A Point in Time

Many years ago, I met an accident and I was all alone at that time. I was asked to attend a seminar upcountry and forgetting to bring something, gathered some courage to ride a motorbike taxi and went out of the hotel. As the motorbike needed to turn left and we were at the right lane, the turning led to another motorcycle colliding with us and left me bloody and in pain right in the middle of the road. If another car had passed, then there's no more story to tell.

I was rushed to the clinic and I wasn't feeling anything. I was probably in shock. A nurse came and asked questions and when she said, “You alone, no friend?” I started crying. That moment was indeed the loneliest ever. It was more painful inside even though I was all bruised up and not able to walk. The nurse recommended that I be transferred to a proper hospital.

A driver from a passenger truck came and told me he'll bring me to the hospital. “Two hundred baht, I bring you to hospital.” I was shocked once again because I was in the middle of an accident and unattended. I paid the man and he brought me to a second class hospital.

When I went back to my hotel limping because of a cast, crutches and bandages and all, I called a friend from the city to help me out. Three people came after two hours and they sent me to a better hospital. The doctors were saying how poorly the dressings were made. They replaced the cast, gave me better crutches and sent me back to the hotel.

The next morning I attended the seminar with all eyes on me. All throughout the four days, nobody dared to talk to me, come near me, nor ask about my situation or even say hello. I was in the Land of Smiles. There was even an instance when I was lining up for tea and when I reached the end of the line, the server told me to go to the other side because all the cups were used up. I was so frustrated but from that moment, I realized how physically challenged people feels. I sympathize with their rejections, their struggles to belong, their fight to be accepted as normal citizens.

When the last day of the seminar ended earlier, I asked a cab driver to bring me to the beach so I could take my mind off the pressures of rejection and unsupportive fellow educators. While I walked along the sandy shore, I heard someone commented, “He's already crippled and he still wanted to walk around here.” That was the last straw. I left with a broken heart. I left with a broken spirit. I left with regrets and no compassion for judgmental people.

People see what is beautiful but they fail to see the inside. I was crippled at that time but the determination to finish the seminar and learn many things so that I could impart them to my students was over the top. I haven't been as brave and more patient given that sad situation I was in, yet I learned a lot and I wanted to believe that not all people were insensitive and ruthless. They were just ignorant of the situation. They were scared.

My heart goes for the many disadvantaged children I had met throughout my entire career as a teacher. From the orphanages I supported, the bed ridden children I've taught and the autistic and down syndrome children I'd given my spare time, my respect and love will always be with them. It takes only one experience to learn a lesson for a lifetime.