Reuels Autobiography

This story will be about how God brought me through my past experiences and
made me who I am today. By writing this autobiography, I hope to encourage you of what
God can do for you. I will begin my story by describing my roots and how my ancestors
came from India (and Sri Lanka) to where I was born and grew up, Malaysia.
My paternal grandfather, Balasingam Gnanaraj, came to Malaysia with his parents,
Abraham and Devakirubai(which means Gods grace), when he was just a newborn baby
from Tirunelveli, India. My paternal grandmother, Thanaletchumy, was born in Malaysia.
Her parents, Ayanadian and Gomathy, had previously migrated from Kailasapuram in
India. Ayanadians father, Muthiah, had been tricked by his mistress into signing off all his
property to her and chased him off. From very rich he became very poor. Ayanadian later
got married and moved to Sentul in Malaysia to work as a labourer in the railways. My
paternal grandfather, who later worked at the railways, married Ayanadians daughter,
Thanaletchumy, who was his distant cousin. They had two sons and two daughters. Their
second child is my father, Andrew.
My maternal grandfathers parents, Paulraj and Lily, came from South India and Sri
Lanka respectively. They had one son, Alfred, my grandfather. My maternal grandmothers
family have been Malaysia for a longer time. Her paternal grandfather, William
Amarasuriya, came from Sri Lanka. Her maternal grandfather, Fred David, a pastor and
headmaster, was from Kerala. William got married Maniamal, who was from India. She
later gave birth to Charles, my great-grandfather. Fred married Edith Hemingway, an
Indian orphan adopted by and English lady. Edith was from Singapore, a part of the
country formerly known as Malaya. Ediths daughter, Mabel, who is still alive today, got
married to Charles at the age of 16. My grandmother, Susheela, was born to Mabel who
was 19 at that time. Susheela and Alfreds marriage was a match-make by a mutual
friend of their parents. They had 2 sons and 2 daughters. Their oldest child, Karen, is my
mother.
My father grew up in Kuala Lumpur, and my mother, in Butterworth. My father
moved to Penang after studying in University Sains Malaysia. He married my mother in
1999 and settled down in close to his workplace, USM, where he had studied. They lived
at Jade View Condominium. I was born the next year.
In the evening of the 17th of October, 2000, the best thing that ever happened to
me, happened. I was born. I was born at 5:45 PM at the Seberang Jaya Hospital, weighing
3.92 kg. My name, Reuel, meaning friend of God, is from the Bible. It was the name of
Moses father-in-law, who was also known as Jethro.
During the first nine months after I was born, I woke up every 45 minutes and cried.
My parents hardly could even sleep at that time. My father stopped it one day by ignoring
me for 45 minutes. Due to this, I began to talk. I could even carry out a conversation with
my parents, even though I sometimes used my own words. Two months later, I started
walking.

I celebrated my first birthday twice. First was at my grandfathers, Alfreds, house in

