For the third year in a row, Shirley Cheng is yet again one of the winners in the national Be the Star You Are! annual essay contest, this time earning Honorable Mention for her heartfelt piece, My Mother: A Fighter, a Victor, a Lover, which applauds her stellar mother Juliet Cheng for being a courageous and loving fighter to protect her life at all costs.
My beloved mother Juliet Cheng is a fighter, a victor, but above all, she is a lover. I am darn proud to have her as my mother.
Here is why.
Since I am severely physically disabled with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, my mother has not only stood up for me countless times, but she has also saved my life on numerous occasions. I can still vividly recall one particular day she did just that.
One July morning on Friday the 13th in 1990, we visited my doctor in Connecticut one last time before we were to leave for China for the fifth time to seek the right treatment for the crippling disease that has made a home in my body since I was only eleven months old. After entering a room in Newington Children's Hospital led by my unsmiling doctor, we noticed a crowd eyeing us silently and unmovingly. The doctor, who was usually all smiles, was still unsmiling when he returned to us.
"Do you agree to have surgery for Shirley?" he asked my mother. He wanted surgery on six of my joints--both ankles, both knees, and both hips--in a single operation.
"No," she replied, her eyes unblinking and voice steady. "You don't have any medicine to effectively control her inflammation; you need to fix the problem from the inside first, then from the outside." She could have easily bowed to his medical recommendation; she could have easily let me have the surgery and not stood up for my well-being. Being an unemployed, Chinese-speaking single parent would have hindered most parents from protecting their children, but my mother stood firm like a lioness ready to protect her cub at all costs. Above all, she had to battle her own horrendous illnesses at the same time.
As if on cue in a suspense movie, the crowd moved in, and immediately, a woman pushed me away. My mom had just lost custody--the right to be the parent of her own daughter.
Before I lost sight of her, I saw anger, but more so, I saw determination. I knew then that she would win the custody case and prevent me from receiving the unwanted, harmful treatment. She held reason in her hand, and because of this, she would prevail in the battle against injustice. Holding deep faith in her, I remained calm.
And won the case she did, but only after five long months of fighting in court and sheer terror; after appearing on CBS This Morning show with Paula Zahn and being interviewed by major media outlets, including The Associated Press and the New York Times; and after I vomited blood and became all skin and bones under the doctor's "care," which consisted of administration of naproxen to me on an empty stomach and frequent x-rays and blood tests, at times weekly.
Thus, whenever I look back on that moment when I detected the dogged determination on my mother's face, my spirit soars with not only gratitude but pride. Yes, I am indeed darn proud to have a hero as my mother. She constantly shows me her unconditional love and unwavering support by protecting my life using her wits and guts, not by simply telling me of her love (though she does that quite a bit, too). She not only walks the walk but waltzes it; actions speak much louder than words, and her actions are music to my heart, to my soul, sustaining my life while gently reminding me of what true love is all about each and every day.
About the Author:
Shirley Cheng (b. 1983), a blind and physically disabled award-winning author, motivational speaker, self-empowerment expert, parental rights in children's medical care advocate, poet, author of seven books, and contributing author of ten books, continues to see after her vision loss. Although wheelchair-bound, with severe juvenile rheumatoid arthritis since infancy, she has overcome overwhelming challenges and obstacles with a bright attitude. Owing to years of hospitalization, she received no education until age eleven. However, after only about 180 days of special education in elementary school, she mastered grade level in all areas, including a foreign language--English, and entered a regular sixth grade class in middle school. After a successful eye surgery, Shirley hopes to earn multiple science doctorates from Harvard University.
http://www.ShirleyCheng.com