Gratitude From the Born-Too-Soon Baby

The holiday season is a time to reflect, celebrate, and be thankful for many aspects of our lives. When I think about gratitude in this holiday season, “each ordinary day” comes to mind. Traditional Chinese medicine and my faith make my ordinary days possible.

According to my mother, I was born a month early at about 36 weeks, weighing 5.2 pounds (2.4kg). While not all premature babies experience complications, prematurity can cause short-term and long-term health problems and that is why preterm babies often require longer stays in specialized hospital nurseries.

In the late 1970s when I was born, intermediate care nurseries or neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) were not affordable or accessible, especially for a preemie like me born in Daegu, South Korea. My family had no choice but to bring me home straight from the hospital, amid fears, tears, and worry.

Thankfully, there were no complications or abnormalities found at my birth but I was still a very fragile baby which made some people worry that I might not survive. After I grew up, I realized that this was the reason there is no photo of me from what is normally a joyful 100-days-after-birth celebration, an important tradition for Korean babies.

I do remember finding a photo from my one-year-old birthday party and by then I was a cute, healthy Michelin tire baby girl with a big smile. My grandmother and mother told me that I owed my life to traditional Chinese medicine because treatments were begun shortly after I was born. With treatment, I began eating well and growing properly although there was no healing miracle for my frequent colds, flu, and abdominal pain along with sharp headaches that often plagued me. I often had nightmares and could not sleep well because I had scary dreams that woke me up crying and with palpitations.

This is the reason that traditional Chinese medicine occupied a large part of my early childhood memories. I loved going to see traditional Chinese medicinal doctors because I felt very comfortable under their warm care; I knew I would get better with treatment so I did not mind acupuncture needles and the bitter taste of Chinese herbal teas.

Thanks to TCM and under the care of my family, I was able to cope with all my health problems, and finally, at around puberty, I fully recovered without lasting physical or mental health conditions so I could enjoy my own ordinary days. As a young woman, my childhood experience of the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine inspired me to study traditional Chinese medicine so that one day I could share the life-changing benefits of this ancient medical tradition with others.

In my practice, I have seen many patients who suffer from various health conditions that are related to their childhood experiences. I don’t dare say that I completely understand their pain, but I do feel it in my heart. This is the thought that came to me, “God gave me the troubles of my early childhood in order to reveal the healing power of this medicine and allows me to serve my patients with love and compassion. Therefore, every day, I experience heartfelt gratitude to traditional Chinese medicine, to my patients, and to God who connected us.

We don’t have to wait until something extraordinary happens in order to be grateful. Extraordinary gratitude for the ordinary blessings of our ordinary days is worthy of our thanks. This is my gratitude for my own life experience.

What is your story of gratitude for this holiday season?