Butterworth. We then celebrated my birthday again. This time at my great-grandmothers,
Mabels, house in Ipoh, Perak.
Four months later, on the 19th of February, 2002, my brother, Asher, was born. That
same year, we moved to Parkview Towers. My brother and I grew up watching Barney the
Dinosaur. Our parents later even took us to a live Barney show. Asher couldnt talk
even until the age of 3 and I translated his blabbering into English for my parents. So,
he started kindergarten at Smart Land where he started learning how to talk. I started
kindergarten at the same time - when I was 5. One year later, we changed kindergarten
to Bayan Baru Methodist Kindergarten.
In 2006, my mother told us that she was pregnant and going to have a baby. I really
wanted a baby sister. So, every night I prayed that the baby would be a girl. However,
after sometime, I started praying for a baby brother instead. The baby, born on the 10th of
August, 2006, was a boy! When my parents told me so, I was very disappointed and
started crying. My parents asked me why I wa scrying even when my prayers were
answered. I told them that I had started praying that I would have a brother because I was
very naughty. I thought God wouldnt answer my prayers, and give me a sister instead.
Now, I know for sure that God answers our prayers.
I started primary school at Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Gambir in 2007. I had many
friends and the class had around 30 students. Each standard (grade) had 3 classes. I was
in the 2nd class during my first year. However, I moved to the top class and stayed there
for the remaining 5 years. I started wearing glasses when I was around 8 years old. I was
one of the top students in whatever class I was in. I never studied hard before exams nor
went to tuition, but God blessed me with good grades.
Around the 14th of July, 2008, we were in Ipoh on the way to Kuala Lumpur to get
our visas done for our trip to Australia. It was there that my mother noticed a swelling on
my tummy. The next day, I was taken to Dr, Jose Isaacs clinic. He examined me and found
out I had an enlarged liver. After a few tests,
Dr. Jose suspected that I had leukemia and sent me to Hospital Tuanku Bainun in Ipoh. On
the 17th, I was taken by ambulance to Penang Government Hospital.
After a bone marrow test, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or
ALL, on the 18th of July, 2008. The 19th was the most important day in my life. It was the
day I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour! My father led me to say the Sinners
Prayer. I became a new creation.
For three weeks, I was treated with chemotherapy and medication. My father stayed
with me in the hospital most of the time, while my mother made regular trips to the
hosputal to bring me food or temporarily replace my father. For some time during my stay
in the hospital, my legs became so swollen that I could hardly stand, much less walk, but I
soon became able to walk again. During my stay in the hospital, and also later, many
people visited me; church members, friends, relatives, and even some of my teachers.
They brought gifts, gave me cards, and even prayed for me to get well soon. I passed
time in the hospital by reading books and folding origami. Sometimes, my father told me
stories about his childhood.

Sometime after I was discharged, my maternal grandparents moved in with us,

helping to ease my pernts burden. Later, I was baptised and had a big birthday
celebration, both on the 18th of October. I regularly visited the hospital for further
chemotherapy until the end of February, 2009. I continued primary school on March, 2009
and, by Gods grace, remained one of the top ten in my class. However, I was still on
medication and visited the hospital once every month for treatments and check-ups. On
January, 2010, we moved to Ideal Regency where we currently stay. I stopped medication
completely a year later on March, 2011. That year, I was able to join many school
activities, including a robotics competition, a recorder ensemble competition, and a storytelling competiton(which I completely failed).
On the 31st of January, 2012, I went to the hospital for one of my monthly checkups. I complained of blurring of vision in my right eye and headache which had been
happening for the past month. On the 2nd of February, after a few tests, they confirmed
that I had a relapse. I underwent 10 rounds of chemotherapy to kill off as many cancer
cells as possible. In each round, I was admitted for 8-10 days every 21 days. The 10th
round ended in August.
On the 8th of October, I was admitted to Hospital Kuala Lumpur for a stem cell
transplant. I underwent three days of chemotherapy and radiotherapy each, in order to
kill all my own stem cells. I stayed with my mother in a single room wad with an attached
bathroom, a television, and a centralized air-cond. The air-cond was set to 11C. On the
16th of October, 2012, the day before I turned 12, I underwent the stem cell transplant.
The stem cells were donated by Asher and he had to go through immense pain for 45
minutes. The next day, my mother presented me with the first cellphone and only
smartphone I ever had! She and my father had bought it for my 12th birthday!
4 weeks later, on the 9th of November, I was well enough to return to Penang. And
so, I was finally discharged and returned home. Later, I still went to the hospital in Penang
for check-ups almost every week. The check-ups gradually became less and less
frequent. However, since then, I have had many wonderful experiences which I never
imagined I would. By the time I started piano lessons in March, 2013, my check-ups had
reduced to twice a month.
The next year, 2014, many of the wonderful experiences happened. First of all, I
started schooling in Kings Academy, where I now have many friends. I also started
attending Christian youth meetings and went for my first youth camp. Chapel, which is
held three times a week in Kings Academy, has helped me grow in Jesus. Through church
and my school, I have learnt so much about Jesus love for me.
Through it all, I can see that Jesus has been with me; protecting me, caring for me,
and loving me. I believe all this is to prepare me for my future. There is so much more I
could write, but I will end with this: No matter what your situation is, there is always a
Hope which you can hold on to.
(As of 27 April 2016)