Banana Story

When I was your age, I lived on the island of Ponape far out in the Pacific Ocean. It was a tropical, volcanic island covered with jungle and lots of banana plants. One day while playing outdoors with no shoes on (we never wore shoes), I stubbed my big toe on a sharp object. It was bleeding badly! Two gardeners working close by heard my cries. Immediately the younger man came running and taking his long machete, he cut down a small banana plant in our yard. I was confused. I didn’t understand why he was chopping it down! The older man filled a tub with water, and started chopping up the stalk of the banana plant in the water to make a mash of banana stalk. All I could do was stare at the mash. “Put your foot into the tub!” said the older man. Dazed, I followed his directions. To my amazement the blood stopped flowing! I started to pull my foot out. “No, no your foot is not healed yet” he said. “Keep your foot in a little longer.” It took about 20 minutes. When I pulled my foot out, my big toe looked as if it were healed! I sat on the ground staring at my toe, thinking, “How can a cut heal so quickly?”

Once in a while I think about this event and I wonder, “What was in those banana plants to create such healing? How can I find out?”