Huiyi's story

It wasn’t a real problem, she thought. Backaches are common annoyances. After all, it was perhaps only a matter of time: she had been sitting upright, hours on end, preparing proposals and filling out countless forms for her clients. So Huiyi didn’t think much of it initially.

Then the trembling began.

Her hands quivered and their strength started to sap. Merely gripping a pen to write required a focused physical effort. Within a few weeks, her legs went limp as well. Painkillers were prescribed. So was a wheelchair.

Her doctors suspected a motor-neurological condition. Exactly what it is, they don’t know, yet. More blood tests will eventually identify it, they hope.

But even in a wheelchair, Huiyi stands tall as an inspiration and role model for her colleagues and friends. They often say of people who defy the limitations of their frailty that their spirit is willing, even though their body may be weak. But in Huiyi’s case, her spirit soars.

It may be hard to appreciate just how tough Huiyi’s spirit is, given her graceful and gentle demeanor. But spend a while talking to her; ask her about what her experience has taught her. Then listen to the unmistakable determination hidden behind her softly-sweet voice and watch for the eternal hope that dances in her eyes, then you’ll know. This is but a temporary episode, she asserts; it is only a matter of time before she recovers.

While her physical strength eludes her for now, Huiyi has found an abundance of spiritual strength in her JNP family. It is they - and Boss in particular - who serve as the preface, plot and prologue of her story.

When her condition made it tough for her to travel, a group of advisers was quickly formed and rostered to offer her rides from her home to the office and back. She was initially understandably worried about imposing on her colleagues who had busy business schedules of their own and confided in Boss. It was then that he helped her see that in allowing them to be of service to her, she was in fact giving them an opportunity to grow in virtue. There is no doubt that her JNP family has rallied around her, infusing her spirit with hope and determination, as well as nurturing within themselves a spirit of love and service.

And when she was contemplating whether to buy or rent a wheelchair, Boss told her to stop worrying and bought it for her himself.

Then there was the episode in the hospital. When she was warded after her condition deteriorated late last year, Boss and his family visited. Being the proponent of traditional Chinese medical therapies that he is, he asked his wife and two young sons to join him in giving Huiyi a therapeutic massage to help her regain her strength and spirits. She recounts vividly - and blushingly - how they even performed foot reflexology for her, even though she had not been able to shower for days!

The idea of JNP as a true extended family was also eloquently manifested recently when Boss, on behalf of his own father, passed her the business card of a chiropractor. His father had told him to give it to her after he learnt about Huiyi’s condition, saying a friend of his had sought treatment for a similar condition and was completely cured.

Huiyi’s story is one that is both touching and inspiring. Her experience has enabled her to see life in a new and wondrous light. She appreciates the little things as well as the great ones, knowing they both come from the same source of goodness. But Huiyi’s story is also JNP’s story. She has benefit from her JNP family’s love as much as they have benefited from the example of her indomitable spirit.

Like a true love story, their paths are interwoven, inextricably linked in promise, pain and prize. And like all good stories, it involves a great deal of character development.

Sun Huiyi has been an advisor with JNP for two years. She continues to serve her clients with passion and dedication despite her physical condition, and attends JNP functions and events when her health permits.