of our unforgettable moments together. You can sense that love is overflowing inside our room.
9:00pm – Eva suddenly complained of shortness of breath. I had to rush her to the hospital right away. When I was about to transfer her from her bed to her wheelchair, she slowly positioned her mouth and whispered to my ears “I Love You Daddy”. I told her that I love her too but we need to go to the hospital immediately.
9:30pm – Eva was already at the Emergency Room of St. Luke. She was still having difficulty in breathing. Eva then said “Lord – I Want to Live”. After uttering those words, Eva suffered a cardiac arrest. But it only took the doctors less than five minutes to bring her back to life. When Eva regained her consciousness, she was very lucid and she still knew who we are.
I went outside of the ER and talked to my Lord and Savior. I said “Lord, Thy will be done. If you think it’s time to take your child back, I am returning her back to you. All I ask is for you to give her a peaceful and a comfortable demise”.
3:00am – Eva was transferred to ICU. I can’t bear the site of seeing my angel Eva on a tube with a respirator attached to it. Around 5:00am, her doctors talked to me and said Eva needs to undergo a dialysis since her kidneys already failed. I gave them the go signal. Do everything to save my Angel Eva. During her entire stay at the ICU, her blood pressure was 120/70. One situation where her doctors find it hard to believe since she just came from a cardiac arrest.
My angel Eva saw me outside her room and called me into her room by nodding her head. I went inside and held her hand. I said “I Love You Mommy”, she nodded her head. I then asked her “You Love Daddy?”, she again nodded her head. Then she gave me the most meaningful look of my life, as if she’s saying “I Love You Daddy and Thank you”. Then she closed her eyes and her blood pressure starts dropping until it reaches a flatline.
The doctors came in and tried to revive her for 20 minutes. I told them to stop after another 5 minutes since I can’t bear the site anymore. My angel Eva was so tired am sure and it’s God’s way of giving her rest. She joined our Creator peacefully at exactly 6:50am of August 28, 2006.
I went inside her room, her lifeless body in bed and I whispered to her “I love you Mommy. Thank you for the love that you have given me and for saving my life by introducing the Lord into my life. You will now be in Paradise with our Lord Jesus Christ – a place where there is no pain and no sickness. Until we meet again”. I weeped and cried profusely while I kiss and hug her body. My angel has left me to be with our Creator. She passed away so peacefully with no struggle and no pain.
I am definite that my Angel Eva is with our Lord Jesus Christ – our last two prayers answered right there and then.
Thank you to all our friends, relatives and to the people who prayed, sent their flowers and messages to condole with our family. The outpouring of love somehow eased our burden.
Thank you to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for loving and protecting my angel Eva all the way. There was never a time HE left her. He again proved to all of us that he is a Loving God, a True God, and a Living God. Thank you Lord for giving me my Angel Eva and for giving us the chance to assure each other for one last time – that we love each other. Truly, in sickness and in health – we stood by each other, full of love and care. This we will treasure forever.
To my angel Eva, I love you very much baby. I am sorry if I was not able to show you how much you mean to me like the way you want me to. But I would like to tell you that in our 18 years of marriage, there was never a time I stopped loving you, and I will continue to love you more and more. You have been a perfect wife, a perfect mother, a perfect friend and a perfect spiritual light and partner. Thank you for the love and the memories. I am missing you terribly. Until we meet again.
If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord – Romans 14:8.
