[True Story] The Story of the 'God' with a Cleaning Tool Who Saved Me When I Was in Despair from My Second Bout of Lower Back Pain | Break Time #16 (Lower Back Pain ②)

The second slipped disc of my life arrived suddenly.

Once you've experienced it before, you become strangely calm. The moment I realized, 'Oh, this is the bad one,' I applied the lessons from last time and iced it immediately. Thanks to that, the sharp pain subsided, but the problem started after that.

My back wouldn't straighten out.

1. Meeting the old man with the cleaning tool

I was stuck in a hunched-over, pathetic posture. Standing and sitting were both painful, and I didn't have the energy to go to the distant chiropractor who had helped me before. I crawled my way toward the local orthopedic clinic.

The waiting room was crowded. I leaned against the wall, sweating coldly while waiting for my turn. That was when it happened.

"Hey, come over here."

The person who called out to me was an old man who had been cleaning the entrance. Since he was cleaning, I assumed he was a staff member here. Thinking that, I followed him slowly and carefully as told.

2. "Wait, there?" The moment doubt turned into certainty

I was led to a small room in the corner that looked like an examination room. As I was prompted to "lie down," I collapsed onto the bed. Then, the old man started massaging my calves. After that... the old man touched my thighs, back, shoulders, and neck, skipping over my lower back where the sharp pain was shooting.

(Wait, why there? My back is the one that hurts... Who on earth is this person?)

While harboring doubts, I surrendered myself to the pleasant rhythm, and about 20 minutes passed.
Then, the old man said,
"Alright, you're fine now. Try standing up."

The moment I put my feet on the floor with half-belief, a shock ran through me. I could stand straight. The pain that had been so stubborn had vanished.

Immediately,
"Thank you so much! Are you a doctor at this clinic?"
As I bowed vigorously, the old man said this with a smiling face.

"I'm just an old man who cleans. Besides, a slipped disc isn't a disease, so you don't need to pay for treatment. Go on home now. ...Don't push yourself too hard."

3. The true identity of the cleaning old man

The next day, I was standing at work as if nothing had happened. Finding it so mysterious, I visited the clinic again in the evening, wanting to express my gratitude.

“I was examined by the elderly man who was cleaning yesterday...”
“Huh? We don’t have any elderly doctors like that here.”

The receptionist looked puzzled.

“That can’t be right. I was definitely examined by him.”
“Even if you say that...”

However, a veteran nurse who heard our exchange joined the conversation.

“Ah, you must mean the ‘Great Master’.”

As it turned out, that elderly man was the former director who had handed the hospital over to his son several years ago and was now living in retirement in Shizuoka. It was no wonder the new receptionist didn’t know him. It seems that the Great Master just happened to be visiting to see his grandchild. The nurse laughed and said to me,

“You are truly lucky.”

I was left smiling.

4. Permission to say 'Don't push yourself'

A god-hand really did exist.
But what has been most effective for me now, more than the technique, are those words.

“Don’t push yourself.”

What the god holding cleaning supplies taught me that day.
Perhaps it was permission that 'teachers are allowed to take a little better care of their own bodies, too.'

This was a true story that sounds like a lie, which I experienced when I was a young teacher.

If you resonated with this, please 'like' or 'follow' me, as it encourages my writing.

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Episode 15: Back Pain ①

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Episode 17: Aaron Wolf

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