Worse than the Virus

I am using this poster from a Korean movie called Train to Busan. It's a real masterpiece. Unlike other movies of Zombie Apocalypse, this is not just an action film. It's not about killing zombies, it's more about how the goodness and evilness in people are amplified during an apocalyptic event. In reality, there are people who are more scary than zombies.   

Wuhan’s Quarantine

January 19^th, it couldn’t be any more ordinary. People went to work, went to school; others were shopping, getting their hair done, making reservations and planning parties for the Lunar New Year. The traffic was as congested as ever. The street was crowded as usual. Though people heard about some kind of disease from here and there, Wuhan is a city of 10-14 million people, who would care about a few dozen cases? No one wore mask.

January 20^th, people suddenly received alarming messages through social media and TV broadcast asking them to prepare for a potential outbreak. They immediately received notices that schools are closed and people should avoid going to public places. People started to search for more information. Photos and videos circulating on social media caused a lot of confusion and panic.

January 21^st and 22^nd , grocery stores were as chaotic as you could imagine. All masks, sanitizers and robbing alcohols were sold out in minutes.

January 23^rd at 2am, Wuhan’s official Sina account (like Twitter) announced that they will quarantine the city. That’s when people truly understand the severity of this outbreak. People try to decide what to do. Some people intuitively fled the city, some did not know where to go, a few had a glimpse of hope that it wasn’t that bad and the rest, they were asleep.

January 23^rd at 10am, all measures of the quarantine were implemented. The city became an island. All public transportation grounded. All exits out of the city were barricaded. Parts of the highway were demolished. But before that, 300,000+ people fled the city during those eight hours. Wuhan is the second biggest city in China. It has 1.5 million students and 2 million labors from other provinces. Those non-locals had gone home in early January, weeks before the quarantine. Therefore, most of the 5 million people were “innocent”. They didn’t know they were potential carriers.

Day 14

I have been following 3 Vloggers who live in Wuhan. They are regular civilians chronicling what life is like inside the quarantined city. People would only go out to buy food and usually it’s the husband that goes out because they only have a few masks left. One man almost couldn’t recognize his neighborhood, for one minute he was lost because the deserted street looked very different now. One man had sore throat for a couple weeks. He believed it was just a cold, but he had been staying in his small room for two weeks. He shot a video of his son’s panicky reaction when he suddenly stepped out of the room; it was funny and sad at the same time. Another couple was talking about how boring and suffocating the “home arrest” was. They were desperate to go out for one breath of fresh air. There was an event organized through social media that asked people to open their window at 8pm and scream together, “ADD OIL WUHAN!” It was supposed to be therapeutic, but it was quickly discouraged as it could be a way to spread the disease through spits.

There has been a lot of controversy about the quarantine. Some think that it should have done much earlier without giving people a heads up and others think that it would not play a big role in containing the disease since it had already spread to other parts of the country. Only a few people commented on the 8-9 million healthy populations that are still in there. Because of the shutdown of all public transportation system, there are many people who cannot reach their elderly parents who live at the other side of the city or in neighboring towns. And what about the people who have a medical emergency like a stroke or a heart attack. What about women in labor? How do they get to the hospital if they need an ambulance or any kinds of transportation? The virus is killing others who don't have the infection! The saddest situation is when there is an infected person among the healthy. In one tragic case, a sick man moved out to stay away from his wife and child, he went to the hospital every day to seek for hospitalization, after a week of no avail, he had nowhere to turn and eventually took his life. I tried to commit suicide 17 years ago, I know how hard it is for someone to do that when they don't want to die. 

The 5 Million

The 5 million people who left Wuhan are in a very different situation that’s equally dire. For the first pack of people that left Wuhan in early January, they had become public enemies in their own village or home. Neighbors forcefully sealed their door without making sure they had enough food to endure. Some returned home and found out that their family would not receive them and they couldn’t even return to Wuhan. There are videos of people calling the police when they see a car driving on the highway with Hebei’s provincial plate, though it doesn’t mean they are from Wuhan or have been to Wuhan recently. For the 300,000 that left on January 23^rd, they couldn’t find a place to stay because their social ID card indicates where they are from. As soon as someone yells, “these people are from Wuhan”, like a fire alarm, others either flee away or beat them up.

