The world of Tzu Chi February 2020 (Vol.119)

TZU CHI 119 19 in 1997 at the patients’ ward to which her husband was admitted, as memories from the 22 years she has spent in the settlement came flooding back in vivid detail. Revisiting the past Pak Nang openly professed that she felt inferior due to her disfigured features when she first met the volunteers; she wore a pair of thick glasses and shuffled with a slow gait, her face appeared flattened, her nose was crooked, a piece of white cloth was perpetually wrapped around her neck to conceal the breathing tube protruding from her throat, her left eyeball was flushed milky white and bulged from its socket. Many avoided her, but the volunteers embraced her and her flaws all the same. Pak Nang once lamented her fate and felt destined to a life of misfortune. She was admitted to the settlement at the age of 15 upon contracting a severe case of leprosy, never to return to the outside world she used to know. “I underwent surgery at 17 to insert a breathing tube through my throat into the trachea. From then on, I had to rely on the tube for breathing and speaking. My face was subsequently infected by bacteria. A doctor attempted to reconstruct my face through cosmetic surgery, but the operation was a failure and almost resulted in me bleeding to death. My face became even more disfigured. Furthermore, I’ve endured operations to remove my appendix and a tumour in my uterus. I’ve also experienced sudden paralysis in my lower body. My condition improved after undergoing surgery, but my body was constantly covered in festering sores that were painful and itchy to the touch,” she revealed. A crusty layer that has formed on her left eye had caused her much distress, compounded by the chronic bouts of pain and an itching sensation coursing through her body. She bought a tube of ointment at the recommendation of an acquaintance, hoping to cure her condition. Alas, her face and left eye swelled upon application. Her left eye turned blind soon after. Pak Nang spent most of the first half of her life shuttling between hospital wards and operating theatres. She had also found herself in several close brushes with death. To her relief, she was fortunate enough to meet her significant other to share her life with amidst tough times. The wedded couple moved into one of the chalets in the settlement and entrusted the care of their newborn daughter to a relative. Over the years, Pak Nang has been maintaining contact with her daughter, who continues to visit her at the settlement even in adulthood. Resisting prejudice In 1997, Pak Nang’s husband contracted a strange illness that paralysed him with pain, warranting him admission to the male patients’ ward for treatment. Pak Nang herself was in poor health, yet the prospect of being separated from her husband left her with a heavy heart. She eventually decided to relocate from her chalet to the female patients’ ward, which was located in closer proximity to the male ward. One day, Pak Nang was attending to her husband when she noticed a motley crew uniformly clad in navy shirts and white trousers, exchanging greetings with the patients, distributing supplies and carrying heavy objects for some elderly residents as they made their way across the ward. She was Love Lives On in the Valley of Hope