The Rituals of Love

Written by the professor of the pediatric department, on the experience of his own, hospitalization for a major surgery, off of the Newspapers, translated…

When I was thirty-three, I had a major operation. The sound of the ventilators buzzing rhythmically was the sound I’d awaken to out of my comatose, that was, the most, beautiful sound I’d, ever, heard.

I sensed that someone was moving around me, someone coughing in the distance.  Also, I’d heard the pop of a bottle cap, felt thirsty.  I’d, fallen asleep, waken up, the process of becoming completely alert out of the comatose, was, by stages.  A lot of “voices” had, helped me “settle down”, gave me that sense of, comfort.

I seemed to have caught a man in a white coat standing by my bed, focused on reading my records.  I’d tried to speak but no sound came.  The doctor saw my lips moving, tried soothing me, “you are still intubated.  Slowly now, don’t hurry yourself, I will be with you, every step of the way!”

I was still in a daze, a lot of people looked like, shadows, surrounding my ventilator.  Sometimes, they’d, taken me off of the ventilator, placed the oxygen mask on my face, but my lungs were functional, no air was, getting, in.

They’d rhythmically pumped a ball-shaped thing, forced oxygen into the mask on my face, then, placed the tube into my throat……….then, I’d heard the buzzing sound from the ventilators shortly afterwards.

I’d slowly come to, but I couldn’t speak with the tube in my throat.  As the nurse came towards me with another tube, I knew, it was time, to get the phlegm out of my lungs, I’d hurried to write, “do go easy” she’d smiled and lightly, nodded at my, requests.

how he was visited by his, surgeon after he had his surgery, like this…

photo from online

As things started to look better, I was successfully, off my breathing tune.  The doctor told me, “You can now, finally, speak.”, I got transferred out of the I.C.U., but as soon as the anesthesia wore off, my wound started hurting like crazy.  “Do you need more pain killers?”, the nurse asked, “if the meds aren’t strong enough, I can put a little more in”.  her angelic voice settled me a whole lot.

I will forever remember, when I got the feeding tubes in, the hand of the intern that was gentle, as he took my hand in his, how I’d, hurried to grab his hand with my other hand, like how I was, holding on to, dear, life.

One night, I was trapped in the nightmares, started sweating cold sweats, became completely, drenched, I’d not rung the bell, but as the nurse passed by my room she saw me, and came right in, wiped my body off, and changed my sheets, and changed me into a clean gown, this wasn’t her responsibilities.  That was the best night of my, stay.

And, this is the encounters of a physician who himself, was under treatment by surgeons, nurses, and the kindness shown to him was, memorable, and he will, take that to heart, and use the same gentle kindness to treat all of his own, patients that came to see him for treatment too.

As the Troubled Teenager Found Her Bliss, She’d Not Forgotten the Officer Who’d Lent Her a Helping Hand

This, is a story of hope, of inspiration, from the Front Page Sections, translated…

“We’re not related, and yet, he’d shown so much care and concern toward us mother and daughter, how, can we not be moved?”, Wen was once, a truant, a problematic teenager, it’d caused her mother who’d raised her on her own have a ton of heartaches, gladly, they’d met the master people seeker of the police world, Wang, it’d, helped pulled her back, from the deep abyss of debauchery.

At age twenty-five, Wen is already a mother now, she has a wonderful family, yesterday, she took along her family of four, with her mother too, to visit the man who was her savior, the man who’s now, in charge of the police substation in in Tainan; thanked Wang for helping her and her mother, accompanying them through that hardest part of their lives.

Wen recalled, her parents were divorced from when she was very young, she was raised by her grandparents, and after her grandfather passed away when she was in the first year of middle school, she’d then, moved back in with her mother, but, she’d not gotten along with her stepfather, and for the three years in middle school, she’d stayed away from home most of the time, and ran away from school too, she was once, on the missing persons’ list on the Taipei, Taoyuan, and Chiayi police stations.

Once, her mother took a midnight bus to Taipei, to get her back, her mother took her to see the 101, hoped that it could, calm her down,  but she’d gone to the restrooms, and, ran off again; “in order to keep me out of the juvenile detention halls, my mother begged on her knees, to the man in charge, for me, to keep schooling in the school for middle school dropouts…”, but, she’d still, ran away from school again.

Wen’s mom also said, that back then, she’d, escaped from home a lot, and she was still, caring for her two younger kids, and also, working hard, to make the money, she’d become spent, and had once contemplated suicide, but, didn’t want to kill her own children, and so, she’d asked Wang for help.   But, Wang had, kept following up with the family, showed cares and concerns for Wen constantly, and encouraged her to keep going.