Of course, among them, there were people who already knew that they had contracted the virus and they were recklessly spreading it to other parts of the country and the world. There was a man who was bragging about taking Tylenol to bring down his fever so he could pass the temperature test at the airport. Afterward, he posted pictures of his feast in the name of celebrating his “triumphant accomplishment”. There was another man that took the train along with hundreds of people to Tibet. He immediately sought for medical help when he arrived. Prior to his arrival, Tibet was the only province that did not have a confirmed case. Out of all the provinces, he had to choose this virgin land. There was also a Taiwanese businessman who had already shown symptoms, but he went to a morning market and a night club before going to the doctor the next day. He asked directly for a CT scan of his lung. The doctor was suspicious as to why he needed a CT scan right away, he then reluctantly said that he had been to Wuhan recently. There are many cases like this where people are assholes. What’s more disgusting are the ones who try to make money out of this by scamming people's donation or selling fake or used masks!

Help?

If this was written a few days ago, I would have ended the article by asking someone, anyone to do something to help. But today I realize that there is probably nothing that can be done to help the people in Wuhan. As of yesterday, many more major cities in China have been quarantined with even more strict and extreme measures. The reason why Wuhan’s hospitals couldn’t receive enough medical supplies is because other cities are dealing with their own hot potatoes, even though not much has been reported from those cities. 

Aids from other countries are definitely needed ASAP, but how much can we expect from others when they are preparing for the worst? Japan has a shortage of masks after they donated a million to China. Their first death that’s directly or indirectly related to the corona virus happened to a government official who was in charge of the evaluation process. He committed suicide after being blamed for exposing Japan to a potential outbreak. . .

Final Thoughts

This crisis has changed most Chinese people’s value on what’s more important in life. People suddenly realized that the thick pile of cash in their hands couldn’t buy them a thin mask. While I am an ocean away from the epicenter, this crisis has changed me as well. These two weeks, I found myself being less envious, less resentful and less regretful about life in general. I ponder more on the value of life and the well being of my loved ones.

Lastly, please pray that this won’t be a global pandemic, please pray for the health care workers who sacrifice their lives in this war and please pray that we can save lives by preventing the virus from infecting our humanity. Though we as ordinary people have very little control on how the outbreak eventually affect us, we have more ability to prevent the loss of life due to causes that we cause. 

Inside the Epicenter: the Lone Reporter

LATEST UPDATES: February 7th, after being missing for two days. Chen Qiushi’s parents were told that their son had been “quarantined” at an undisclosed location. Another civilian reporter Fan Bing has also been detained. Please pray for their health and safe return!

This video published on January 30th has generated over 1.9 million viewers so far. His name is Chen QiuShi. He was born in 1985. He was working as a lawyer between 2015-2019. In recent years, he competed in a reality show and became famous as a brilliant public speaker. He has a social media channel that talks about politics, law, equality and share ideologies that can be controversial at times. He lives in Beijing. After the Wuhan’s quarantine, he was probably the only person who went into the epicenter as a journalist. Here is what he shares in this viral video. He inserted a few footage that he shot. I have marked down their time spots.

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Hi everyone, my name is Chen QiuShi. It’s 11am on January 30th. Today’s video is a bit long, thank you for understanding. My previous videos were 5 minutes long max, that’s because my intended audiences were people in China. I did not give much thought for people in abroad. Five minutes are the max length that people in China can share their videos conveniently via Wechat. But now everything published by me have been deleted, when people share my videos on social media, their accounts are also deleted. One of my Wechat accounts are blocked and I lost many people's contacts. . . Therefore, this video is more for people outside of China. After I have gone through so much in Wuhan, let me talk about what I saw these days. One thing to keep in mind, I’d only share what I see with my own eyes and what I hear with my own ears. I don’t talk about or use videos or pictures circulated by others online.

