 Birthday celebration is always an exciting event in this culture. Many years ago, I attended one of my American student's 50th birhday party and met a couple of dozens of people. It was new but interesting for me to learn that people in America DO think birthday celebration a BIG deal...
My big 50th is coming and I know I would celebrate with my family and team members with a small dinner party tonight. It was a gorgeous Saturday, feeling like summer just returned. I couldn't help but play volleyball for a couple of hours in the afternoon. I told myself to take it easy during the games so that I would not limp into the restaurant for my birthday dinner. I was glad that I did not get injured despite a few quite impressive dives and spikes. By the way, I was diagnosed with slight to moderate narcissism in case you don't know me well :p I came back home to take a shower and decided to put on my volleyball outfit again, thinking no body would care or know whether I changed or not. I felt quite normal, physically and emotionally, until I walked into the only VIP room of the restaurant...I literally froze completely for a while when I saw there were way more people than I expected. I simply could not move or talk... OMG, give me a break-I know it is my 50th birthday but it shouldn't have been such a big deal. After a few minutes I began to recover even though I still could not talk. All I could do was hug everyone and come to admit that my birthday IS a big deal, at least, to these 50 people and probably another 50 who wished to come... I was a big deal to my mom at the beginning of my life. I was born at 10 pounds-a big boy that pinned my mom to the bed for 72 plus hours at the rural hospital. She could not believe the labor for her 4th child would be so long and difficult. She still could not understand how I was able to grow so big in those days when she had nothing but some patatos and cabbages to eat. Back then, eggs were only supplied to moms after childbirths. What are you talking about morning sickness, prenatal vitamins, or periodical checkups? I guess only my mom remembered what a painful day my birthday was. I grew up without knowing my own birthday, let alone birthday parties...My only vague memory of birthday celebration was when I was still in elementary school. One morning I found two boiled egg in my noodles and only one egg in my siblings' bowls. Seeing that we were baffled at the unusual morning treatments, my mom said, "No big deal. today is your birthday." And I agreed, at that time, birthday was really not a big deal because I remembered one time I was sick in the morning my mom gave me two boiled eggs plus two fried, and even allowed me to skip school that day. Therefore, I was looking forward to getting sick more frequently in those days than celebrating my birthday once a year. She never told me when my birthday was and I never bothered to ask... It was not until my medical school admission day in the fall of 1986 that I was asked when my birthday was. I told them that I really did not know when I was born. The people at the registration desk could not stop laughing at me. I guess I was the only freshman who came from the village and did not know even my own birthday. I finally fumbled out my family ID card that showed my birthday as November 13, 1966, a Scorpio. That was quite an embarrassing experience. However, I was very excited to celebrate my very first birthday with my classmates on November 13, 1986. I remembered that I literally daubed "Welcome to My Birthday Party" on the board with some colored chalks. I later realized it was interesting and a bit weird that I chose to write English on the board on my birthday:) As years went by, I began questioning the truth of my birthday and carefully examining my own characters, I found out that I was born on November 30, 1966 based on the Chinse "Ten Thousand Year Calendar". I was so thrilled and relieved knowing that I was born to be a Sagittarius instead of a Scorpio:) Having only one birthday party 30 years ago, I still didn't think celebrating life was a big deal. Now you might have understood how astounded and excited to walk into a room filled with 50 people, or probably more as I could not count at that moment. I could not even talk in sentences because my jaw was so tight and my mind was so spacy. I found it was much easier to handle 10 patients in an hour or even lecture in front of more than 500 doctors or students. All of a sudden, I realized there was no way for me to talk to so many patients, friends, students... I really don't think I deserve all of these. However, I suddenly realized this would definitely make another person very happy and proud. That would be my eighty-two year old mother. With all the guests being taken care of my team members, I could not help but turn on Face-Time to show my mom how happy I was and, most importantly, that VERY long and painful 72 hour labor 50 years ago was well worth... Mom, thank you so much for bringing me into this wonderful world filled with so many wonderful people...
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A patient with constant moderate pain between her two knees after bilateral TKR. Today is her 7th visit. Me: How are you feeling? Which knee hurts today? Patient: I'm feeling great! There's no pain at all. Me: Where is your cane? Patient: I forgot it... Me: Okay. Let's work on your memory this time... Patient: lol Acupuncture, MCT, or miracle?  |
AuthorsAcupuncture Specialists at Integrative Medicine Center Archives
April 2023
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