NEWS
President's Letter
- Publish Date：2024-11-19
Letters from the President: 05. Adversity and Resilience
Illustration generated by Midjourney
Narrated by NYCU President Chi-Hung Lin
Interviewed by Yen-Shen Chen, Written by Yen-Chien Lai
Proofread by Yu-An Lu
Interviewed by Yen-Shen Chen, Written by Yen-Chien Lai
Proofread by Yu-An Lu
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Life is a journey filled with challenges and uncertainties. While we cannot always predict what lies ahead, we can choose how to face it.
Through my clinical work, I have witnessed both life and death, but it was my own personal experiences that gave me a profound understanding of mortality. When I was young, I endured a severe illness, an ordeal that led me to re-evaluate the meaning of life and deepened my perspective on overcoming challenges.
In this letter, I would like to share the insights I gained from this unique experience and my reflections on facing adversity.
The Realization Brought by Illness
During my PhD studies in the United States, I spent most of my days immersed in lab work. Then one day, I suddenly felt dizzy and was rushed to the hospital, where I learned that my condition was severe and required immediate hospitalization. I was diagnosed with massive intestinal bleeding due to widespread ulcerative colitis, which had led to severe anemia. The situation was critical, forcing me to confront questions far beyond my academics–it had become a matter of life and death.
During my two-month hospital stay, both my family and I were under immense pressure. My wife, who was also studying in the U.S., faced the dual demands of managing her studies and daily life while caring for me. Many suggested that I seek spiritual solace through faith, so I explored Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam, reading the Bible, the Quran, and Buddhist scriptures. Each offered profound teachings and inspiration. I even tried practicing Qigong, which seemed to bring some relief, though I never fully committed to any one faith.
Throughout this time, I constantly pondered the value of my life. Eventually, I realized that what truly sustained me was my passion for my work and the sense of fulfillment it brought. Each day in that hospital bed, I found myself thinking less about my illness and more about how I could continue my experiments and complete my unfinished studies. It may sound unusual, but this commitment to my work became my inner pillar, giving me the strength to endure those hardest days.
This severe illness transformed me from a doctor into a patient, fundamentally altering my perspective on life. I came to understand that while life’s fragility and impermanence are beyond our control, we can choose how we face them.
Taker to Giver
Recently, friends and families from a rare disease foundation visited me at the university. This foundation primarily supports individuals with spina bifida and their families by providing long-term rehabilitation and daily assistance. During my tenure as Director of Health, I had the privilege of working with them, hoping to foster a more compassionate society for these patients. Spina bifida is a congenital neural tube defect that results in partial exposure or protrusion of the spinal cord, affecting mobility, sensory function, and bladder control, though cognitive abilities remain unaffected. While these conditions are not always outwardly visible, they present numerous medical challenges from a young age, requiring surgeries, rehabilitation, and long-term care.
Life is a journey filled with challenges and uncertainties. While we cannot always predict what lies ahead, we can choose how to face it.
Through my clinical work, I have witnessed both life and death, but it was my own personal experiences that gave me a profound understanding of mortality. When I was young, I endured a severe illness, an ordeal that led me to re-evaluate the meaning of life and deepened my perspective on overcoming challenges.
In this letter, I would like to share the insights I gained from this unique experience and my reflections on facing adversity.
The Realization Brought by Illness
During my PhD studies in the United States, I spent most of my days immersed in lab work. Then one day, I suddenly felt dizzy and was rushed to the hospital, where I learned that my condition was severe and required immediate hospitalization. I was diagnosed with massive intestinal bleeding due to widespread ulcerative colitis, which had led to severe anemia. The situation was critical, forcing me to confront questions far beyond my academics–it had become a matter of life and death.
During my two-month hospital stay, both my family and I were under immense pressure. My wife, who was also studying in the U.S., faced the dual demands of managing her studies and daily life while caring for me. Many suggested that I seek spiritual solace through faith, so I explored Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam, reading the Bible, the Quran, and Buddhist scriptures. Each offered profound teachings and inspiration. I even tried practicing Qigong, which seemed to bring some relief, though I never fully committed to any one faith.
Throughout this time, I constantly pondered the value of my life. Eventually, I realized that what truly sustained me was my passion for my work and the sense of fulfillment it brought. Each day in that hospital bed, I found myself thinking less about my illness and more about how I could continue my experiments and complete my unfinished studies. It may sound unusual, but this commitment to my work became my inner pillar, giving me the strength to endure those hardest days.
This severe illness transformed me from a doctor into a patient, fundamentally altering my perspective on life. I came to understand that while life’s fragility and impermanence are beyond our control, we can choose how we face them.
Taker to Giver
Recently, friends and families from a rare disease foundation visited me at the university. This foundation primarily supports individuals with spina bifida and their families by providing long-term rehabilitation and daily assistance. During my tenure as Director of Health, I had the privilege of working with them, hoping to foster a more compassionate society for these patients. Spina bifida is a congenital neural tube defect that results in partial exposure or protrusion of the spinal cord, affecting mobility, sensory function, and bladder control, though cognitive abilities remain unaffected. While these conditions are not always outwardly visible, they present numerous medical challenges from a young age, requiring surgeries, rehabilitation, and long-term care.
One of the visitors, a young girl who has always been bright and clever, shared her struggles with me. Due to her condition, she constantly worried about reaching the restroom in time, especially during her menstrual periods. With the foundation’s active support, she finally gained the right to an accessible restroom, and her high school even built one adjacent to her classroom. Yet, she told me she considers herself fortunate compared to other patients. In her senior year, she met a younger schoolmate with the same condition whose symptoms were even more severe, but who lacked adequate care. This experience made her realize that many people face similar struggles without sufficient resources and support. As a result, she chose to study a medical-related field in college, hoping to help others like herself. Through this journey, she not only recognized her own needs but became aware of the needs of others who require similar support.
Her story resonated with me profoundly. I, too, have experienced the helplessness that illness can bring, and although I am a doctor, some aspects of suffering can only be truly understood as a patient. This experience taught me that resilience is not innate but cultivated through overcoming hardships. Like the young girl, I found that facing illness did not cause her to yield; instead, it helped her recognize the needs of others and inspired her to support those in similar situations.
Trials and Hardships, True Strength Emerges
Recently, SpaceX’s Starship, the latest rocket developed by Elon Musk, completed its fifth test flight, marking a significant milestone in human space exploration. However, this achievements did not happen overnight. Since founding SpaceX in 2002, Musk has encountered numerous setbacks. Following the launching of their first rocket in 2008, the comepany experienced countless failures before successfully pioneering reusable rocket technology.
This reminds me of our university’s Advanced Rocket Research Center (ARRC), founded by Professor Jong-Shinn Wu in 2012, which embodies the spirit of resilience. Since its inception in 2008, ARRC has been committed to developing and testing rockets despite the high costs and uncertainties involved in rocket launches. After numerous failures and continuous improvements, we achieved a significant breakthrough in July 2022 by launching the world’s first hybrid rocket with guidance capability in Taiwan. This milestone included data transmission and rocket recovery during flight, setting a new landmark for our university in space exploration.
The concept of growth through adversity may be a natural law. Have you ever tasted the Saltland cherry tomatoes from Tainan? The saline soil in Tainan is unsuitable for most crops, and typically, a salt-rich environment stunts tomato growth. However, this harsh growing condition imparts a uniquely rich and sweet flavor to these tomatoes, as if nature’s trials have tempered them. Remarkably, their lycopene content is also twice that of regular tomatoes. This serves as a valuable lesson from nature.
President of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University,
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