I have been here for 6 days. I have been to Wuhan’s hospitals, the construction site, the local supermarket and even the notorious Huanan Seafood Market. On Jan 29th, I went to Wuhan’s #5 hospital where allegedly many health care professionals were infected with the virus. I was unable to ask or interview any doctors to confirm this allegation. Every health care professional were extremely busy and tired. They were told to reject every request for interview; allegedly they had to surrender their cellphones.

The Lack of Supplies 

A few non-government organizations had reached out to me. They have been giving rides to health care professionals to work, others help unload supplies and deliver them to various hospitals (public transportation and regular delivery services are at a halt right now). I joined their Wechat group and I could testify that these volunteers were really exhausted. Chinese people no longer trust China’s Red Cross organization (due to a corruption scandal a few years ago). Most of the packages are small packages that people sent directly to the hospital. There are so many small packages of masks, gloves, protection gears, etc. Volunteers have to open up those packages one after another, put them into categories, inspect their quality, figure out if they were the acceptable types, etc. It was extremely tedious. The best case scenario would be having all of those life-saving supplies sent from a certified source in bulk. During one occasion, policemen were asking the volunteers for supplies, because they don’t even have anything! How is it that the government is asking non-government organizations for supplies?! Anyway, it’s a mess.

The Construction Site for New Hospitals 

I also went to the construction site where they are building two new hospitals with more than 2000 beds. (The goal is to finish them by Feb 5. As of today, it’s ready to open.) The construction runs 24/7. The construction workers are extremely exhausted, but they are still able to get a break in between shifts. The supervisors, however, have no time to rest. I talked to one of the supervisors, his eyes were red and his voice was hoarse. He said that he had not been home for 3 days, and he could only sleep 2-3 hours a day. Workers said that they are local Wuhan residents. They are willing to give up their life for the city. That’s one phrase I don’t fking understand, why should they expect to sacrifice everything? (The worker force shortage is due to the fact that many labors from neighboring towns and villages have left the city before the Lunar New Year.)

Many people asked a stupid question: why can’t we turn hotels into hospitals? Hospitals for contagious disease have a strict building code. They have three zones: red, yellow, and green. People are placed into different zones depending on the severity of their condition. Hotels are not equipped for people who have been confirmed. They can only be used to quarantine people.  In a special hospital like this, even the air inside the hospital cannot leak out. The air pressure outside should be lower than the air pressure inside. Air can come in, but it cannot get out. The plumbing system is also built to ensure that nothing contaminating will pollute the water source. I am really worried that a construction project with such complexity can be done well within such short period of time.

Transportation System is Completely Down

Yesterday, I went to Wuhan’s #5 hospital. There weren’t that many people seeking treatment like previous days. There are a few reasons as to why the number of people seeking treatment has dropped: 1) most people are under quarantined. Many neighborhoods have locked their front gate. 2) the public transportation system has been shut down. People don’t have the means to get to a hospital. 3) even if you arrive at the hospital, you are not able to be admitted. Instead you would be exposed with more pathogens.

I joined a Wechat group consisting of taxi drivers. Taxi drivers are always the first group of people who are informed about things happening in the city. They talk to lots of people every day at work. In mid-December, they had already heard that there is an outbreak that’s similar to SARS. They warned one another not to go to Huanan Seafood Market. I don’t think Huanan Seafood Market was the origin of this outbreak. (In fact, Patient zero had not been to that seafood market and 17 out of the first group of infected patients had not been to that market). I don’t know where the virus came from, but it definitely spread exponentially from Huanan Seafood Market.

