Family In Kedah Spent Father's Day Handling Their Parents' Cremations

Father’s Day was yesterday, 20th June. Most people would have spent it with their dads, some may have reminisced about their dads. However, not everyone was as fortunate to do so.

A family in Kedah spent Father’s Day handling their parents’ funerals. Their parents, aged 60 and 45 years old respectively passed away on 11th and 16th June due to Covid-19.

60-year-old Lin Zhenwei (林振威) and his Thai wife 45-year-old Quintana (金塔纳) were part of the Sungai Petani cluster that lost their lives due to Covid-19. According to their daughters, Lin Yufen (林钰茴, 37) and Lin Yiqua (林佾葹, 34), they had received news of their parents passing during the week. Along with having to come to terms with their late parents, they are also supporting their youngest brother, 15-year-old Lin Jiaqing (林家庆). “(Our) father paid (close) attention to preventing the epidemic and cherished his life,” they explained. “When he learned (our) mother had been diagnosed, he isolated himself and ensured (our) brother who was living with him was protected, but they left forever.”

The siblings stated their father had been the one who took their mom to the hospital for tests and treatment. This confused them as they thought an ambulance would be picking her up instead. Although their mother had been diagnosed, their father apparently had tested negative for Covid. However, on 5th June, he was admitted to the hospital when he had difficulty breathing. It was discovered then that he had contracted the virus. He was intubated on 9th June but passed on 11th June. “It was only a few days from (his) admission to death,” the siblings said. “The virus was very aggressive, it caught us off guard.”

The two ladies are married and were staying in Muar, Johor while their father had undergone self isolation. It pained them to be living so far away as they could not do much. They had been the ones to call an ambulance after discovering their father had difficulty breathing. “We didn’t sleep well (after that),” they admitted. “We were afraid we would miss the doctor’s call.”

The sisters are still mourning and recalling their father’s last moments is still too soon. Per procedure, their father was allowed one phone call before the intubation. The sisters told their father to “stay strong and pray“. However, their father couldn’t breathe well enough to say much. “He only said “yes” and the signal wasn’t good,” they shared. “He ended the call after a few minutes without having time to leave any last words.”

After their father’s passing, the two rushed back to Sungai Petani to give their father a proper burial. The three siblings were forced to watch his cremation from a far. At that time, their mother was still fighting for her life in the hospital. They returned to Muar after the burial, but soon after received the news about their mother. They repeated the process for their mother, with even heavier hearts.

The two sisters acknowledged how fast the Coronavirus stole their parents from them. One of them shared that their father’s house was still stocked with masks and disinfectants in hopes of keeping the disease away. “(Our father) paid a lot of attention to ways of preventing the epidemic,” she said. “When he met the neighbours, he reminded them as well.” Alongside the lungs, the two sisters shared that their parents’ livers and kidneys had also been damaged by the virus. “Many people have no sense of the daily diagnostics data,” they stated. “It is inconceivable how terrifying the virus is. (We) hope everyone will not treat the epidemic with a careless mindset.”

Their father may not have left them his final words, but they can guess his wishes. According to the sisters, he was always worried about their still-schooling brother. “We will bring (our brother) to Muar to live with us, so (our father) will not worry,” they stated.

The sisters miss their father a lot and shared their memories of him. “Dad is our pillar and loved us very much,” they stated. “He smiled the brightest when we graduated with our master’s degree. Although these have become memories, they are the best time hidden in (our hearts).”