I never thought I admit it but one thing I’m proud of as a student of my university is the exposure to humanity. Just 2 days ago, a bunch of us was listening to a postgraduate student of my university. “I’m proud to be a graduate of my university. One thing you will realize after you graduate is that some of the universities do not produce doctors that possess the human touch.” I was nearly falling asleep but had to listen intently as we were hoping for her signature to fulfill our logbook. But today, an encounter early in the morning made me feel her point. The dutiful makcik was sweeping the floors of the halls as I stepped out of my room to do my laundry. “Makcik, benda yang saya bagi hari tu, boleh guna ke?” I had passed her some old stuff of mine which were falling apart, including some desk decorations with flickering LEDs and some miscellaneous vacation souvenirs from friends. “Boleh.” In a strong, affirmed tone, she reply. Judging from her reply, I rushed into the room and took out two old bags of mine. “Makcik, ada 2 beg ni. Tapi dah koyak sikit. Makcik nak ke?” I pulled out the torn handle of the bag for her to see. She totally dismissed the defect, “Nak. Terima kasih,” and looked up with gratitude in her eyes and a smile on her lips. When I gave away old stuff, I always feel what the hokkien language would describe as ‘pai seh’. It is obvious that I do not want that stuff, that is why I give it up. And my friends would know the frugal and unfashionable me means the old stuff is dilapidated and really quite unacceptable. Or rather, by our standards. Here comes a makcik that totally views the defect as insignificant. Probably her needle and thread can mend it and voila, it’s a wonderful steal. We always hear of people picking up other people’s rubbish and treating it as a valuable. Even Archie comics depict this often with some homeless people picking up a lousily knit sweater by Veronica and treating it as a treasure. But I never felt it, in my heart, until I saw her eyes and her smile, which is really a simple and wonderful side of human nature; pure happiness. I visited a deaf school yesterday. Made a few revelations too. Observing the bunch of deaf kids at recess, it was amazing at how much more active children are with their hands when they can’t talk. But what really struck me was the flashback of two philosophies heard before I came to medical school. - “No matter how handicapped the child is, some parents will still be super proud of that child.”
Watching a syndromic child prancing around with a broad smile on his face and showing many antics of sign language at a super fast speed and yet not understanding him, I could feel, if I was his parent, I would be proud to see that he was actually happy and able to learn some sign language. He is actually bright! It was a confusing moment. He was in no way or by any standard bright but it actually felt so. I guess that is how a parent feels. - Another story involved a doctor who had a Down child himself. And when the wife was pregnant, the antenatal scan showed possible signs. The doctor said, “If we were to have a Down child, it’d be better that he/she be born in our family than others.” The wife was furious and wondered why this husband would curse his own wife and family. But now I understand that statement.
But now I understand why he said that. It was because of his experience. For me, personally, when I saw a special deaf school and walked from class to class to see the students, it was evident that they deserved care. They deserve care, just like anyone else. And who better to give them than a family with a good socioeconomic status plus related knowledge and experience? It is interesting how some statements only click years later. There were many other cute antics by the deaf students. For one, there was no recess bell, blaring throughout the school and the uproar of students rushing to the canteen. When it was time, the teachers would cross their forearms across their chest, resting their fists in front of their shoulders, signaling, “Rest time”. At the canteen, some senior students were prefects and monitored the traffic flow of the line at the stall. And the no.1 reason senior students had to be chosen, in this case, was not the maturity, in my personal opinion, but because the senior students were bigger and stronger. In cases of tiny little juniors pushing through the line, the senior students will just pull, with brute force, the juniors back into the line. Shouting was not an option. These cute antics described are not reason to make fun of the deaf students. They were in essence children and cute true blue. It is just interesting to observe a different way of life. | 