Taxi drivers told me that there are more than 20,000 taxis in the city, in which 6000 of them have been assigned as transportation during the quarantine. There are four cars assigned for every neighborhood/community consisting between 600,000 to 1 million residents. FOUR CARS! They are used to transport goods and people who are in critical condition. Taxi drivers are not given any protective gears, they have to get their own. How? It’s sold out everywhere. To book these cars, people have to call their local community office. It’s impossible to get through the line.

Private vehicles are also grounded. The only means of transportation is bicycle now. A local lend me his electric motorcycle yesterday. I saw many people walking on foot to go to the hospital. Wuhan is a huge city. I feel like it’s even bigger than Beijing. That’s the main reason as to why people can’t get to the hospital. The only means for them is to call 120 (like 911). It’s almost impossible to get through the line.

The Mass Number 

[10:44 showing footage of the hospital]

I went to Wuhan’s #5 hospital yesterday. It was relatively in order. I talked with people lining up for the test kit. I pretended to be one of them. I asked them, “how many days have you shown symptoms? Is this your first visit to the hospital? How many people are sick in your family? ” Some people told me that they have been having a fever for a few days, though they took some over-the-counter medications, the fever doesn’t subside. A triage nurse said to one of them, “you are number 126, there is a test kit available for you today. Go to the second floor…”

[11:23 showing footage of a health care worker being angry toward a colleague. She said that she has been having symptoms of the corona virus for a few days. She is really desperate because she can’t even get a bed right away. ]

[12:59 showing footage of oxygen tanks lining outside and inside the hospital.]

I went to another hospital that was much more chaotic. I accompanied a suspected patient and his brother to find out what it takes to confirm his diagnosis. There were people everywhere. They were lying on the benches. Stretches were placed inside the hallway and even outside of the bathroom. Over 60 people were hooked up to oxygen tank. Some people were sitting in their car while hanging their IV bottom on a tree branch. Most people were receiving IV on the stairs outside of the hospital. It was really cold outside.  The healthy brother said to me, “if it weren’t for my brother, I would never choose to come here. You really shouldn’t be here Chen.” When asking the doctor for a test kit, the doctor said to the ill brother, “we need to assess your condition first. We have to give priority to people who appear to be in more critical condition than you are. We don’t have enough test kits.” Did you hear that? WE DON’T HAVE ENOUGH TEST KITS! Therefore, many people stay home. Though they have been to 5 or 6 hospitals, they couldn’t get a test kit anywhere. Without the test kit, they cannot be confirmed, without a confirmation, they cannot be admitted. Every hospital I went to told me that they ran out of beds. That’s why they are trying to finish building the new hospitals ASAP.  At the end of the day, the two brothers went home empty handed. The doctors and nurses were really kind and empathic to them in spite how exhausted and how uncomfortable working all day being sealed inside their protective gears.

Again, I only talk about what I saw and what I heard. I spoke to another man. He’s in his 40s. He almost cried while telling me, “I am coughing, I have been having fever for a week. My younger brother also has fever, and so is my mother-in-law. The days before the quarantine, I had a meal with my family; I also went to my in-laws’ home for a meal. I played Ma-Jiang with my colleagues. I was in contact with almost 20 people. If I am a confirmed case, what about all of these people? My family is doomed.”

the Only Front Line Reporter

I have been trying to reach other journalists in the city. I tried to contact reporters from a Japanese newspaper. I want to chronicle how they evacuate their citizens. I want to talk to their embassy to find out what they know and how severe the situation is. The fact that each country is evacuating their citizen causes more panic to local people. But, I was not able to make that connection. Now that over 200 Japanese citizens have left the city, it’s important to find out the percentage of infected cases among them. Try to follow up on that!

Before I came, I tried to connect with the only media channel in the city. I tried to learn something from them. I have not been professional trained. I cannot do this with just a cellphone. But I couldn’t get a hold of them. I tried to get in touch with other investigative reporters, but none of them are here. Finally, I heard that there is a HK reporter that lives in the city. After established contact, I asked him to share what he learned with me and how we could exchange information. He told me that he had not gone out for days. His company asked him to stay inside his hotel room. The safety of their employee is their priority. “Chen, you have gone further than any of us.” I connected with a journalist from New York Times.  I was going through his Twitter activity, I saw that he had not reported anything from any emergency departments. No one else goes to ground zero!

