Just one and a half month ago, 25-year-old Xu Jun Jie was knocked down by a car resulting in serious head injuries and a blood clot in his brain. Not only did he lose his ability to move his limbs and torso, his sense of sight and hearing is also affected. His newly married wife rushed to Singapore upon hearing the news. Having learnt of the sad incident from the medical social worker of NUH, volunteers of Tzu Chi immediately went down to the hospital to extend their care.

Xu Jun Jie whose head suffer a serious injury, had to sit on wheelchair for his flight back to China.

Tzu Chi volunteers helping Jun Jie and Feng Hua with the boarding procedures.

A Tzu Chi volunteer consoling Jun Jie ,hoping that he will able to face the difficulties that lie ahead.

Sis Qin Ji (up right, standing) brought with her a spare luggage in the thought of loading the nutritional milks given by the hospital for Feng Hua’s convenience. Picture shows Jun Jie’s friend and Tzu Chi volunteers giving encouragement to him before he heads home with Feng Hua (left).

It was a quiet night on May 29th at Singapore Changi Airport until an ambulance halts in front of the entrance. The awaiting Tzu Chi volunteers went forward and helped with the wheelchair and luggage.

The patient in the ambulance was a 25-year-old male worker from China, Xu Jun Jie. The young man was knocked down by a car one and a half month ago, which caused him serious head injuries and blood clotting in the brain. Not only did he lose his ability to move his limbs and torso, his sense of sight and hearing is also affected. Carried on to the wheelchair; the black cap he was wearing could barely hide the scar from his skull operation, much less to say the bitter expression of agony on his face.

A dream shattered

“That night, three of us were walking on a bridge in Clementi after work. Jun Jie was walking in front. Just after a turn onto the road, we saw Jun Jie lying on a ground with a car stopping beside him. His injuries were serious and he was sent to National University Hospital (NUH) immediately.” said Dong Ji Qing in a low voice.

Dong Ji Qing came from Shandong province together with Jun Jie. They started to work in April at a food stall located in Clementi. “We have gone through the Employment Agency in China and paid in advance tens of thousands RMB coming here with hopes to earn more money. Never do we expect for misfortune to happen in just less than 10 days!”

Upon receiving the news, Jun Jie’s newly married wife Feng Hua quickly made arrangements to leave the country and came to take care of her husband by herself. Having no one to depend on in a foreign land, the hospital social worker arranged for her to stay temporarily in a hostel ran by a Catholic church. Already 21 days in Singapore, Feng Hua said to herself, if she could bring Jun Jie back to their hometown in Changchun, Jilin province, everything could be settled with the help of their parents.

Blue angels rendering help

On May 24, the Singapore branch received a call from the social worker from NUH, requesting financial assistance for Jun Jie to buy air tickets back home. Tzu Chi volunteers Sister Xu Xue You, Qiu Wei Qin Ji, Gao Mei Ying and Brother Zhang Zheng Chang then visited the patient to show their care and concern and to further understand the situation.

The hospital social worker revealed that in order to help the couple gets home, she had contacted several airlines, even to the extent of writing to the China Embassy to request for help but to no avail. Therefore, her colleague Melvin has recommended her to contact Tzu Chi. She was touched when Tzu Chi replied and react in such a short time.  “This world is filled with love indeed; you are the most efficient charity organization that I’ve seen!”

As time is tight for the couple to leave for home, Tzu Chi volunteers were worried that it will be hard for the wife to completely understand the complicate legal matters regarding the traffic accident. Hence they approached the hospital social worker, whom has already arranged for an Indian volunteer lawyer for help.  The Tzu Chi volunteers then contacted the lawyer, who explained to them clearly the procedures in handling the case. He also revealed that the police investigation has shown possibilities that the accident may be caused by the driver’s negligence of traffic rules. The dedicated lawyer had even helped Jun Jie out on all the procedures of claiming his insurance and applied for Supreme Court order. He further expressed he will inform Tzu Chi of any news, and that he hope Tzu Chi could liaise between him and the patient for further action in the future.

After further understanding, Tzu Chi volunteers found out that the couple’s home is in Changchun, while the return air ticket applied by the hospital social worker will only be arriving in Beijing. The couple will need to purchase another domestic air ticket to fly to their hometown. After seeing the trouble they have to go through to get home, the volunteers were rather worried. “Why don’t we report this to the Foundation to get the air ticket in China for them in advance so that they could return home smoothly?”

After seeking advice from the CEO of Singapore branch, they contacted a member of the Tzu Chi Entrepreneurs Association running a travel agency, Brother Guo Zhi Quan and asked if he could help with getting the tickets to Changchun from Beijing. Upon hearing it, Brother Zhi Quan was touched and offered to sponsor one of the tickets and even had the tickets dispatched to the hospital.

Admitting that she had not considered about helping the patient in getting the domestic tickets, the hospital social worker who witnessed the situation were surprised to learn that the help given to a patient can be that thorough.  “The meticulousness shown by Tzu Chi members in helping people is more professional and wholesome than I have imagined.” She exclaimed. The volunteers told her that this is the teaching of Venerable Master Cheng Yen: “When we are helping people; we have to use the mentality as if we are helping our own family members”. The social worker claimed that she have learnt a big lesson from this.

The courage to move on

After an operation to remove the blood clot and over 40 days of treatment, Jun Jie’s limbs and torso were able to recover slightly. Nevertheless, he still needs an operation to reconstruct his skull bone. In the hospital, Jun Jie is unable to suppress his silent weeps hearing his wife describing the incident. As a man, he tried to keep the tears to himself but feel a deep sense of agony inside. The wife tried to feed him with porridge, but he just take in the food and refuse to swallow it. Therefore, he was still dependant on tube feeding with nutritious milk till this day. For several days, Jun Jie refused to talk or reply, not even just to blink his eyes, making it difficult for the wife to judge his recovery progress.

The volunteers feel for them and gently encourage them not to give up, but to have confidence, determination and courage to move on.   Holding back her tears, Feng Hua told them she did not have the right to be sorrowful, but can only face the problem bravely.

Before leaving the hospital, the volunteers approached the hospital social worker to prepare a document to proof that the patient is fit for flying, and also to specify that the patient do not need to be accompanied by medical personnel.  This is to help avoid problems that they may encounter in their  domestic flight. Apart from that, the volunteers also asked the nurse to explain the various medications to the wife as she might not understand the English descriptions on the medicine labels. Chinese words were then added to the labels so that they can know how and what medicine to take when they go back to China. 

Love and support along the path

Tzu Chi volunteers were willing to give their greatest support to the couple as they really need all the help they can especially after meeting the misfortune in a foreign land.  Although the time meeting with the couple is short, they wished for the couple to have a good experience with the spirit of Great Love. At May 30, nine volunteers went to see them off at the airport before their flight at 1.35am.  

Sister Qin Ji has kindly prepared a small luggage for them, helping to arrange the little bits and pieces of baggage properly. Packed with drinks and dry rations, sweater to keep warm and Tzu Chi’s Monthly magazine etc., the luggage carries also the volunteers’ loving concern for them. Everyone gathered around Jun Jie, giving him words of encouragement before saying goodbye. Upon hearing about the incident, the check-in counter staff was extremely helpful. The counter manager even took from her own pocket some S$10 notes and placed them in Feng Hua’s hands. It was a simple gesture but it represents the deepest blessings she have for them.

Passing through doors, the volunteers accompanied the young couple to the departure gate. Just before they part, they hugged Feng Hua tightly, wishing them a safe journey.