I was in an emergency room at Sibley hospital on Thursday, September 4, 2008. It was my first hospital visit and it was beautifully challenging.
Before I left Thailand in June 2005, my brother-in-law gave me a dozen bottles of Tiger balm. He emphasized that, "these are very good. They could save your life." I smiled at that Thai wisdom and grabbed all of them, stowing them away in a suitcase.
Indeed, these bottles (of tiger balm) traveled far and became my "cannot live without objects" in America. They are both comforting and soothing for me. Even if I don't feel any pain or soreness, I use tiger balm anyway. I use it to remind me of home. It is a form of deep connection for me, for a person who is far away from her native land.
Entering my fouth year in America, I had a real purpose to use tiger balm. On Wednesday night, I felt a sudden sharp pain in my lower right rib. It lasted for about two hours. I was alone at that time, without knowing what it could be, but my instinct led to my rubbing in with the magic tiger balm. I ran to the shelf and grabbed the one that was half-left from our bike trip from a month ago. It worked for about eight hours. I half slept with a strong wonderful tiger balm smell.
Next morning, I woke up with a less severe level of pain. I informed my husband about what happened last night and he urged me to go to the Emergency Room for a check up. I thought it was not a bad idea, but still wanted to try to go to work.
I arrived at the office with a very pale look on my face, and my co-worker and my boss insisted that I should go to the hospital and get a check up. I finally headed out in my boss's car and got registered at the Emergency Room in the next hour.
My treatment included blood tests, x-rays and they hooked me up to an IV with a pain killer. I looked at the surroundings in the hospital with a sense of respect for the nurses, doctors and patients. Our body and our mind interplay with each other. While an x-ray technician pushed me on the bed to the x-ray room, I told myself that everything would be o.k, and that whatever happened would happen.
My husband tried to comfort me and I felt very happy to be close to my love. After about two hours, the doctor (who was in Thailand in the 1980's) came to me and shared the results. Things were negative which meant that there was no suspected disease or bad things going on. I felt a big relief.
The doctor asked me one question that eventually filled the room with laughter. He was curious, and asked me, "what did you take last night to help you sleep?"
"TIGER BALM," I said proudly.
"I should have known. I was in Thailand."
After a few hours in an emergency room, I felt much more grateful to be healthy and alive again.
I cannot underestimate the power of Tiger Balm, a great souvenir that my family gave to me before traveling, because it could "save my life." Everything has a connection - a web of life. Objects, people, happiness, sickness and gratefulness need a comforting place to grow and be healthy.
TAN