[21:00] I now know what it means to be a lone soldier.

[22:33 WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGE showing a deceased person in a wheelchair, his family is holding his body up while calling the funeral home.]

That’s what I saw yesterday. I am a bit scared now. I feel scared. People who went to hospital only because they knew that they had infected the virus. Healthy people avoid going out altogether. I envy the reporters from CCTV (China’s official news channel). They were wearing protective gears from head to toe when interviewing isolated patients in the green zone, they interviewed them via Skype. How risky was that?! I was in the Emergency department. No one knew how many infected patients were in there. I only had a pair of glasses and a mask. I had a coat. I sanitized it every day and hanged it outside of my room. I smell like sanitizer. I am under a lot of pressure right now. I feel like my breathing is a bit heavy right now, a bit of chest pain, not sure if it’s because I was wearing mask 5-6 hours a day. Another signature symptom of the virus is diarrhea. My digestive system was never well before, I often had diarrhea.

Okay, I am going to end here. Again, I will only share what I personally witness: lack of masks, lack of protective garments, lack of supplies and most importantly shortage of test kits. Without using the test kits, people are only suspected patients and they are sent home. But even if there are enough test kits, they still need beds, equipment and doctors.

[25:40] I will try to be strong and resilient. The government official called me and asked me where I am. No one knows where I stay in Wuhan except one person. The government spoke to my parents. My parents said, “I want him home more than you do.”  I have the virus in front of me and I have other troubles behind me. But as long as I am still alive, I will continue to do my report to reveal the truth. I am not afraid of death, why would I be afraid of anything else?!

Not Forsaken

This is a true story. You can Google "Chris Channon" to find a dozen news report about him and his story. I met Chris at work and ever since he told me his story, I have been telling it to everyone around me. Finally, I found the time to write it down and hopefully it will go even further.  

I was once a successful business owner with two construction companies, living a comfortable life for over 30 years. My three beautiful children were my pride. A few years ago, I decided to devote my life to humanitarian work serving in Africa and Southeast Asia. My background in construction enabled me to help the local people build schools and hospitals. While working with such a large number of refugees, I experienced humanity to its greatest extreme. I witnessed poverty, brokenness, oppression and even genocide. I evacuated from Africa when the nearby river was overflowing with bodies of innocent civilians.

In 2014, I took a break and planned a 3-month trip in Asia. This dream trip would take me on an adventure of exploring, scuba diving and mountain climbing. It would end after visiting the Great Wall of China. After six amazing weeks in Manila, Bali and Kuala Lumpur, I made the untimely decision to go to Thailand. I went to a pristine island called Koh Lipe located near the southern coast of Thailand. It was an absolute paradise. In fact, it was so beautiful that I decided to stay for two more days than I had planned.

On that fateful morning of August 14, 2014, I went to the local ATM to withdraw a large amount of cash for an upcoming diving excursion. I remember having an eerie feeling that I was being watched as I withdrew my money, but I quickly brushed it off. I spent the rest of the day enjoying the sun, the sand and the surf. After dinner at a popular seafood restaurant, I finished the day and was on my way back to the hotel. As I entered into an unlit section of the beach, a local man suddenly came from behind; he reached out to grab my wallet. I tried to push him away and that was my last memory before everything went dark. (Later the local police told me that they had found a lead pipe and my empty wallet discarded on the beach. Around the same time, two other tourists were also robbed and killed in nearby area.) 

