除夕夜

Stayed up most of the night yesterday (and the early hours of this morning as well). Not because it was Chinese tradition to do so (守岁) on the eve of Chinese New Year (除夕夜), but because my right arm had somehow gradually stiffened over the course of the day and it became virtually impossible to move painlessly from its bent-at-the-elbow L-shaped configuration. And this was so, even when I was lying in bed, and that served to keep sweet lunar new year dreams at bay for a while. I should mention that Mum developed huge patches of rashes on her arms, back and legs after the reunion dinner (团圆饭) last evening, and that got us all worried too. But after Mum applied rice wine onto the affected areas and sat immobile in a sofa for two hours, resisting the temptation to scratch where it itched, the rashes eventually subsided. We're all very thankful for that.

Happy Lunar New Year to one and all. May this year bring forth much joy, health, peace and fulfilment.

==================
Update as of 2210 hrs

Mum threw up this evening, took some panadol afterwards and went to bed early. We are not too sure what's wrong with her, but she insists there's no need to see a doctor. I'm a bit worried. As for myself, I managed to straighten my right arm by eveningtime, but now I can no longer bend it without bolts of pain burning their way along my nerves. I must be suffering from some bizarre rigor mortis of the arm, I think. But Dad says to keep moving my arm - pronate, supinate, twist, shake, massage, whatever - lest the muscles stiffen further from further immobilisation. I'm trying my best to follow his advice. But I can't block out the pain. My breathing is heavy and my lips are dry from trying. I'm thin enough to have my veins pop out in my arms, but now, every movement in my right arm appears to squeeze the blood vessels shut or out of my skin, painfully. There are people out there in this world who are undergoing worse pain than I am; I cannot even begin to imagine how they cope. What a splendid start to the Lunar New Year.