CHAPTER 46

2025-05-10

The coincidences of things and the encounters in life make me feel more and more that a person’s life is not accidental.

The next morning after my gastroenterologist referred me to an organ transplant clinic, I went to a meeting at a community centre in South Vancouver according to my work schedule. I arrived more than ten minutes early and happened to meet another participant who was in the same industry and also served young people. We started chatting.

She suddenly asked about my father's condition. It happened a few months ago when I met her at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. We were both waiting in the emergency room with our fathers. We greeted each other but didn't talk much. This time we briefly told each other what happened to our elders that day and what happened afterwards.

During the conversation, she talked about how her younger brother suffered liver failure due to an acute illness when he was in his early thirties. He eventually had a liver transplant. It has been more than ten years since then, and his recovery has been good and he has been fine ever since. When I heard this story, I was surprised at the coincidence. My wife and I were feeling confused last night, and this morning the story of liver transplant found me.

I told her that I had just been referred for a liver transplant. As she had also been through this, she immediately understood my situation and feelings, and comforted me with her brother's successful experience. I thank her and I thank God.

I regarded this coincidence as confirmation and blessing from God, and I felt more at ease. So I planned to join the ten-day tour to East China a month later with confidence. Coincidentally on two occasions shortly afterwards, when I was talking with two other youth service workers, I learned that their younger brothers had also undergone liver transplants. The one in the United States recovered well, but the one in Australia did not do so well.

Everyone has different happenings in life. Several years after I had my liver transplant, I went to the clinic for my annual follow-up. Most of the patients had left and the clinic was quite empty. I saw a male patient sitting in a wheelchair, slowly coming out of the ward. His facial features were very clear because he was extremely thin, and his face was grayish brown. He moved in front of me with great effort, looked at me, called out my Christian name, and introduced himself. It turned out to be the worker with the brother in Australia.

He tried to tell me about his situation. He changed his career. Six months ago he got a flu which turned into acute liver failure within two weeks and he had to be hospitalized. Ultimately, a liver transplant was taken to save his life. He was exhausted quickly with talking. By this time the lady who had accompanied him got the medicine and came over to push him towards the elevator.

The youth worker with a brother in the USA is my senior in university and in youth work. He taught me Tai Chi during my recovery from brain injury. I am deeply indebted to him. The practice stopped after a few months because of my poor memory and lack of coordination between my hands, eyes and feet. Twenty years ago, he was diagnosed with a strange disease that was suspected to be leukemia. It was not until more than ten years later that he was diagnosed with lymphoma. The side effects of chemotherapy damaged his kidneys and he lost a lot of weight. He lived between life and death several times, with more than a year in total in hospital. He is an optimistic person with a strong desire to survive and a tough guy. Ultimately he succumbed to the aftereffects and passed away early last year.

After my wife passed away, I was taking a walk by a small lake in the district in the middle of last year and met the female youth worker mentioned first in the article. We greeted each other and learned that her brother is still in good condition, having had a liver transplant for more than 20 years.