I opened my eyes and saw a galaxy of stars blinking like the purest diamonds. The sound of the surf was really soft without the noise of the day. For a few seconds, the beauty of the night made me forget where I was or how I got there. When stabbing pain shot through my lower back I remembered the tide; was it coming or going? Sheer terror and panic gripped me as I envisioned the water getting closer and drowning me. I tried to get up, but my legs and arms were completely unresponsive. I screamed and screamed, but only creatures of the dark echoed my cries. I had never felt so lonely and hopeless. I cried and begged God to rescue me. My faith was what carried me through all these years. I thought it had already gone through enough trials to prove its depth. But the true test had just begun.

As the dark sky turned a shade lighter, the surf receded. The stars dimmed as if they closed their eyes to shun the next scene. Crabs, thousands of them came from the shallow for their breakfast, along with the mosquitoes and fire ants. They soon discovered that they had an exotic item on the menu --- me. I was freshly seasoned by the saltiness of the sea. For hours, they feasted on me. It was fortunate that I could no longer feel the rest of my body. But the pinches and bites on my face were razor sharp. The horror of being eaten alive slowly was worse than death itself. I pleaded with God again, how could he keep on watching this when the stars even took pity on me.

This next part was the highlight of my entire journey. However, you might argue that I was delusional and hallucinating, but to me, it was more real than anything I could physically see or touch. I heard a deep and firm voice from above or from within that said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” It was one of the most assuring promises of God that I always meditated on. After hearing it, I was embraced by a wave of peace that stopped me from fearing. Shortly after, a pack of stray dogs came out of the bushes. Just when I thought they were joining in the feast, they rubbed their furs against my wretched body, they licked my face and they swept the little monsters away. For the next while, they just leaned on me like they were my pets. Their warm bodies covered me like a blanket. I soon passed out or perhaps I fell asleep. . .

A squeaky scream woke me up, I saw a local man with his dog from a distance. Just when I wanted to call for help, “my dogs” got up and went towards the man. He threw rocks at them and ran away frantically. The dogs left me for good. My hope reignited as I saw the sun climbing up from the horizon, I would eventually be rescued as more people come to the beach. A few minutes later, another local man discovered me. When I called on him, my voice was so hoarse that I didn’t sound like a human anymore. In his eyes, I saw a reflection of my gruesome and disfigured body. I could understand why he too ran away in terror. My survival depended on the mercy of a Good Samaritan. A couple from New Zealand taking a mid-morning stroll on the beach spotted me and came to investigate. I used my last bit of energy to beg them for help. Thankfully I could communicate with them and convince them that I did not come from the sea. The husband took off to find help while his wife stayed to guard me. She managed to pour water into my mouth. I can still remember clearly how refreshing and sweet that water was; they tasted better than the morning dew.

When the local police officers showed up on the beach, they could only speak in Thai. They did their best to figure out what happened to me. Meanwhile, I was surrounded by a bunch of curious and gossipy bystanders. Everyone had their own theory of who I was. Some looked at me as if I was a mermaid. After what seemed like hours, they placed me on a sheet of plywood and balanced me on the sidecar of their motorcycle. They took me to the local clinic. The nurses on duty had no idea what to do with me. They placed me on a cold steel table and did their best to comfort me. I looked at the clock; it was 12:00 noon. The local police continued to interrogate me and I was questioned for over two hours.  Even though I had no idea what they were saying, I think they suspected me of being a drug dealer, they probably thought my paralysis was due to some kind of drug or horse tranquilizer.

The decision was made to send me to the mainland. A local fisherman was hired. Four hours later, I was carried to his boat. As I was being loaded, they dropped me. I believe it was the first time in my life that I have ever passed out from pain. The waves were treacherous, and with every bump I was a step closer to the gate of heaven. It took well over an hour to reach the mainland. When we arrived, I was loaded into the bed of an old pickup truck and taken to the city hospital in Pak Bara. The doctors did their best on assessing my injury. I was sent for x-rays. My poor body was being tossed and twisted on the table for at least two dozen times before I was told that the x-ray machine did not have film in it and they had to redo the whole frigging thing!

