A 28-year-old Malaysian woman was celebrating her chance to be reunited with her daughter after being discharged from Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital on Friday after seven operations since December last year to treat tumors on her face.
The woman, identified as Lyn-lyn (琳琳) by the hospital, was given a farewell ceremony, at which she cut a cake and expressed her appreciation to the medical staff who treated her for dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, a condition that affects the dermis layer of the skin.
“I want to thank the medical team of Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, my family, kind-hearted people from Malaysia, volunteers from Tzu Chi and all the others who offered help to me,” Lyn-lyn said.
Photo: CNA
“My face has changed. I am reborn,” she said. “What I want to do most is to fly home and hug my six-year-old daughter.”
Tumors began growing on Lyn-lyn’s face five years ago. Despite undergoing surgery and radiotherapy at hospitals in Malaysia, her condition worsened, until the tumors covered the entire left side of her face.
Doctors had told her that removing the tumors would cost her the use of her left eye.
“I lost hope and began to lock myself in my room because of my appearance,” Lyn-lyn said, but added that her desire to be with her daughter and watch her grow gave her the strength to seek treatment in Taiwan.
She traveled to Taiwan in December last year with support from Tzu Chi volunteers in Malaysia.
Two kilograms of tumors were removed from her face in seven surgeries. Doctors replaced skin they removed with grafts from elsewhere on her body, and reconstructed her forehead and the left side of her face, including her eyelids.
At the ceremony, Lyn-lyn’s mother said that her daughter talks and smiles a lot now, while Lyn-lyn’s younger sister said that she was happy to be able to run, as she could not even walk before.
They thanked the medical team, saying that they saved Lyn-lyn’s life.
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