Installing a dream

By: 9 years ago

Dr Hong (L), also from Kuching, and Give A Hand founder David Drummond will give Ei Chi a mechanical hand as gift.

She is suffering from congenital phocomelia and was born without the lower half of her left arm. Nevertheless, life goes on as usual for this young lady. She attended school, went to work, drove a car and even has her own dream.

Her story drew the attention of New Zealand-based non-profit organization Give A Hand, and could become the organization’s first ever beneficiary for prosthetic limb transplant.

26-year-old Ei Chi from Kuching, Sarawak, is now working as a motion graphic designer with a multinational company in Kuala Lumpur. She is a photographer by hobby.

Although she was born a little different from other girls around her, without the lower half of her left arm and left palm, the disability does not stop her from her passionate involvement in painting and photography. She started joining various design contests from the age of four, and has so far won more than 200 awards.

Learning to tie a shoestring

While most people take only several minutes to learn to tie their shoestrings, Ei Chi would need an entire day to pick up this lesson.

“I remember I insisted to put on a pair of shoes with shoestrings to school, and it took me a whole day to find out the best way to tie the shoestrings.”

On that day, she said she spend all her waking moments to learn how to tie shoestrings other than the time for meals and baths. She found her own solution of tying the shoestrings in a quicker, simpler and most importantly more secure manner.

During a telephone interview with Sin Chew Daily, Ei Chi said everyone else in her family–her parents and an elder sister–was normal, unlike her.

Earlier this year, she sprained her right arm due to over-exertion. As a result, she had to take a whole week off because even eating and bathing became big problems for her then. Luckily her mother came to Kuala Lumpur to take care of her.

Thanks to the help of an aunt, she came to know Dr. Hong from New Zealand, and through the co-founder of Give A Hand David Drummond, she learned that the organization had been helping people like her install prosthetic limbs.

The non-profit organization helps people born with incomplete limbs to make mechanic arms through 3D printing.

Currently the organization is raising NZ$20,000 (US$13,500) through website https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/giveahand to help pay for Ei Chi’s prosthetic limb installation cost and travel expenses.

If the installation is successful, Ei Chi hopes to engage in outdoor activities she has always wanted but has been unable to carry out, in particular hiking and cross-country biking.

“There was a time I went hiking with several people. We came to a point where we needed to climb the rocky hill. There was a rope there to help hikers ascend the slope, but I only had one hand. To me the rope was useless. I still needed the assistance of other people to pull me up.”

Outdoor activities

She said if she had both her hands intact, she would be able to carry out more outdoor activities, unlike now.

It might sound unthinkable, but Ei Chi can actually ride a bicycle on her own, thanks to the training from her father and her unusually strong determination.

Because she lacks a complete hand, the photography buff can only handle cameras which are not too weighty or with large lenses.

“If I manage to have the prosthetic hand installed, I hope I can have more different lenses and work with heavier cameras.”

While she might at times grumble or feel dejected over her misfortune, Ei Chi is nevertheless lucky enough to have the loving company of her family and friends, who have helped her sail past the most difficult parts of her life.

With overflowing optimism and an open-minded attitude, Ei Chi never gives up hope no matter how tough life could be to her, as she fearlessly overcomes the challenges with undying spirit and exceptionally powerful resolve.