I was then loaded into an old ambulance and taken to a bigger hospital in the city of Hat Yai. Upon arrival, I was quickly assessed and after receiving both an MRI and CT Scan, it was determined that my 4^th cervical vertebrae had been shattered; my C5 and C6 were compressed together. FINALLY, a C-collar was placed around my neck. I needed emergency surgery to assure my best chance of recovery, but I was worried that they did not have the best neurosurgeon for the job. Coincidentally, a top neurosurgeon from United States was in town giving a lecture that day! He played a big role in directing my surgery and ultimately, it was a success.

I remember waking from surgery gagging on the incubation tube placed in my throat and thinking at least I was alive. The doctor asked if there was anyone he could call for me and, soon after, I was finally connected with my family. Obviously frantic with worry and concern, they began making  arrangements to get me home. The doctors decided to transfer me to Bangkok. Two weeks into my recovery, I was propped up in my bed; and for the first time I was able to wiggle my big toe. I cried like a baby and made the bold statement that I would walk again. After four weeks, I was finally well enough to travel home to Toronto. I was immediately taken to Sunnybrook where I spent eight days, and then I was admitted to Toronto Rehab-Lyndhurst Center for 16 weeks of rehab.

As tough as my rehab was, going home was by far the toughest war I had ever faced. The physical challenges were overwhelming, but the mental and emotional obstacles were even worse. I went through all the stages of grief, as well as dealing with loss of dignity, invasion of personal space, loss of control, loneliness, regret, and pity. Fighting and defeating these battles took the greatest amount of strength and faith I could muster. . . I am now four years post injury. What slowly and gradually turned my life around was reaching out to my peers and being active in the SCI community. When I realized that I could still give and serve, I regained my purpose and meaning in life. Among the many advisory boards and projects that I am involved with right now, my greatest fulfillment comes from being a peer support volunteer at Spinal Cord Injury Ontario. I surely hope that my story and resilience will inspire many to never give up and to fight courageously in their own battle. 

Sometimes I still think about the magnificent stars on the night when I lied on that beach. It was the dark sky that made their twinkles shining so brightly. 

the Light and the Way

Today, I had lunch with a lovely lady. We met a year ago in the hospital where I work at. She was an inpatient and we had a very interesting conversation about her near-death experience. Here is what I wrote about her in a previous post. 

. . .

This lady is an inpatient, she had her injury only a few weeks ago. She is a new comer from China, she doesn’t speak a lot of English. My colleague Ivan asked me to translate for him and become her peer support. I will call her Lee.

Lee told me that she was hit by a car while crossing the street. She had a head injury, a spinal cord injury, a wrecked shoulder and a broken pelvis. The doctor didn’t think she would make it and asked her husband to fly to Canada to prepare for her funeral. Her husband took the very next flight and didn’t even pack a luggage. As she was describing the chaos, I asked her, “did you see a light when you were in the coma?” Her eyes were wide open, “Yes! I remember, for a very long time, I saw this blinding light above my head, I was in this place that was just so, so, so bright, to a point where my eyes were hurt.”

“Did you see a colorful world?”

“No, it was just a place that was really bright.”

I asked again, “did you see a man?”

“I saw a figure wrapped in light. I think it was a woman.” 

“You sure it wasn't a man?”

“It was a woman.” (My Catholic friend told me that it was Mary)

“Were you at peace?”

“I had no fear, I just felt normal.”

What amazed her was, for days, she had been telling people about this experience, which she could not explain. Everyone around her kept on telling her that she was in a confused mental state. I was the first person who told her what she had experienced before she even brought it up

. . .

We reunited for the first time since her discharge. I could not even recognize her as she was walking toward me without any aids. Though people might not be able to tell if she has a disability, she told me that she still has a blood clot in her brain that can potentially trigger a stroke. One of her arms is partially paralyzed and her entire body is stiff.

We were having lunch together. And very quickly, we began to talk about her supernatural experience again. This time, she had even more to share. . . .

