Many years later, in her 20s, Mariam endured the pain for a second time when her beloved eldest sister was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“She was 10 years older than me, and after my mother died, she quit her studies to take care of me and my siblings, and work. She was my idol,” said Mariam, tears welling in her eyes.
“When she was ill, I took care of her, bathed her, gave her medication and did her wound dressing. As the tumour grows, when you remove the dressing, blood will shoot out,” she added.
After a two-year battle, the cancer spread to her sister’s brain, and she died, said Mariam, tears now streaming down her face.
For a moment, Mariam could not speak. “That was why I initially rejected being in this team. I was scared I’d be emotional thinking of this,” she said.
“It is also why I want to care for end-of-life patients now,” she added, after another pause.
“Life is very fragile and unpredictable,” she said. Perhaps, the best way to avoid regrets is to live to the fullest and appreciate the little moments, she reflected.
“We’re going to die one day, right? Instead of avoiding it, we should just embrace it like the whiskey uncle and kebaya aunty.”