Friday night / Saturday Morning Larra's brother Ramli drove her up North to Kedah. As well as Ramli and his wife there was their youngest daughter who starts another culinary course in Penang on Monday. It was a full car, because also with them for the weekend were Aiman and Putra, Ramli's 2 young grandsons whom you may have seen in Larra's blog entry and photos on Johor. The journey was quick, over 4 hours, but nowhere near the 13 hours that it took when they last went up during daytime for a bank holiday last january.
Larra rang me when she arrived, 6:20 AM at her own house on Kulim, and was tired, she had a quick chat with me before praying and going to bed.
The plan for Saturday was to rise as early as they could, consideing their late retirment, and drive the hour or so it takes to Bikan to see how their Sister Zainab is coping and if Zainab's husband has made any more recovery.
Zainab's husband is in his 70's and had a stroke 2 weeks ago. Initially he was paralysed down his whole right side. They either shunned (or were unable to be accomodated in a hospital) and Zainab herself is largely caring for him using traditional Jungle therapies, medicines and poultices and massage. The latest news Larra had was halfway through last week, he was recovering slightly and slowly managing to master speech again, and some limited walking.
Bikan is not exactly remote, but it is not in the hub of telecommunications, and Zainab's homestead has no telephone. Communication with other family members is not easy unless one of the relatives from Kulim pays a visit and can pass information out along Larra's family grapevine.
I expect to hear from Larra when she wakes in a few hours time, I hope more progress has been made in his recovery.
I also hope that Aiman and Putra have had a chance to make friends with Little Farra! Larra and I expect them to fantastic cousin - ly friends because all 3 of them are so outgoing and full of beans and energy all the time. It shoud be good for Aiman and Putra because they spend so much time with their grandparents and see relatively few children. It should be even better for Farra, living with her Grandmother (Zainab) on a Homestead well outside Bikan village (and too young for any Nursery or School) she sees even fewer children.
I hope that Larra has time to take photos of the children together, but she may be too busy helping Zainab. Zainab not only has to be Nurse and Doctor for her husband, Mother to her Granddaughter, fetch supplies from the village, run the family home, meals and laundry, but she has the homestead to run : Tapping Rubber Trees, Gathering Fruit, Feeding the Chickens and other animals, and all the other chores - like feeding the fish in the pond, chasing monkeys away, gathering wood, the list goes on and on!
Any way that is all for this update, standing by and hoping for good news, Herb PPS to Larra.
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