“When I first came to Canada, I really didn’t have any friends. My roommates were Christians and they brought me to a church retreat. At the time I didn’t have any knowledge about God and I was an atheist growing up. During the first and second day of the retreat, I was really bored and didn’t understand what they were saying. On the third day, I wanted to head back home, but my friends said that the agenda on this last day was the highlight of the entire retreat, in fact it was what others came here for. We had a preacher from the States, she was about to pray for everyone, one by one and she was going to give each person a prophecy of their life. I wanted to leave early so I lined up early and sat in the front row. Everyone had their phone out to record what the preacher was saying to them. Out of respect, I pulled out my phone but I realized that my battery was low. My friend used her phone to record my “session”.

The preacher is a white lady and she only speaks English. Both of us couldn’t understand a single word she was saying and she talked superb fast. We played the recording to another friend afterward. Her English was a little better, but all she could understand was the phrase ‘you will enter a deep sleep.’

At the time, I really didn’t believe in anything like that and didn’t give much thought. The retreat happened on the 2^nd of that month, and I got hit by a car on the 21^st of that month. I was in a comma for nearly 14 days.

While I was in the comma, my friend was completely overwhelmed by the fulfillment of that prophecy, she asked her son to dictate the entire audio word by word, and over and over until it was translated to its entirety. Basically, the prophecy was saying that I will enter a deep rest, I will be placed in an uncomfortable situation, I will be troubled, but I will be okay and I will rejoice again and God will protect me.

When I was out of the hospital, my friend came to visit me and brought up the audio tape and told me everything that she knew. That’s when I remember that when I was in that really really bright place, I heard a powerful voice rumbling and said, ‘you will be alright, you will rejoice again.’ Now that I have a better understanding about God, the “figure” I saw in that bright place was an angel with giant wings.

My friend and I are forever changed by this experience. Though I have so many problems with my health and I might die any time because of that blood clot, I have no fear, I am happy every day. My old friends in China always tell me how much they worry for me and how sorry they feel for me, I am so tired of explaining to them that I am fine, I am so joyful. They won’t understand it and I cannot even explain fully. ”

We had a superb long conversation that the diners sitting at our neighboring table changed three times. I also shared my experience with her and stories of other people that I know of.

I used to refrain myself from writing anything too “religious”. I don’t want to turn my readers off. But now I think that this is something that I must share freely and widely. At the end it is the most important aspect of one’s life and afterlife. If you are still with me at this point, please continue to read to the end.

One of my Mom’s friends made a very interesting comment the other day. He said that at his age, he has no drives, no aspirations, no dreams and no goals in life. There is no point fighting for anything, living for anything. The only thing that he hopes for is a good death. He hopes that he won’t be so sick when he gets even older, he won’t have to suffer before he dies, and he can die in his sleep. That is really sad. If you think about it, if this life is all you have, if this life is all that you believe in, then once you surpass the prime of your life, every day is a downhill, every day is closer to the day of your death. But for us who truly believe and live for God, we have hope in every life’s stage and situation. When we are at the end of our life, we have even better things to look forward to. As I said before, who cares if others say what we believe in is a delusion, we have already made the most out of this life by having a heavenly mindset.

Last week, 60 Minutes had a segment that talks about the Hubble telescope. It’s about to be replaced by the latest technology, another space telescope that will see even further into the vast universe. The program was sharing some of the photos that Hubble took. The scientists concluded that the number of stars and planets in the University is more than the grains of sand on earth! To the Creator of Universe, we are even smaller than an ant. Yet, He knows each of us by name. He looks after us, He cares for us and He died for us. That is a very humbling thought.

I guess my goal in this article is to help you become more aware of what is more than just this life. That’s an exciting thing to ponder over. And Jesus said, “Ask, you will receive; Seek, you will find; Knock and the door will open to you.” If you will just have an open heart and attitude to know God, try Him in prayers for all the right reasons, He will for sure reveal Himself to you. 

Blessings!