Our lives are made up of a series of moments and encounters. But do you know what we remember the most? People. We remember how they make us feel and vice versa.
Now, I would like to bring all of you into the Ampang Hospital auditorium, where we recently celebrated 10 year anniversary of Max Family – a Max Global Network patient group in Malaysia. It was a sunny Saturday on 23 April 2016.
I think I can make it now, the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is the rainbow I’ve been praying’ for
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.
The celebration was started when Mike played “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash. Mike is one of the caregivers who has been with Max Family for a long time. I have never heard the song before but I think he played the best song for that day.
A special day is filled with big moments, they say. Personally, I believe it’s a special day when it makes me pause and reflect. Definitely the celebration day was one of special days. So in this post, I would love to share how the day has imprinted feelings into my being.
Mei Ching was the first person to give opening speech that day. There was something different in her speech, it was fulfilling in different way.
She talked about the loss of two Max Family members who were very supportive during their lifetime. They never missed attending the patient workshops, with their ever-ready smiles. Not just that, they were the persons who tried their best to extend helping hands. One of them would always volunteer to help The Max Foundation’s Malaysia team conducting the Maximo and Big C sessions. She even sponsored a cake in one of the sessions; you can tell how sweet she was.
When Mei Ching shared the story of loss, there were two things came into my mind. First, we are always be remembered by how we lived our lives. And loss could empower us, ones who are still living. How we want to be remembered? That itself is a very powerful question to guide us. This leads to the next realization:
In the positive sense, the short life makes us live courageously and passionately. We try to knock the doors, rather than just standing outside the doors.
So we need to start doing things that we should do NOW.
One of my favorite moments that day was when I invited four cancer survivors to share their journey. It was not the usual sharing, but I got to see their layers of love.
When I asked them question of “What inspires you to give to others, specifically the people that have been touched by cancer?” To be honest, I was so curious to know the answer. Almost every one of them recalled their first encounter with the fellow survivors many years ago, and told us how it changed their lives for better.
I saw inspiration when I met him for the first time. That’s the day I decided I want to be a source of inspiration for others.”
The very answer touched me in different levels. I realize that kindness goes a long way and it does not stop there. One act of kindness creates endless ripple.
It got me thinking how it all started 10 years ago? There must be a beginning to stream of kindness that I witnessed that day.
The Max Foundation is a leading global health nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating health equity. For 27 years, Max has pioneered practical, scalable, high-quality solutions to bring life-extending treatments and patient-centered health care to more than 100,000 people living with cancer and critical illness in low- and middle-income countries. Max believes in a world where all people can access high-impact medicines, where geography is not destiny, and where everyone can strive for health with dignity and with hope.
For many patients, there aren’t many opportunities for them to learn about their disease directly from experts. So when the opportunity to hear from a hematologist at Naresuan University Hospital in Thailand, we were excited to maximize the event.
This year, like past years, 16 patient support groups in Africa and Middle East have joined the Maximize Life Campaign with enthusiasm and excitement. All the groups in Africa welcome back our friends from Sierra Leone who inspired us all with their resilience in the face of the Ebola epidemic that touched their country.
Three years ago I made a decision that changed my life: to donate my birthday to support the work of The Max Foundation for as long as I have birthdays to come. Ever since I have been involved with The Max Foundation, every day I am witness to the courage of people faced with cancer, the generosity of spirit of those who become patient leaders, and the dedication of healthcare providers around the world. Join me today by honoring their efforts on my birthday, July 28th.
