Twenty-four brave children were honored at a ceremony organized by the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TFCF) in Taipei yesterday.
“I’m so happy, so proud of them, and so touched — I’m about to cry,” the mother of 11-year-old twin girls Huang Ching-chen (黃靖宸) and Huang Yu-chen (黃鈺宸) said as she watched her daughters collect their awards.
The mother, who declined to give her name, said that she was horrified to learn that her two daughters had brain tumors when they were in third grade.
“I really admire their courage, because despite being so little they have faced their illness with such optimism … although I am the mother, they have given me strength and encouragement” she said.
“The girls had surgery to remove the tumors, which involved cutting their heads open, but they never showed any fear,” their mother said.
Instead, when their condition improved the twins would sing and dance for other seriously ill children in the hospital to cheer them up.
Their mother recalled that once, Huang Ching-chen, the elder sister, woke in the middle of the night and went to the restroom on her own even though her head was still covered in gauze.
“I asked her why she didn’t wake me up so I could take her, she told me: ‘You must be really tired taking care of us,’” the mother said.
One time when Huang Ching-chen was rushed to the emergency room with a sudden blood clot, her mother was so worried that she couldn’t even speak.
“That time, it was the smaller sister who calmly told the doctor what had happened to her sister, and told me not to worry,” the mother said.
Both sisters were honored at yesterday’s ceremony for facing a big life challenge with such courage.
A third-grader at a junior high school in Taipei County, Wu Yi-yung (吳驛勇) and his two brothers were diagnosed with cancer a few years ago. Although Wu has now almost recovered, he remembers very clearly how painful the experience was.
“One time I was lying in bed with tubes in my nose and mouth, but phlegm built-up in my throat and blocked my trachea,” he said. “I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t talk, and I couldn’t call for help. So I pulled out the tubes just so that I could spit,” he said
“I was told later that pulling out the tubes myself could have killed me, but there was nothing else I could do at the time,” he said.
The family struggled to pay the medical costs for the children and things got worse when Wu’s father’s business failed, but fortunately they were able to overcome their difficulties with help from several charities.
“I’m really grateful for their help, so I would like to be a doctor when I grow up to help more people … If I can’t become a doctor, I will become a social worker — I want do whatever I can to give back to society” Wu said.
Taiwanese fashion designer Johan Ku (古又文), who shot to fame after winning first prize in the avant-garde design category at the Gen Art’s Styles International Design Competition last year, also attended the ceremony.
Having grown up in an economically disadvantaged family and gotten a helping hand from the TFCF, Ku offered the children praise for their courage and encouragement for the future.
“I would like to tell all of the award recipients — although you’re sitting in the audience today, if you stay true to your dreams and work hard, you too will get the chance to stand on this stage like I am right now” he said.
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