ESL Blogs

Dear EC Members,

Though Noora is no longer a member of MyEC, I am sure many of you still remember her and her blogs. A little update I received today from her sister; 23 September 2013, Noora will be undergoing a lung transplant. I don't know the details and where she's going to have the transplant in Indonesia or Singapore. Her sister asked that all of you to pray for her. Therefore, just keep your prayers for our little sister Noora, and may she stay strong.

Thank you.

Noas (23.09.2013 - 17:23 Malaysian's time)

A little up-date at at 4.20 pm (Malaysian time), August 2, 2013, Noora is no longer in ICU. Her sister wants me to share the good news with everyone in here. 

Dear All,

As you may have known, Noora as she is known now is still in coma. Her real aunt, aptly named Anty, had been asked by Noora to relay her message before she collapsed. You may read Noora's message through her aunt in this blog.

This news caught everyone by surprised, especially me. A day before she collapsed, she was chatting to me. She told me that she was not feeling well, and a doctor had drawn her blood for further analysis. It was suspected that the was reacting badly to an allergy. 

I asked her to take a tea spoonful of honey for her cough. Looking back, I thought how flippant I sounded. I am sorry Noora, I do not mean to sound so flippant, but because I am used to having intermittent coughing, my solution to it is honey; especially wild honey.

This news made me look back at this virtual friendship. Even though I am "close" to a few of members in here such as Mickey, Grapie, WMW, Sima, Asm@, Asmaa and others, my only contact with them is through EC. I do not have their e-mail addresses, or telephone numbers. Except for Grapie, I do not have their Facebook account either.

I was talking to a member last night, and he was asking about another member, from Egypt, and remarked that it has been quite sometimes since both of us meet this member in EC. And with the current turbulent situation in Egypt, both of us wondering about the status of our mutual friend.

Am I taking this virtual friendship too lightly that I never ask members about other details of their life? Am I was not curious enough to know their details? Once I told Noora that I do not ask members about their age nor how do they look like, and she told me that I was different.

I admitted that I am curious about each and everyone of EC Members that I am chatting with, but I respect the boundary of "virtual friendship". I will not ask for information that members are not willing to share with me in the first place. But when things like this happen, when members did not enter EC for a long time, and make me wondering what is going on, I wish I have other means to be in contact with my virtual friends.

So, where do virtual friendship becomes real? And how do the boundary of this so called virtual friendship become less clear when we heard news and we are grabbing with some tiny information and no where to know further?

To my friend and my EC little grand daughter Noora, get well soon. My prayers, and all EC Members' prayers are with you.