Wen said, that once as she’d skipped home and stayed at a friend’s, in the middle of the nights, her kidneys became inflamed, her condition was critical, her mother, as she’d gotten the call, was scared half to death, but, no relatives or friends offered to help them out, and, Officer Wang came, and worked hard, to calm her mother down, telling her, that everything will be okay, and told her, “Your mother didn’t give up on you yet, you shouldn’t give up on yourself either.”, this heartfelt care and concern, it’d, waken her up completely.

Wang said, a little over a decade ago, he’d gone to the hospital to visit this mother and daughter with his wife, he saw that Wen’s mother sold duck soup, with one of her siblings on her back, and the other, in a crib close by, it was, really hard, and she’d often, worried about Wen who was behaving badly, and the love of the mother made his wife empathize, and so, that, was why he’d shown an especial care and concern for the family.  Four years ago, they’d received the wedding notice from Wen, the couple was really glad, and had even gone to her wedding together too.

And so, it’s with this officer’s constant love, care and concerns, that’s finally helped this young woman realized, that she needed to change herself for the better, and, that, is what we’re in need of in this world, people like this police officer and his wife, someone who is showing, care and concern for the people around them.

 

 

 

 

A Ring Around My Heart

The BEST present, mementos, translated…

Back when I came up to Taipei, it’d only taken me two days, to find a job at a kindergarten, but, only for half a day, NOT enough to pay the rents.  And so, I’d worked the graveyard shift at a electronic company, on the production line, there were ten of us, they’re all older ladies, with children, already wed, and they’re there, working the graveyard, to pass their time.

I clumsily stepped on the machines, the disc on top split in half, it broke.  They were all too patient, in teaching me how it’s done, giving me consoles, feared that I’d get yelled at by the boss, they’d taken some of the shattered discs too.  Before clocking out, they’d told me to leave quickly, that if I didn’t catch that very FIRST bus to kindergarten, I’d be late, and get it deducted, from my paycheck, and, all the materials, left, scattered around my work table, they’d helped me clean up, and did inventories on.

A few months later, waited until there was a full-time opening at the kindergarten, I’d quit the graveyard shift.  The group of ladies I worked with put up $100N.T. each, and bought me a ring for me to remember them by.

Seeing the ring now, I’d recalled those days, of how I’d quickly taken my forty-minute naps, and they’d secretly helped me catch up on my work, just like my own mother would, fearing that I’m too tired, I’m too hungry, and would often bring me small snacks.  Their love, had managed to keep me, someone who’s away from home, warm, through the seasons.

Later, I’d gained some weight, so the ring no longer fitted on my fingers, and so, I put it on my heart instead.

And so, this, is still kindness, from a group of older woman, to this younger woman, and their kindness managed to keep her warm, through the cold seasons in her life.

The Compassion of a Maketplace Goer

Some kindness, please!!!  I DID say “please”!!!  Translated…

The chubby aunt I met up with at the marketplace, she’d carried a strip of paper, as she mumbled to herself, and had written on it constantly, and write down the prices too.  Her shopping cart was about to overflow, and still, she seemed to have forgotten to get something.

The chubby lady’s two daughters are both already married, her husband works as a cab driver, and would eat out during the day, there were just the two of them, and yet, she’d shopped until her carts are full.  I was curious, so, I’d asked her, “Will your husband check the books?”

The chubby lady grinned from ear to ear, “It’s NOT possible!”, she said, that the things she’d picked up are not necessarily all hers, most are from the shopping list given to her by her neighbors.  Her neighbor’s eldest child had finally gotten married, but, just a few days before the wedding, she’d had a stroke, not knowing if it was the excitement from her marriage, or the work.  The fiancée stayed true to her, still married her on schedule, but, the bride’s moods are not yet stabilized, and so, she didn’t want to show herself, and asked the chubby aunt to shop for her house too.

At the checkout counter, the neighbors would pay the chubby lady a bill, and told her to keep the change, but she’d insisted that “everything should be paid”, because it was just neighbors, helping each other out.  And the neighbor lady knew that the chubby lady couldn’t say no to delicacies, and would make cookies, and buns for her to taste, and, the chubby had NO choice, but to accept her kindness.

A trip to the marketplace, shopping for the two families, and, she’d sweated it all out, the results is comparable to going to the gyms, but the chubby aunt’s body got more and more round!

And why do you think this is?  Because the lady didn’t have as much worries, because everybody is looking out for her, and that, is still how a little empathy can go a very long way…