~Angels from the Heart~

I caught somethin’ on the TVBS Entertainment News 2 days ago that moved me so much I had to pen it down.. it was neither one of those typical updates of artistes’ happenings nor some brainless media cook-up stories of the latest showbiz scandal that one would normally expect to see on such shows. It was a real and meaningful story – a story about a die-hard fan of Vivian Hsu, who is a 20-something yr old cancer patient called JL.

The TVBS Entertainment News team including host, ah ya3 followed Vivian to pop a surprise visit to JL at his hometown in a rural village in Southern Taiwan. Vivian has been very concerned about JL ever since she got acquainted with him; she arranged her mum to visit JL every week to help take care of him alongside his single-mum, and see to any thing that JL needs. JL’s mum started to sob when she finally saw the whole group of people arrive at her place.. she is very touched that Vivian took time out of her busy schedule and came all the way down just to see her son. JL is a 100% devoted fan of Vivian.. he has been supporting Vivian since the earliest days when Vivian first started out as a newbie until now, and I could see that Vivian truly appreciates JL’s support for her all these years.. she puts her hand around JL like she is ‘sayang-ing’ her little brother, and her concern for him was written all over her face. Vivian also brought lots of gifts for JL, including a surprise, which was Vivian’s own pet pig called “Little Princess”. JL likes pigs a lot, so Vivian decided to let JL take care of Little Princess so they could have each other for company.. it’s really sweet :)

While they were all gathered in JL’s room, JL’s mum shared with the rest about JL’s situation. Before Vivian knew about JL’s existence, JL was bedridden and he was in a very bad condition. There was once when his heart almost stopped beating and the doctors warned his mum to be prepared for the worst.. that JL might leave her any moment. JL’s mum’s heart was shattered. (she was weeping very badly when she reached this point.. and I cried) JL told his mum that his last wish was to see Vivian in person. Though JL’s mum knew how far-fetched it sounds cuz they are just a nobody whom Vivian doesn’t know of, she was determined to help her son realize his dream. She said she will carry JL on her back all the way to look for Vivian no matter what it took. Fortunately JL survived the ordeal, and now he’s on his way to recovery ever since Vivian became his friend =) =) JL has gained 3 kg in the past 3 mths and he certainly looks much better now.. he is able to walk on his own now and can even slowly make his way down the stairs in his house! The power of emotional support from one’s loved ones is THIS great.. it creates MIRACLES!!

I do not know JL and his family but I certainly feel for them from the bottom of my heart. I cried because I could feel the pain that JL’s mother is going through, having painstakingly raised her son up by herself all these years only to expect a fatal disease to attack her dear oldest son. It’s not easy to sustain a family like this, with a patient in the household who is incapable of taking care of himself and needs long-term care.. it is extremely mentally-draining. And the last thing that JL’s mum wants to think about is to lose his son..

I smiled too because I was glad that JL is getting better everyday, and I was touched by all the unselfish love and strength that everyone gave JL and his family in the midst of all the sorrow and gloom, including everyone from the village and, Vivian (plus another one of her fan who volunteered for this visit too!) – who is of no relation to JL and has no obligation to help him, but has shown so much care and concern for him through her actions.

JL’s story served to remind me of how lucky I am and the people around me are. We are so different from JL in so many ways, at the very minimum, we have good health, and we can go anywhere or do anything as and when we want to. Living in a modern city like Singapore, we are often so caught up with material concerns that we often forget about our basics, of how “rich” we actually already are. No matter how bad some things in our life can get, we are still luckier than ALOT of people. Some things have been there for us all this while and it seems natural that they are JUST there, so we can’t really blame ourselves for taking these things for granted.. after all no one ever taught us that we have to learn to appreciate them.. like peace in our country, our parents and our own health. What about the babies who were born in war-torn countries, or were orphans since birth and never knew who their parents were, or born with a sickness for no apparent reason?

We are truly luckier and have a lot more than many others out there that we don’t see but are somewhere at some corner of this same planet we live on. If we can learn to appreciate and cherish all the things we have right now, we can all be happy and contented no matter how ordinary we are. Little things make you happy, and small issues do not bother you but instead turn out to be something that makes you a stronger person. Like, you’re happy that your friend bought you a small gift from her overseas trip; it’s not about how much or how big the gift is, but it’s the thought that counts, that she remembers you and cares to get something nice for you. And, we wouldn’t blame our parents for irritating us with their non-stop nagging because we know in our hearts that it’s because they care for us and they want better things for us. If not why would they want to add on trouble for themselves of having to meddle with our affairs knowing that most probably they will only get black faces from us in return? I must admit that parents often do not know how to express themselves effectively and children often interpret their intentions wrongly.. after all we are playing different roles, and it really takes a lot of understanding and compromise for both parties to learn to put themselves in the other party’s shoes.

Kinda digressed over there and I really posted a super duper long post this time.. *oops* On an ending note, I wanna thank TVBS team for featuring JL’s story because it urged me - especially - to appreciate the people around me.. my family and my friends.. I love you all.. *MUACKS!* Show all your friends and your loved ones that you care.. love and concern for the people around us will never be too much and they only help to make this world a cosier place for all of us~ Also, Vivian Hsu used to be only a singer with good looks to me. Now, she’s like an angel to me, a beautiful lady on the outside with a golden heart on the inside =D