By Victoria Q

I was sick for quite a long time. I had to eat more than 20 tablets of medication each day. One night after work, I was suffered from gastritis for having too much medication. So, I had to go to a hospital to get it treated, with my BFF accompanied me. Gastritis was quite severe that medication can no longer help me and I need an instant cure which is by injection.

I hate injection. When I was being sent to the hospital because of illness, I had to get my blood test done every single day and it makes me so scared of needles. I could faint seeing it. However, there’s no other way except an injection to stop gastritis at that moment.

I was lying on the hospital’s bed, looking at the ceiling, getting anxious because the nurse could come anytime soon. I felt like bursting out of tears but I held it in. My BFF sensed my nervousness and tried to talk to me to get me relaxed. We talked about what shall we eat for dinner later, which café shall we explore next time, we talked about all the random stuff. The talks went great only before the nurse came.

The nurse was walking towards my direction, holding a metal tray containing syringes with needle, alcohol swab, liquid medication, rubber band and other equipment that needed for injection. Both my BFF and I was looking at the nurse, silently. My heart beats faster and I could feel the fluttery nervousness in my stomach.

The nurse sat by the bedside, getting everything readied, tied my left arm with a rubber band and wiped the alcohol swab on. I was so scared and burst out of tears right before the needle was inserted into my arm. Seeing me having a breakdown, my BFF held my right hand firmly with both of his hands and said “It’s okay. You’ll be fine soon. It’ll end quickly. Just hold for a while.”

I looked at his hands that wrapped around mine, I could the warmth of his hands and his love for me. That’s the first hand that warm my heart ever since I was fallen in sick.

I was too focused on finding money and more money, that I’ve sacrificed my health prior to my illness. Being hospitalised got me realised I’ve neglected my body for so long and I regretted it so much. Hence, after discharged, I learnt to love, rediscover and feed my body with good and happy foods.

Today, I’ve recovered. I can’t say it’s fully recovered as it could be a chance that the illness might come back anytime. Even so, I’m in my best state ever.

Many people are too busy with their careers and sacrificed their health in exchange for wealth. Money is important. This little paper pays our bills, mortgage, insurance and more. So does our health. We need a healthy body to help us get through everything – you need a pair of healthy legs to walk, you need a pair of healthy arms to bring your laptop, you need a pair of healthy eyes to get you to focus on your jobs. Health brings you wealth. I hope my readers too, can learn to love, rediscover and feed their bodies with good and happy foods.