Healing hands and a funny afternoon……..

It has been a couple of years now since Quan graduated as a massage therapist. He really enjoys his work. Massage has provided him with so much more than just an income. It has given him a support network, a social life, the pride that comes with being so good at what you do that clients request you in particular. It has also relieved the pain in his young arthritic hands. In many ways massage has been quite a gift to Quan.

Recently, it was a gift to me too…

I was fortunate enough to receive a head massage from Quan. It was an absolute treat, he really is very good at what he does.  This quiet time together afforded us a rare opportunity to catch up a little. We had a nice chat as he worked away.   

Quan asked me if I remembered him from his ‘before life’.  I smiled and said I did, and I asked him if he missed that life. His response was a hearty chuckle and a very clear "No", he then spoke of how much he loves his "now life".

He went on to tell me how he and his mother remember the ‘very funny afternoon’,  when Mr Jim appeared at his house with a woman.  Visits to Quan’s rural village are always unannounced as there is no communication available. He said on that day they were very surprised and after we left they talked about how funny it was and how he and his mother hoped that we would help him to change his situation and to improve his life.  Well, things have certainly changed.  We chatted on about his new life and his plans to continue with his studies and professional development.

It was such an interesting experience, his large hands, swollen with nodules that are a legacy of the same illness that caused his blindness, are surprisingly strong.   At one point I noticed that the strong, professional hands of a masseuse left the muscles of my head and they very gently traced the contours of my face, ….  “aaah, so that’s what she looks like!”

 

Yes, things have certainly changed, I also remember how, on that same funny afternoon Mr Jim gave Quan a supply of medicines to relieve the pain in his hands.  Those very same hands are now pain free tools that provide his livelihood, and offer therapeutic relief to his fortunate clients.
.

Massage offers an excellent employment opportunity for many young blind people. Quan is certainly not the only person to benefit from studying massage. 

And I'm not the only person to enjoy the benefits of receiving an excellent head massage. 

 Kind regards
Alison & Rose

TO MAKE A DONATION