From Homebound Packing to Seize The Day

Finally I have finished packing for my trip to Taiwan, and the sense of anxiety started hitting me that I wasn’t able to sleep well last night. I was planning to take a bus from the airport into Taipei and change to a taxi, but mom insisted that she would come to pick me up instead of having me doing the bus and taxi thing at midnight. Yes, by the time I arrive and clear the custom it will be close to midnight.

Mom was telling me about my brother’s recent orthopedic surgery and we just could not continue the conversation because we both started crying. Life hasn’t been very easy for my little brother, and if it’s hard for me to deal with his life trauma then I can’t even imagine how he feels. At age of 8, he was diagnosed with kidney failure and since then there was no childhood for him except hospital visits and hardship. Then 10 years ago he started dialysis treatment that has pretty much prevented him from career advancement and fun activities that young people would enjoy. He later met his then girlfriend and fell in love with her, wanting a normal life and starting a family, he decided to get kidney transplant in China even though he was aware of the possible risks.

Now, two years after the transplant, the medication he has to take to keep the organ working for him has damaged his bones that doctor had to replace his hipbones with ceramic orthopedic devices, otherwise he can’t even walk. Ironically and I found it very cruel — on July 2^nd he went into the operation and it’s the same day he got laid off from work, and it’s also his birthday.

I was interviewed by KTSF26 one time and the host asked if my involvement with charity works has anything to do with my brother, and I told her that I wanted to help people fighting illness and as a healthy person running around to raise funds is just a small step. As I writing this now I started thinking how little time I’ve spent with my brother when we growing up, and I remember the day my brother and I climbed up the Yosemite Sentinel Dome together — that’s the only time our whole family had done any outdoor and physical activity together. Later he bought a purple Yosemite cap to celebrate his achievement — hiking for the very first time in his life.

Soon I will be seeing my brother when he checks out of hospital, and I don’t know how I will feel or what I will say to him. But I want to hug my little brother and tell him that I am so proud of him for never giving up. We all have to use our precious moments to live life fully every single second of every single day.