One of the lowest points during my cancer treatment came when I contracted COVID.
After running a high fever for a couple of days, my GP advised me to check myself into the hospital. I arrived early in the morning and was directed to a sheltered but non-air-conditioned holding area, where I was told to wait.
30 minutes later, I asked for water. The attendant returned with two bottles of mineral water and two Gardenia butter buns. One of them was strawberry flavoured.
I froze.
Strawberry buns and I have a long, complicated history. Back in primary school, I once drank strawberry milk, got diarrhoea, and swore off anything processed and strawberry-flavoured for life. The sight of that pink bun stirred up old grievances. I hated strawberry buns.
But something instinctual kicked in. I decided to hoard it. Because I did not know when I would be attended to again or when I would next see food or water.
The Long Wait
I checked in around 10 a.m., and by 8 p.m., I was still in the holding area. I was on a drip, so hydration was not an issue, but hunger started gnawing at me. The porridge they offered seemed depressing and I did not want it to add to my already bleak situation.
Eventually, I caved. I tore open the strawberry bun wrapper and resigned myself to the absurdity of the situation and took a bite.
To my surprise, it was not terrible.
It was not great, either, but for something I had sworn off for decades, it was passable. Hunger has a way of changing your standards, and in that moment, I learned to lower mine.
Lessons from the Strawberry Bun
This incident stuck in my memory because for me to eat a strawberry bun was to stoop to a personal low. And yet, it did not taste as bad as I remembered.
The whole experience was absurd but oddly instructive. It’s funny how hunger, or life’s challenges, can strip away your preferences and preconceived notions.
What seemed unacceptable before suddenly becomes manageable.
Reflection: Are there things you have held strong opinions about that might no longer serve you? How can you challenge those beliefs?