My Story of Hope
Author: Young Tsai
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| Article Index |
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| My Story of Hope |
| • A Detour |
| • Sinking into Despair |
| • The Dawn of Hope |
| • The Change Within |
| • My Life Now |
| • The Future |
| All Pages |
From Surviving to Thriving: My Story of Hope
Let me begin by saying that two years ago, not in my wildest dreams, did I think I would be telling this story about my life. At that time, I was at the peak of my career with a lovely wife and family. Then, suddenly, my life veered out of control and I found myself on a frightening two-year roller coaster ride.
To my surprise, that nightmare would end with my discovery of an entirely new, richer way of life. A life that I would never have known existed had it not been for Master Li and the Life-Saving ZiJiu Method, the continual love and support of my wife, Nora, and my children. And it all started with my diagnosis of cancer.
My Life Before
My beginnings were humble. I was raised in a poor family in the countryside of southern Taiwan. To my good fortune, in the late 1970’s, after receiving an undergraduate degree in physics in Taiwan, I was accepted into a four-year Ph.D. program in the United States at Northwestern University in Chicago. While working in Reno, Nevada one summer, I met my future wife, Nora. We were both students, employed by the same casino earning money for our upcoming tuition. It was love at first sight. A year later, she joined me in Chicago and we were married.
Nora and I started from scratch and built a wonderful life together. By the time I received my Ph.D. in Material Science and Engineering at Northwestern, Nora had earned two masters degrees and had become a Ph.D. candidate. It was a very productive time for us, during which we were blessed with three wonderful children, two daughters and a son. Nora made a choice at that point to sacrifice the pursuit of her Ph.D. in order to remain at home and raise our family.
The early 1980’s brought us to Silicon Valley, where I worked first for Intel and then for Phillips Semiconductors. Despite the financial rewards of my career advancement, it was taking its toll on my family life, requiring us to move nearly every two years. Eventually my work took us to Singapore, where we spent six years. In 1997, my father passed away and we returned to Taiwan in 2000 to care for my mother. With each successive move, Nora was diligent in caring for our family. She always followed me without so much as a complaint.
My hurried pace came to a sudden halt in September 2005 when I developed a gastric ulcer and was hospitalized for ten days. The surgery was successful and the pain completely subsided. I felt so much better, I thought I was cured. Returning to my hectic lifestyle, I became too busy to schedule the follow-up appointments recommended by my physician. In doing so, I failed to heed the first warning.