20131030 Helping People Start Life Anew
Last October, Superstorm Sandy hit the U.S. Northeast, causing severe devastation there. Back then, every day, I’d have a video conference with Tzu Chi volunteers gathered in New York as well as those in our U.S. headquarters in Los Angels.
From their reports every day, I saw how much Sandy survivors had suffered and how widespread the disaster was. Yesterday, one year after Sandy struck, a gathering for Sandy survivors was held in New York. Many of those who had received our aid before attended the gathering.
Many even brought back the coin banks we gave them and donated the money to Tzu Chi. Lately, the weather is getting cold and some of the Sandy survivors, such as the undocumented immigrants, have not fully recovered from the disaster yet. So, there’s still a long way fro them to go before they can restore their lives.
At the gathering this time, our volunteers gave out gift packs to the attendees. The gift packs contained a scarf, a blanket and a $50 gift card. Yesterday, I was very happy to see that Xiaodong, a patient from China, was discharged from our hospital.
Under the concerted efforts and loving care of our doctors from different departments, Xiaodong’s condition has improved greatly. When he came to Taiwan this May, his body had bent nearly 200 degrees. Yesterday, he was able to stand tall with his head up and was ready to go home. Xiaodong is 31 years old.
When he was 12 years old, he suffered from joint pain. Later, he refused to go to school and crouched in his room all day. So, his body gradually become deformed. He shut himself off from the outside world and he refused to meet people. He would bury his head in his knees and would not look up. Learning of his condition, Tzu Chi volunteers visited him and gradually opened his heart.
He even went see a doctor with our volunteers. Because he was not able to receive the treatment he needed, our volunteers decided to bring him to our hospital in Hualien so he could see Honorary Supt. Chen, who has treated many patients like him. But, Xiaodong’s condition was complicated. In total, he underwent five surgeries to slowly straighten his bent body.
During surgery, in addition to surgeons, anesthetists were also very important as they had to carefully monitor Xiaodong’s vital signs, nerves, etc. At each surgery, our surgeons and anesthetists worked hand in hand and used their excellent skills to help Xiaodong together.
Now, he can stand up tall. Actually, he is very handsome. In the past, he buried his face in his knees. Now, he is anew person and is going home. Can you walk without the canes? You need to keep doing physical therapy. Don’t forget the love you’ve received from others. Seeing that you can stand up and open your heart, we are most happy.
Seeing that, I’m truly very touched. Every time I see patients recover like this, I’m very glad that we had built hospitals. It is the love and sweet of Tzu Chi volunteers that our hospitals could be built. And I’m grateful to all of doctors who work together with one heart in our hospitals to serve patients with selfless love. This is how our medical staff and hospital volunteers work together to care for patients.
There are truly a lot of people to thank. On October 7, Typhoon Fitow made landfall in China, causing severe flooding in Zhejiang Province. Since October 10, Tzu Chi volunteers have been providing aid to those affected. Despite the difficulties they encountered, our volunteers still gave of themselves selflessly.
No matter what circumstances they encountered, they continued to give unconditionally and bring aid and care to flood survivors time and again. I’m also grateful to Mr. Cai a Taiwanese businessman who founded the Zhejiang Far East Industrial City.
He is our donating member and has run business in China for years. Now, there are over 50 companies in this industrial city, including his own company. Learning that Tzu Chi was going to give out aid, he offered a space in the industrial city for us to hold the aid distribution. It was a very nice place.
There were indeed many touching stories to share. For example, when the locals saw how hard our volunteers worked, they came to lend a hand. I’m also grateful to the hypermarket chain, RT-Mart. Every time we hold an aid distribution, its president, Mr. Yin, would say: “Tell me what you need and I’ll ask my stores nearby to provide it”. And, they always deliver it in time.
Such karmic affinities have pooled everyone’s love together. When we give of our love like this, we will be very happy. Also, delivering aid supplies by truck from Kunshan, Jiangsu to Yuyao, Zhejiang normally takes about five hours. However, after the typhoon, the roads became so damaged that the truck could only go slowly. So, it took more time than usual. Nevertheless, the supplies still arrived in time.
This is very touching to see. Tanks to Mr. Cai, we were able to have a place to conduct the distribution without worry. And when the supplied arrived, everyone worked together to package them, prepare blankets, etc. very mindfully. All this was very touching.
Yesterday, our volunteers gave out nearly 5,000 supply packages. Next, they’ll bring aid to those who haven’t received any help yet and prepare for our winter aid distributions. Seeing that, I possible truly feel that our world is very warm, and this is only possible when people give with love. So, I hope everyone can tap into their spiritual wealth within, which is inexhaustible and will give us great strength to do more work.
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