A real life testimony of how one witnessed the deaths of both parents before the age of 21, but instead of giving in to anorexia and depression, she rose up to be who she is today. In an article published in the November issue of Cleo magazine, Lim Jer Blinn, or Jerb, as she is affectionately known to most of us shared about how she coped with the loss of her parents and also having to grow up quicker than her peers in order to fill the very huge shoes that were left behind.

1998 was probably one of the worse, if not, the worst year that Jerb had to go through. It was the year whereby she was sitting for a major examination and having to watch her father go in and out of hospital before succumbing to lymphoma, made it worse. The passing on of her father took away more than just a physical presence, but it caused Jerb to develop depression as well. What makes matters worse was that two years later, her mother who was the sole breadwinner of the house passed away suddenly. Being the eldest of four siblings, Jerb had to quickly put aside her own emotions and together with her younger sister, they took over the running of the household.

Besides having to take care of her siblings, Jerb had to look after her ailing grandmother as well. They had to take turns to accompany her for her dialysis sessions, adding to the fact that she couldn’t be left alone as she was suffering from dementia. All these were done while they were still in school.

Through all these, Jerb was never once bitter but instead, she said, “I’m also in a better position to counsel my friends as I can genuinely empathize with them, and not just offer token words of advice or comfort.” We are often put through trials and tribulations, not because we deserve it, but because it’s through all these that we learn how to really have compassion of people as we ourselves went through it before.