Chong-Lan 2007 -- Part III

Turning Point

That morning, her father drove her eldest sister to Lotus du Coeur to change shift with Chong-Lan's mother, who took care of her at night. Married and moved to Hu-Wei, her eldest sister accompanied Chong-Lan all the way here, rain or shine. Always, she quickly prepared Chong-Lan's food and responded to her needs with great care at every moment. She had had become the important source of love and warmth for Chong-Lan.

"If it's not sweet, come back for an exchange!" Chong-Lan urged the student volunteers to eat more Chinese dates. One bite after another, she bit into the fruit with crispy and juicy sounds. Chong-Lan said, now that she had a break from IV drips, she had to take full advantage of it and eat more. Otherwise, she had to get an IV drip again soon. A while later, a nurse came in to disinfect the wound on her shoulder where drugs were injected in. Talking through the nurse's arm, Chong-Lan suggested to everybody have lunch together at Cafe Taiwan. Then, she was discussing the new menu with some senior volunteers.

I contribute so I exist, because I feel others' care.
Your happiness is my most sincere hope, because I am loved in the same way.
Your smile is what I hope for. Wish you peace forever.
There are countless events and barriers in life. You have me with you along all paths of life.

At noon, student volunteers came as they promised to do a sign language show for Chong-Lan. In a good mood, Chong-Lan, lying in her bed, took big bites from her plate.

Because she had fully accepted what her life would bring on, every moment of get-together was filled with joy despite her family's hard time to truly let go. Because Chong-Lan greeted every caring face so generously with her shining smile, friends and volunteers could enjoy being her company without any worry and could learn to accept the necessary path of life. Nevertheless, the psychological storm that she went through was so heart-tearing that, even after a long period, it was still a dreadful memory.

"It was 2005, about January 10th plus, my doctor told me I might have something more than a stomach ulcer!" Chong-Lan said that her doctor made an appointment for her with the colorectal division, and the surgeon insisted that she must get an imaging test the next day.

Next day after the test was done, Chong-Lan kept feeling that something was wrong and took to read the report. "What!" She uttered in panic, "Rectal... cancer." Chong-Lan read it out loud, word by word. She turned to her eldest sister and asked, "why is it written rectal cancer?" Her sister tried to console her by saying that it was written on the report that it SEEMED to be rectal cancer.

As if in a trial, it was confirmed in the clinic that she had cancer. "How old are you?" the doctor asked Chong-Lan. "35." With a sigh, the doctor said, "At such young age! It was kind of late." "Yesterday when I examined you by palpation, I already wanted to tell you that you may have rectal cancer, but without scientific tests, I couldn't be entirely sure."

The doctor told her the definite answer, and he urged Chong-Lan to begin her treatment soon. With the advanced technology that we have nowadays, it should not be too late.

"You must do it!" The doctor's words overwhelmed her mind. Everything seemed to stop moving in the clinic. About a minute later, tears started to fall. She did not cry, but her tears kept falling. Finally, she could not sit still any longer. She turned to her sister and began to cry very hard. "How come? How come!" An unanswered question tore up her heart with pain and grief.

It was really cold that day and drizzling in the air. "How can it be so cold, so very cold!" Recalling the piercing cold, Chong-Lan said it was probably from the hard blow that she had just received. After walking out of the clinic, she and her sister cried all the way through the long corridor inside the hospital and all the way on their drive home.

Although wearing more than enough warm clothes, Chong-Lan could not feel any warmth. "It was so chilly that I cold feel it throughout my bones!" In the car, she kept telling her sister that she felt so cold, while tears were persistently falling down and still did not stop when they got home. That day, it seemed to be such a long way home!

"I'm still young. How can it be!?" When Chong-Lan recalled this experience, she could not help but contracted her eyebrow. At that time, she suffered in deep confoundedness.