Lily Leung had an extremely grief Mother's Day on May 13th. Although her son, daughter-in-law and grandson were all by her side, but this year is her first Mother's Day without her husband (Yuen Lai Ming).
Lily's husband left her on May 2nd, that painful feeling of losing a loved one, in all honestly, Lily Jeh cannot describe that feeling in words. When the couple celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary (60th), a friend said with giggles that she'll be waiting to celebrate their platinum wedding anniversary (70th). At this moment, Lily Jeh quitely said: "We can't even celebrate our 65th anniversary. We only celebrated up to our 63rd anniversary."
Facing indescribable pain, Lily Jeh quickly moved from her residence in Hong Kong Island to Kowloon. She moved to a home 5 minutes walking distance from her son, convenient of having someone to look after her. She glances out from the living room and sees the blue sky and a lush of green trees, and couldn't help but say: "If only he was here, he would definitely like this scenery."
In the recent year, Yuen's health had been declining, he could barely walk, but refused to sit in a wheel chair. Soon after he was sent to the hospital, everyone in the family took turns to visit him. However on the evening of March 1st, the family were all heading home from work, but some already got a call from the hospital even before making it home, Lily: "At the time, I was by his side, I grabbed his hand. He kept saying he was very tired and wanted to sleep. I told him, don't sleep, the grand children are coming to see you. Unfortunately, he just smiled and left..."
Married First Lover
Lily Jeh married Yuen at age 17 and have been together for over 60 years. They exceed conjugal love; they are a role model for married couples. The couple were married on October 2, 1949, at the time Lily was underaged to register for marriage, so she was only able to sign the marriage papers in the Chinese style. Initially her parents disapproved of her getting married at such an early age, but Lily Jeh promised she would earn enough money to give to her parents on a monthly basis. It was only then her parents agreed to let her marry. She met Yuen at age 14 while working on a stage play. He was her first lover.
Youngest Son Lost His Life Due to Weight Loss
Lily Jeh lost two loved ones in her lifetime. The first time was in 1998, her youngest son Yuen Wai Hung passed away. In her own life experiences, Lily Jeh understands that worry could really be harmful. "Worry, is more miserable than any other disease. At the time, I couldn't breathe and thought I was having a heart attack. It turns out, how your mood affects you is very important. People must know how to tolerate, able to pick it up and let it go."
Lily's son death was due to his desire for good looks and taking weight loss drugs. He didn't exercise, and would just eat an apple a day. When he visited his sister in the Philippines during the holidays, because of long-term malnutrition, his body suddenly failed on him. He fainted in the Philippines and was sent to the hospital. Doctors initially thought he had pneumonia. While he was hospitalized, his father accompanied him, but eventually because of organ failure, he lost his life.
On December 28, 1998, Lily Jeh remembers that night clearly. The nurse slept on one side of the bed, her son was in the middle and she accompanied him on the other side. In the morning, the nurse suddenly calls her and that was when her son passed away, Lily Jeh said: "He looked as if he was sleeping, very peaceful and beautiful."
Lily's family later took the weight loss drugs that he was taking for lab work. It was discovered that 4 of the pills were illegal drugs. The doctor took those drugs and gave it to her son. Lily experiences the grief of losing her dearest son, she said: "It is really shameless."
No Retirement Plans
Lily Jeh is currently 80 years old, but she has no plans to retire. TVB's executives Catherine Tsang and Virgina Lok are frequently accepting jobs for her to prevent her from being too lonely and thinking too much. Aside from shooting series, Lily is always devoting herself to volunteer work at the retirement home and children that are mentally challenged.
The senior population in Hong Kong is growing, but some people can get so heartless to use a fake address, so when their elderly family member discharges from the hospital, they won't be able to find them. Lily Jeh just cannot understand the mentality that some of these people have. From the education she got in childhood, whenever others help you, you must be grateful.
Source: Mingpao Weekly
Translated by: aZnangel @ AsianEU Forum
