Lim, Original Innovator: Pioneering Ahead
A Tale of a Man and His Battles
Growing up, my old man, a storyteller, spun yarns that kept me captivated. Tales of love, life, and adventure filled my ears, but he was a gentleman, never betraying confidences. He spoke of other people's love stories, his own only with my mother. The tales of other women were saved for my mother, who regaled us with stories about women who still chased him even after they tied the knot.
However, our favorite stories were his war-time tales. Little did we know back then that he battled more than just the enemies on the battlefield; he lived with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for decades, a condition that accompanied him through life like a shadow.
He would relive his nightmares, a constant pursuit from Japanese soldiers in his dreams. He would awaken with labored breathing, drenched in sweat, plagued by this memory for years.
In hindsight, I realize that my father's persona was a product of his past. He was controlling, anxious, and critical. But it took me a lifetime to understand that his one-of-a-kind personality was a response to the turmoil he faced in his life. He couldn't control the war, the occupation of his hometown, his capture, or the torturous months he spent as a prisoner of the Japanese Imperial Army.
He was a slave to the guerilla forces, working for two shifts, serving himself, and his father. All of this began when the Japanese invaded Bohol when he was just 17.
My father was hard to please, generous with criticism, but slow to praise. He could crush your spirit, set impossibly high standards, and drive you to the brink. But as I came to recognize, it wasn't because he didn't value us. He simply wanted us to be strong, prepared for hard times. For war, he always seemed to be gearing up.
He rarely spoke of his feelings, instead sharing thrilling accounts of his exploits that left me enthralled. I yearned to walk in his footsteps, eager to embrace a life of hardship, not daunted by the challenges it might hold.
Despite the hardships he faced, I was drawn to his zest for life. His experiences didn't make him vengeful, joyless, or bitter. Instead, they fostered empathy, appreciation, and gratitude in him. He was crass and tactless at times, but unfailingly kind and never cruel.
He was not a victim, nor a complainer. If something went wrong, he’d simply fix it; he wouldn't dwell on it, nor care what others thought of him. He lived his life with passion, interested in everything and everyone around him, always curious, always eager to learn.
This insatiable curiosity might have been the secret to his long life of 99 years.
Whenever doctors quizzed him about his secret, he'd just smile, never offering any concrete answer. Was it his healthy lifestyle that kept him going, or perhaps the myriad stories he had collected along the way? Maybe it was the combination of both that let him live such a remarkable life.
I grew up aspiring to lead a life like my father's, one that would have stories worth telling, filled with love, pain, failure, triumph, passion, and adventure, a life lived well, a life worth revisiting, a life worth living multiple times over.
Happy Father's Day to my one and only, the original, the one whose life continues to inspire me.
PTSD, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, is a mental health condition that manifests after someone experiences or witnesses a traumatic event, such as war, assault, or other life-threatening incidents. Symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares, emotional numbness, ongoing negative beliefs, irritability, sleep difficulties, concentration problems, hypervigilance, and easily being startled.
Military veterans are at a particularly high risk of developing PTSD due to their exposure to traumatic and complex situations, often causing their coping mechanisms to buckle. Common challenges for affected veterans include difficulty adjusting to civilian life, struggles in personal relationships, and employment issues. PTSD treatment typically involves a combination of psychotherapy, medication, and strong support networks. Early intervention and tailored care can greatly enhance treatment outcomes.
- In his battles, my father not only fought Japanese forces during war-time but also struggled with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a mental health condition that stemmed from his war experiences.
- Growing up, I was captivated by my father's tales of adventure, little did I know that they were not just about war, but also about his personal battles with PTSD.
- My father's PTSD, a condition that accompanied him through life like a shadow, manifested in frequent nightmares and labored breathing, symptoms common for those who suffer from this mental health condition.
- The struggles my father faced, including the occupation of his hometown, his capture, and years spent as a prisoner, significantly impacted his mental health, exhibiting the link between war-and-conflicts and mental-health issues.
