Origami Strands

In Japan, tradition states that if you fold 1000 origami cranes, it will bring you good health and good luck. When someone is suffering from a severe sickness or injury, spouses, parents, children and other family members and friends would fold 1000 cranes to wish for the person's recovery. The paper crane has become an international symbol of peace through the work of a young girl named Sadako Sasaki and her battle with leukemia.

Extracts from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadako_Sasaki

"Sadako Sasaki (佐々木 禎子 January 7, 1943 –October 25, 1955) was a Japanese girl who lived near Misasa Bridge in Hiroshima, Japan when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Sadako was only two years old when she became a victim of the atomic bomb. At the time of the explosion Sadako was at home, about 1 mile from ground zero. By November 1954, lumps had developed on her neck and behind her ears. Then in January 1955, purple spots had started to form on her legs. Subsequently, she was diagnosed with leukemia, which her mother referred to as "an atom bomb disease." She was hospitalized on February 21, 1955 and given, at the most, a year to live.

On August 3, 1955, Chizuko Hamamoto — Sadako's best friend — came to the hospital to visit and cut a golden piece of paper into a square and folded it into a paper crane. At first Sadako didn't understand why Chizuko was doing this but then Chizuko retold the story about the paper cranes. Inspired by the crane, she started folding them herself, spurred on by the Japanese saying that one who folded 1,000 cranes was granted a wish.

A popular version of the story is that she fell short of her goal of folding 1,000 cranes, having folded only 644 before her death, and that her friends completed the 1,000 and buried them all with her. This comes from the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. An exhibit which appeared in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum stated that by the end of August, 1955, Sadako had achieved her goal and continued to fold more cranes.

Though she had plenty of free time during her days in the hospital to fold the cranes, she lacked paper. She would use medicine wrappings and whatever else she could scrounge up. This included going to other patients' rooms to ask to use the paper from their get-well presents. Chizuko would bring paper from school for Sadako to use.

During her time in hospital her condition progressively worsened. Around mid-October her left leg became swollen and turned purple. After her family urged her to eat something, Sadako requested tea on rice and remarked "It's good." Those were her last words. With her family around her, Sadako died on the morning of October 25, 1955."

Today, as I looked through pages of the Origami book I bought many months back, I chanced upon this familiar paper crane and after looking up the meaning of this paper crane in the above website, my thoughts went to my cousin brother who died of leukemia when he was still a toddler. From a healthy little boy with a handsome cheeky smile, he soon ballooned up in the stomach while his head got bigger and his hands and legs grew thinner. Later, he frail feet could not even support his big stomach and had to be bedridden most of the time at the General Hospital.

I could still remember the agony and suffering my aunt went through, attending to her beloved son day in day out for many months. During those advanced stages of his illness, he became so weak, he could hardly smile, his hair dropped by the strands. Anyone with the slightest flu or cough are not allowed near him lest his immune system cannot take it. It was a torturous wait for a suitable bone marrow donor and during his last days, his name was not even near the top of the lists ! I could still remember my aunt putting up a very strong front and well, I salute her for her strength and never ending love ^_^ Her perseverance taught me a great lesson.