Stories from my mother

You know, when one of my friend noticed that I was falling so often, he was suggesting, ‘maybe your parents did not do a good job in teaching you how to walk when you were small’.. I mean, falling like 3 times in less than 2 months period, is quite frequent, relatively, and to the extend I twisted my ankle, and suffered bruises, really, it was not so fun, and sometimes, even tiring and a little scary. Yes, I am tired of falling. Very tired. So, I tired to explore the possibilities, and I chatted with my mum….

He was partially right, my friend. My parents did not do a good job in teaching me how to walk. In fact, they didn’t teach me how to walk. When I was age 1 year old+, which was the appropriate age to start cruising and walking, I grew up in an environment where my dad, he was working outstation, and my mum, she was travelling here and there, between me and my dad. So, I was left with different babysitters, sometimes, with my aunt and cousins.

'did you remember my first word? what age did i start walking? when did i start wearing shoes or use meaningful words?' i asked, in attempt to access whether i had any developmental delay in the past... 'i don't know' mum answered, ' i was busy'. Then, I accidentally blurted out, ‘so, mum, that means you wasn’t there when I first started walking, started saying my first word, started playing and smiling’… She heart-brokenly replied, ‘I suppose so, you were a too-early-mistake’.. and I, I was heart-broken too… but I am 23 now, and I am beggining to understand that juggling between work and family, and life altogether is not easy…

i learnt a lot from my paediatry rotations... like it is important to continues stimulate your child... care for them, teach them... with love, and of course patience, lots of patience.... and the importance of developmental accessment, nutrition, and immunization.... and the little things in life, once you missed it, that's it.. the magic of early detection of developmental delay and therapy can make such a massive difference! when i find time, after exam, i'll explain more on DA or developmental accessment

p/s: Hmm.. perhaps, that still does not explain why I fall that frequent… I wonder whether there is a emotion part to it, you know, like how your body breaks down when you are feeling down, distracted or unstable, how physical signs shows when one is emotionally vulnerable.. or perhaps, people just need to learn how to walk, all over again,… or perhaps, to learn how to get up each time one fall… and not whine or cry after that…