Mrs. Meir Jyur Chao

She is a great mom, a wonderful and tough life female. She has a strong and persistent personality with high perseverance and endurance. She survived in the most difficult generation and from a tough and challengeable life situation.

She was born in a big family with 14 children. She was ranked the second child of a total of 14 siblings. Unfortunately, her mom gave her away and put her to an adoption to a single young lady. From then on, her life has experienced a great change. She was then living in a lonely childhood bonded and supported by her adopted single mom parent.

Her childhood was raised very well financially and materially. Her adopted mom treated her so well that couldn’t be nicer. She never needed to worry about food or dwelling place or any need in life. However, one big and cruel fire took the life of her adopted mom and she was only 15 years old by then. This was the 2nd biggest impact and strike in her life after she was given away by her biological parent at age of 1 year old. Her lonely life continued and even is deeper and stronger. For she was by herself again. In the same time, she had already enrolled into a nursing program run by an acute hospital in Hsinchu. Since she was very bright and intelligent academically in her elementary school life and was outstanding among her peer group, she often had many good classmates and friends surrounding her and likes to stick to her. This was an enormous comfort and acknowledgement to her lonely childhood. On the other hand, my mom also was sweet; open minded and pleasant to well socialized too many people around her. After she graduated from nursing program, she worked in an acute hospital being a pediatric nurse. Happily, her patients and colleagues all like her and enjoyed her. That including a handsome and charming man who happened to be her patient and later turned out to be her husband, my father.

After my mom and dad got married, my father continued stayed in the military as a higher ranked military officer. My mom stayed as a nurse and later days gave birth to 4 children one by one. It was very difficult by the old ages raising 4 kids by herself functioned like a single parent. She has to work in the hospital, raising 4 children, does all the house work, and everything was done on full time status. Without support from my dad and without family and relatives, my mom gradually built up her strong and tough life character, in order to protect us children and nurture us to grow. She never cries; never give up, never timid or shy to face the life. I remember, when I have memories, my mom already moved to a school nursing job and took us living in an enormous huge school campus house with unbelievable big size of front and back yard. Actually, it should not be called a yard; it should be named a farm. We lived in a campus farm house with all kinds of experience and memories you could never able to imaging and believe. My mom grew and raised all kinds of animals and plants/ vegetables. All kinds of poultries and cute farm animals can be found in our yard. You name it, chicken, hen, rooster, geese, duck, parakeet birds, goat, rabbit, dogs, cats and ----. It was not just a few; it was many many schools, swarm, and whole bunch. My mom was raising us and a big farm of animals and worked as a full time school nurse in the famous occupational school in the city, all by herself. My father was just visited home 2 or 3 times a year, and short time visits only. I never remembered we lived with my father more than few days, for that was only remote and to light to be remembered. But to us, my mom was the only support, the big tree to shelter us and as an umbrella to cover us, from the storm, rain, wind, darkness, strong sun burn, and shaky life strike. When talking about my mom, the beautiful memories were like living spring overflows to sooth our wearing life. Without her, we don’t know what life could be, what fate could follow, what future we could face. She always gave us beautiful and safe life through the well nested shelter. She always taught us the wisest truth and best life lesson. She inspired us the most visionary life goal and equipped us the most useful life skills to survive in this world. She kept on telling us eyes on the big focus, the most important focus to a healthy and successful marriage and life. I am so happy that she did have a few years nicely living in Vancouver, Canada with my dad when they were old. She did have a good time enjoyed with her children and grandchildren during this retired life in a beautiful place of Vancouver. I think, God grant her rewarded life in Vancouver here, living with her husband, the man who she couldn’t enjoyed when she was young but now was given back to her. God even granted to her many children who all maintain the integrity of marriage. And, she also owns many lovely grand children who all care about her and loving her dearly. With great grace, even many acute hospital doctors given up on her, mom still received the abundant grace from the Lord and received the best care from the Holy Family Hospital, a very holy place with all kinds of holy angels working there. I deeply believe, my mom has no regret for her life, because she is greatly remembered by all of us, her family, her friend, her nurses and health care professionals. Her life meant a lot to all of us. Thank you, dearly mother, for coming to this world and gave us many many beautiful and meaningful lives. Mom, you are now rested and peaceful dwell in heaven, with Lord. We, will see you, one day, and be together to enjoy you again. Wait for us.

Thank you mom.

Meir Jyur Chen-chao is the second child of the fourteen children in the family. She was born on the day of the dragon boat festival and her mom was jokingly complaining about how the family was busy preparing for the festival and Meir choose this time to come to this world. This is maybe why she was given away to another family. She is a happy, naughty and smart woman. She has two younger sisters. During war, they were very poor and resources were little. She used to walk down to the railway track to go rice grain picking to give to the chicken for food. After working so hard, she gets a big bowl of fried rice with egg for breakfast. Her adoptive mother loved her so much, even the neighbours were sometimes jealous that she had so much love to the point where she was spoiled. When she was 16, she started her training to become a nurse in the local hospital. She was a caring, patient and hardworking nurse. Many of her patients kept in contact with her in the long run. She had a chance to learn so many different kinds of dialects while working in the hospital. She later married to a army officer. She had four kids and raised them with the help of a nanny then became a school nurse in a vocational high school. The high school was in a rural area with tons of trees. It was very beautiful and a peaceful place to work. Her four children had a great childhood at that school. Meir raised over a ton of beautiful birds and was able to raise enough to buy a motorcycle. She also managed to buy the first tv in her neighbourhood, which was a new invention at the time and very exclusive to have. She had so many different animals it was almost like a household zoo. She had nine ducks that laid eggs every day, a mountain goat, dogs and rabbits. After two of her daughters married and moved out of the family, her youngest daughter still took great care of her especially after a serious car accident she had been in. The daughter took her travelling many times although she couldn’t walk, she loved nature and she would enjoy every bit of the scenery. Around 1992 she moved to Canada after recovering from the car accident, she used to ballroom dance at different places all over Vancouver. She had a great life in Canada. However, her diabetes were getting worse. Although her husband was very busy with his social life, he still managed to take great care of Meir. Sadly, her husband died July 2010 of pancreatic cancer. After living on her own for a year in her apartment, she tried to commit suicide because living without her husband was too painful. When she got out of the hostpial, doctors ordered her to move to her daughters house to be looked after. During 2013, she had an enlarged abdomen with absece. After two months of treatment in the hospital, she was moved to a nursing home. Even with the language barrier, she managed to survive life in the nursing home. She would go out to the garden with her daughter and enjoy the flowers and the sunlight and used to love picking other peoples tomatoes. She also enjoyed the friendship with the nurses and other residences, social workers and physiotherapist. Being an intelligent woman, she used her body language to communicate with the nurses when she needed help. Her kidney function couldn’t extract her body waste so she was always extremely itchy. Sometimes at midnight when she was looking at pictures in the newspaper, she would see a picture of dimsum and then invite the nearest nurse to go eat with her next time. She was a kindhearted and giving woman. She really appreciates the help and support she received during the last period of her life in the nursing home.