Doctor - a zigzag journey

Part 6 - Growing up in a rural town: The "seeds" (continue)

Background: 1974 - 1979 (Age 7 - 12 years)

At dawn, the jar with fireflies came to my vision. My first thought was that "if I were a firefly, I wouldn't like to be captured." I decided to release the fireflies because they belong to nature and they deserve an opportunity to explore the world.

The daily routine went on. Many months passed.

One day, I was quite nervous awaiting my academic examination results at school. My academic performance had been above average so far. Mr. Mah, my teacher, called my name. I saw a smile on his face this time. I scored 100% in Science and Mathematics! I was elated by my performance!  When the final bell rang, I rushed back home to tell Ah Ba and Ah Ma my 100% scores! To my surprise, I crossed the coconut-tree-bridge in the fastest pace I had ever achieved. Oh, that could be like "qing gong" (martial art), I imagined.

Stepping into my house, I noticed that Aunty Guan was chatting with Ah Ma. They were good friends. Aunty Guan was a very well educated woman and she always gave us good advice.

"Ah Ma, I scored 100%!" I raised my voice to announce the news with an intention that Aunty Guan would notice too. My intention was to share the good news with them instead of being proud of myself. Ah Ma smiled. I noticed a trace of happiness reflected on her face which was exhausted with endless works and stresses.

"You are such a smart boy. If you keep up your good works, you may work as a professional like a doctor in the future," Aunty Guan acclaimed and advised.

In those days, many parents would like their kids to become professionals such as doctors. I realized the power of reassurance, encouragement, and positive reinforcement! The advice sowed the first seed in my head that I could become a doctor one day. I realised that I had the potential to excel.

Everything seemed so good on that afternoon. I even felt the baskets filled with "kuih" that I was going to sell were lighter than usual. I was in a frenzy of exaltation.

On that evening, I was a bit playful. I jumped around.

"Aiya!" I yelped as I felt from a bed and hit my head on the floor with a loud bang. Blood was oozing out from my forehead around my left eyebrow. Ah Ma rushed to me and quickly placed a towel on my forehead. Blood dripped into my left eye. The pain was sharp and intense, and it was felt by Ah Ma too as reflected on her face which I could see in my right eye for a few seconds only because both of my eyes were filled with tears induced by the great love.

We were panicked! We rushed to the doctor in town. That could be my first visit to a doctor that I could remember (besides the medical visits while I was a baby and had no recollection about). The doctor wore a white shirt, black pant, and spectacles with black squarish plastic frame and thick lenses (the thickness of the lenses seemed to reflect his wisdom). He examined my forehead and eyes carefully and gently. I felt that I could trust my life to him. He sutured my laceration with a total of seven stitches and provided me analgesics. He left an image of a hero to me because he helped me when I was in trouble. This sowed another seed in my head about being a doctor.

The trip to the doctor caused an unexpected expense to my family. We could not afford to top up the rice which was running low. We needed to sell more "kuih" to make up for it. I felt bad for the incident. But Ah Ma had not scolded me for it. This made me feel guilty and realized how great she was. The healed surgical scar on my left eyebrow always reminds me of the great love.

The next day, Aunty Guan would be returning to her home town. Ah Ma sought advice from Aunty Guan about Ah Ba who suffered from a chronic stomachache and unintentional weight loss. The amount of antacids that Ah Ba took over the years was reflected in the large number of antacids containers that I could use to build many three-storey toy-houses. Aunty Guan suggested a specialist - Doctor Hor. We knew that it would cost a lot of money but it was definitely necessary to earn some extra money so that Ah Ba could see the specialist. Besides selling "kuih", Ah Ma found other jobs - house cleaning and washing clothes for other people. My sisters helped with clothes washing; house cleaning was a family event in which all siblings helped.

With a little rice left, we could only afford porridge on that day because porridge could feed more people. We ate porridge with salty eggs and vegetables. Ah Ma always preferred to eat last. We understood that was because she wanted to make sure that we were fed before she ate. We left a bowl of porridge for her. Ah Ma invited Aunty Guan to have a meal with us as a gesture of appreciation for her advice. Ah Ma knew that it was the last bowl of porridge, but she told Aunty Guan that she had eaten so that Aunty Guan would accept the invitation. Aunty Guan accepted the invitation appreciatively. We found that Ah Ma filled her empty stomach with biscuits after Aunty Guan had left! Tears filled our eyes.

***

A notable quote:

Debby Boone: "Dreams are the seeds of change. Nothing ever grows without a seed, and nothing ever changes without a dream."

Reference: brainyquote website