Time For a Foot Massage

My therapist asked where I’m from. “Ipoh.” He was relieved I could speak Malay. Once he started working on my left foot, I thought to myself, “Fifty-eight Ringgit, …..that’s about fifteen dollars, for one hour of this level of expertise and pressure, score!” Very quickly, he said my kidneys are not too healthy. Years ago, I did have to go to the ER because of a kidney failure. I nodded. As he moved to another spot, he said I have some issues with my eyes. Just eleven days ago, my friend commented about my eyes looking unhealthy and I told her the problem I’ve been having with my right eye.” Is this Pakcik (Uncle in Malay) an expert in reflexology, or is he just a charlatan? Then, he asked, “Ada anak?” Whaaat? Something about me he couldn’t tell from my feet?! No, no children.

Three Indian Men Walk In

About 10 minutes later, three older Indian men walked in. One of them sat down immediately and said it was a good idea to come in and rest. Another one said “Yes, yes. Relak, relak.” “Relak” is the fun way of saying “relax” in Malay. My therapist called for three therapists to come over ASAP. The Relak Uncle conversed with my therapist in fluent Malay as my therapist prepared three basins of warm water for them to soak their feet.

Relak Uncle sat to my right, so I moved my bag from between our chairs to give him more room. “Mei guan xi! Mei guan xi!” I moved it even though he said it was no problem. He proceeded to speak to me in fluent Mandarin. All I can remember is he’s from the state of Johor because I was too busy thinking how I like this man. He is commanding in stature, charismatic, multi-lingual and really cool.

She Doesn’t Want To Be Here

About five minutes later, two Chinese therapists arrived on a motorbike (moped). The female went to work on the man seated furthest away (I’ll call him Sunglasses Uncle) and the male therapist worked on the one who said it was a good idea to come in and rest. I told Relak Uncle in English, “They waste no time getting to work!” He said something back and I thought, “This Uncle is so cool.” A few minutes later, a female therapist arrived. She started telling the other two in Mandarin about how she was roped into this assignment and asked them how long the appointment was for. They told her one hour. She told them that she really wasn’t in the mood to work that long and would rather not do this.

Life is Fragile

He asked where I’m from. I said Ipoh, but clarified that I’ve lived in the U.S. for about 22 years. He asked if I’ll be returning to the States after Malacca. I said we’ll be spending some time to see as much of the world as possible. I feel a little less guilty about this crazy plan of ours whenever a senior citizen approves of it. He said, “Yes, it’s better to do the traveling when you are young and have the opportunity.” I told him I personally know and have heard of many people, young and old, who have passed away shortly after being diagnosed with a terminal disease with most of their dreams unfulfilled. He agrees that life is fragile.

“Wake up, Ganesh!”

His friend who said it was a good idea to come in and rest suddenly stood up and said he needed some air. He took a few steps and had to steady himself on a rattan chair and plopped into it. He was really sweaty and said he felt cold. Sunglasses Uncle passed over a bottle of water for him. He was struggling to loosen his belt. Sunglasses Uncle got up to help him unbuckle and unzip, but that did not help. All three of their therapists went outside. Relak Uncle got up, fished three fifty-Ringgit bills from his wallet and gave them to Pak Cik. He then sprung over to try and slap his friend back into consciousness. “Ganesh! Ganesh! Can you hear us?! Wake up, Ganesh!” Ganesh’s eyes were rolling back.

Call 999

I told Pakcik to call 999. It’s better for him to call because he would be able to give a better description of where the ambulance is needed. I was very scared. Ganesh was unresponsive. I called Kenric to see what else could be done, he said we should keep him comfortable until the ambulance arrives. The two Uncles asked the Chinese male therapist to come in and help lay Ganesh on the floor. They think that would help get some blood back to his head. I put my cushion under his feet. The two Uncles continued to massage Ganesh’s head, feet and neck, and kept talking to him. Mei-Shi found a bottle of Medicated Oil (Minyak Angin / 风油) and told them to let Ganesh sniff it because it would help with the dizziness.

Pakcik came in and told them the ambulance will be on its way. He was talking to the police who will relay the message to the ambulance team. By now, Ganesh was beginning to respond and he was telling his friends that an ambulance was not necessary. Pakcik asked me if we should continue my massage. I said we should just wait. He was glad to hear that and confirmed that it was OK with “my husband” since I told him to come back at 7:00 pm.

Ambulance On The Way

Of the three Chinese therapists, it was Mei-Shi who showed genuine concern. When Ganesh first said he was feeling faint, she told Ganesh’s therapist where to put pressure on the hand to help with the fainting. The therapist didn’t take her suggestion. Now, she’s telling Relak Uncle that an ambulance is on its way, and that it’s better to let Ganesh lay still and not move him too much, and let the ambulance people bring him in for examination. The other two therapists had left without saying anything. She told Relak Uncle twice that she would be taking off and that they really should let the ambulance people take Ganesh in for an examination.

I was crushed

Kenric arrived; said he saw the ambulance passing him as he was walking down the street. Pakcik came back about twenty minutes later and said he made sure Relak Uncle was in a cab before coming back. Pakcik’s name is Khamis; that’s Malay for Thursday. Khamis is so skilled I wish I could see him every day, but Tuesday at 4:00 pm is probably the last time I will ever see him. We leave Wednesday.

I’m pretty sure Ganesh will survive tonight’s episode. I hope all three friends do not have any achievable dreams that they’ve been putting off. I hope you don’t either.