About
two weeks ago, my cousin’s flight from Honolulu to Guam made an emergency
landing at Midway atoll somewhere in the Pacific. Passenger accounts from online sources said
there was a burning odor and that at one point during the flight, they felt a
40-foot drop. My cousin said that they
thought they’re gonna go for water landing because they couldn’t see anything
but water. They stayed in that island
for a few hours before they were ferried to Guam by a replacement
aircraft. And when I saw the photos of
the place, I realized that it was such a close call.
And
then last Thursday, there was the MH flight.
We were in the airport, sending my sister off to Sydney, when I saw the
news on FB. At first I thought it was a hoax, but when I saw that it was from
Reuters, I thought it may be credible.
And when I reached home at half past one in the morning, there were more
news about it online. It was an
unbelievable incident. Two MH flights in
four months. And this was due to a missile.
Crazy.
A
few days later, there was the TransAsia flight in Taiwan. 50+ people dead.
And
just yesterday, the AirAlgerie flight. 100+ people dead.
Going
back to a few days ago, I heard that my former colleague’s son is sick. He has bone cancer. It was one of those news that breaks your
heart. He is just 10.
And
yesterday morning, I learned that another colleague is having a crisis. Her husband needs kidney transplant and they
need to raise funds.
This
afternoon, I was chatting with my friend.
She divulged that she had a bike accident two weeks ago. She was cycling with her husband when she
lost control, flew from her bike and lost consciousness. The next thing she knew was when she was
already in the ER. She had a splint on her mouth, cut her lips, chipped her
teeth and her whole face was swollen.
She couldn’t go to the toilet on her own and had to rely on her husband
for bed bathing. She was just thankful
that the accident didn’t incur damage to her bones or spine.
Life's surprises remind us that we are not in total control.
