Domestic Violence
The boy and his parents has caught my eyes at their entery into the clinic room. At that time, I could never forsee that this curiosity would be later turned
into nothing but pity and rage in me.
The boy was a teenager, and obviously in good physical contition, judging from his physical size.But one thing made he differed from other kids : he had his
eyes blink too frequently. And if you observe carefully enough, his mouth became
deviated from time to time. With my three year experience of intership in hospital, I immediately came to this initial diagnosis of Gilles de la Tourette syndrome for him.
His mother, with both her hands placing on the boy's shoulders(a rather proctive sign as it seems to me), began to tell his case history(This further confirmed me in my diagnosis. A normal 13-year-old should be able to enjoy the ability
of expressing his own condition to a full extent). According to her, the boy has
suffered from too frequent winking, and uncontrollable movements of the mouth,
and his school performance has suffered. The father, however, stood nearby without much say.
My supervisor listened, and nodded her head from time to time. After a short
pause, the woman seemed to have summoned her courage, and went on by revealing
that the boy had been under the cruel treat of his father for many years. With a
trace of sad weeping in her voice, she said in a small volume, which I nearly failed to catch but finally managed to. She tole us that during this summer vacation, the man's temper went even worse, and the old bruises and scars on the boy'
s body did not even stand chances to be healed before the new ones were forced on him! The boy had, since that time, lived his life in an easily frightened state. He shivers often at hearing sounds that is a little bit louder in volume, and
his symptoms began to take place from that time on.
I had my eyes widely open, staring into the blunt air, and rages buring in my
heart. Somehow I managed to keep them from exploding.
The father was silent for most of the time, but I, though a careful observer,
failed to get even a tiny trace of regret or guilt in his face.
He then went of to get the herbs with my tutor's recipe in hand.
The poor woman seemed to be much at ease after he left. Soon the boy left the
clinic on his own with a stiffed facial expression, one that was so dull. (My heart could not help signing at this.What a clever to he can be, and what a contrast it is now!) The mother then went on to tell us strangers how many difficulties she had gone through to bring her child to this world. Her first kid died due to some disease, and it was not until her fortith birthday before she got pregnant again. Heaven did not give her this boy easily. She was tortured by a unhealthy position of the uterus and thus a severe bleeding. However she managed to bring life to this little creature with the help of doctors. But the boy's father
did not seem resolute at all to change any bit of his terrific temper.And the
boy has tasted enough of belt, leather shoes and stickes ever since.
I was not able to speak even a word of sympathy to sooth that poor woman. But
the very contrary, I had this question rising in me: "Poor, has he ever mil-treated YOU? And how have you survived this? " I dared not to utter this out, however, afraid that it will scare her and myself too. Turning my back to her, I wiped my eyes and tried to hide the tears.
Of course my tutor, a very kind pediatrician, went on to fulfill her duty by
confirming the boy that there were hopes for he to be as normal as before, and please take heart, while telling the woman that she was of vital importance during the course to heal her boy. Meditation is far from being enough. If the violence went on and on, she was sorry to say, then hopes are slim.
They left after that. But the questions kept haunting me: Will the boy ever stand the chance of regain a normal life under the so-called guardian of his dad?
How will these early traumas influence his later life? Will the man really change his horrible temper? Is the woman really able to stop the man when tragedy takes place again? If she were able to do so, why were there so many times of its
happening? And she, has she ever got hurt, like the boy, both physically and mentally during this domestic violence?....
I, personally, do not really dare to say that I trust that man, but would rather suggest the poor mother and son to take up law as a weapon. Is there any other way???
