An Unforgettable Event in My Life
by Aron Araya
When I was nine years old, I used to live with my parents in a small village which is called Ingerne. It is a small beautiful village which had a population of around one thousand residents. Most of the people are farmers who lived by cultivation and ploughing their lands and they always depend on the seasonal rainfall to water their crops or farms. Some of them are still nomads who travel to feed their cattle or sheep from one place to another place in order to get water and grass. My family was one of the peasant or farmers who lived through ploughing the land and growing crops
One of those days, when I was playing stickball with my friends, I fell to the ground and broke my right hand. Then my friends took me to my family. When my family saw my hand broken, they really got shocked. they were confused, and they didn't know waht to do for me. My mom hugged me and supported my broken hand and wiped my tears. She was really sad and worried by the situation. On the other hand, my father was thinking which hospital they could take me to. After awhile, they took me to my bed to sleep. But the whole night, they were thinking and worrying about me, and also I couldn't sleep because of the hard pain.
The village is far from the capital city of the country, and the only way I could get treatment was in the hospital. In my village there was not any clinic and there was no way to go to the city because the village didn't have transportation to a city. In order to go to the city, you would have to travel at least ten hours on foot or by domestic animals like camel, donkey or horse to another village, and then you could get a bus which came once in a day. Alos, it was really hard to get a seat. The passengers were crowded and seemed like packed stuff. Besides those obstacles, my family was poor. They didn't have enough money for my medication. They money they spent was only used for our food, and if we got more we used to buy our clothes. It was absolutely a tough situation and my family became stressed.
After they were thinking the whole night, my mother brought a new idea. She told my father, "Why don't you take him to the traditional clinic?" My father hesitated about the traditional medical care, but he knew that they didn't have any alternative, and he accepted her smart idea.
In the village, there was a kind generous man who knew some traditional medications. For instance, he treated patients who broke their hands or legs, and some people who twisted one side of their face due to changing of weather. Early in the morning my family took me to the man's house. They told him about the situation that happened and their problem not to take me to the hospital. The man understood the problem, and he told them not to worry about me. He gave us encouragement and hope, and we felt better.
After half an hour, the man came with his tools, like an axe, knife and skin of a goat. When I saw his tools, I was crying and refused my family to treat me, because I was afraid he would cut my hand when I saw especially the axe and the knife. However, the man and my family told me that he was not going to cut my hand and don't be afraid. The man explained to me about the usage of the knife and axe. He said, "The axe is used to cut the flat wood in order to make the right size with your hand, and the knife is used for cutting the skin of the goat to make a piece of rope." Then I felt somehow good. After that, he cut the flat wood into two parts, and made ropes from the goat's skin. Then, he put my hand between the two flat pieces of wood and tied it firmly by the ropes. He told my family to come back after two months.
Then, within two months, my hand was completely repaired. My family went to the man's home to give him money. However, the man didn't charge them. They really apppreciated and thanked him. He saved me from being disabled and also made my family not spend money on my medication and transportation. Finally, I can say that event was unforgettable and I always remember it.
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