Bitter-sweet memories

Memories of our childhood days can often be amusing. Among the embarrassing moments I had as a child, what stands out the most is my resistance to taking medicines. Call it phobia, aversion, obsession, or by any other name, the struggle at that time seemed unsurmountable.

The earliest that I can recall is when I was six or seven years old, but it all must have begun prior to that. I loathed everything about the bitter pill—from its look to its taste, smell, and feel. If swallowing a pellet was an arduous task, taking some syrup or tonic was absolutely unthinkable.

Imagine my parents’ plight whenever I fell sick, as I would just sit down with the pill in one hand and a glass of water in another without any intent of taking any further action. Scolding
or coaxing hardly helped, as I was adamant and helpless at the same time.

Although known for her composure, my mother too would lose her temper off and on. To make matters worse, even with the slightest illness, I would be so vulnerable, and the moans of “Amma” were endless. I wished she could be at my bedside all the time, even when I was just slightly unwell.

One such instance occurred when she diligently walked into my room with the morning dose of my prescribed medication on a plate. One look at the hideous, colourful array, and the next thing I remember is fiercely throwing up all over the place. That was it. I have no clue how I recovered later.

Meticulous step-by-step demonstrations by my grandmother did not work either. In doing so, the poor lady would exhaust all of her routine medications one after the other. I would watch her in awe, and when it was my turn, I filled my mouth with water up to the brim and slowly popped the pill in. Before I could close my mouth, the pill somehow bounced out onto the floor, much to my utter relief. Again, don’t ask me how I got better.

At times, some offbeat forms of placebo worked after all. Like, during a bout of fever, when my parents bought me a pack of sketch pens that I’d been longing for quite a while, the fever was magically gone! These situations might sound silly at present, but it was indeed a tough phase while it lasted, probably for years. I truly appreciate my parents for their perseverance. Looking back, I cannot even pinpoint when or how I got over this weird problem of mine despite the fact that liquid medicines are still not an option for me.