Back when I was a young and an out of control child, my grandmother had all sorts of concoctions and traditional chinese remedies for the injuries I inflicted on myself. Up to this day I am still amazed at how effective they were!

So here’s my embarrassing story. I was in grade 2 at the time, and always looked forward to our little breaks in between classes. We used to play all sorts of games from Chinese skipping, go and stop, and tag. I think I got a little too carried away and excited when we used to play tag, thinking I could always out run the rest of the kids. I sure was fast. Until I ran smack right into a metal pole. I hit it so hard with my face, I literally knocked myself out!

When I woke up, I was in the nurse’s office and half of my face was purple, black and blue. I went home that day, my face aching.

When I arrived home, my grandmother saw what I did to myself. She boiled an egg, removed the yolk and kept the egg whites, placed a pure silver coin in-between the egg whites and wrapped it all in a cotton handkerchief. Ever so carefully she rolled her concotion all over my bruised face for a good twenty minutes. I was skeptical, impatient and more concerned of smelling like stinky old eggs.

I wasn’t allowed to wash my face until the next morning. I went to school the next day and my teacher was completely blown away. “What happened to your face, Winnie?” “Your bruise is gone?”

I could’t explain it. Whatever my grandmother did, she made the bruise completely disappear as if nothing had ever happened.

Thank goodness. Thanks again grandma!