I am Grace’s sister Hsiuying.

我是秀芬的二姐秀英。

Grace was a selfless person. She was always willing to share her own experience to help other people. Today I will do that for her.

秀芬是個無私的人。她樂於分享自身的經驗，期望對他人有所幫助。今天就讓我來說說她抗癌的故事。

Grace loved nature and hiking. In the spring of 2020, because of the pandemic, she hiked alone several times every week. She was happy that she lost some weight which she thought was from the hiking. Even when she started to feel lower abdominal pain in late April, she never suspected what was coming.

秀芬熱愛大自然和遠足。2020年的春天，因疫情的關係她只能獨自一人去爬山，一週去好幾次。還很高興因此瘦了。即使四月底開始下腹悶痛，也沒想到這會是苦難的開端。

In Mid-May, she felt a lump in her bellybutton. She thought it was just a fatty lump. But after a CT scan, it was diagnosed as a Sister Mary Joseph’s nodule, which is a sign of widespread cancer.

五月中她摸到肚臍眼有一硬塊，以為只是個脂肪球。照了電腦斷層，才知這個位於肚臍的、叫 瑪麗約瑟修女 的腫瘸是由內臟癌細胞轉移的。

On July 1st, it was confirmed that Grace had Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. She was told that the only possible treatment option was chemo and that if she opted out, she only had a few months left.

七月一日她確診胰臟癌第四期。唯一能做的就是化療。不做的話大概活不到年底。

Grace immediately shared the bad news in a prayer meeting. But she did not want to tell the Evergreen folks because she did not want them to worry or try to visit during the pandemic. This is how Grace was – always thinking of others.

秀芬馬上在禱告會中分享這壞消息。但她不想告訴長青，深怕他們憂心，也不願他們冒著染疫來探病。這就是秀芬-總是先替別人著想。

When the Evergreen folks heard about Grace’s cancer anyhow, there was an outpouring of love and care. Your love meant a lot to her.

後來長青學員輾轉知悉，排山倒海而來的關愛讓秀芬校長深深感動。

Since successful chemo would give her only one year to live, Grace at first decided not to try it. But she met an unexpected champion in her friend’s daughter who was an MD at UCSF. This doctor got Grace an appointment with Dr. Ko, who was an authority on pancreatic cancer at UCSF. Dr. Ko persuaded her to try chemo. This started her battle with cancer.

因為成功的化療也只有一年的生命，秀芬起初決定順其自然。但她碰到了一個生命中的貴人。她是秀芬朋友在UCSF 從醫的女兒。她很熱心地幫秀芬預約了醫院同儕胰臟癌專家Dr Ko。他説服了秀芬做化療，於是走上了抗癌的道路。

In this battle, Grace was blessed with her husband KC who was committed to taking good care of her. Her life became an endless series of Hospital and lab visits. She was in pain and suffered many side effects. But she never complained to God, “Why me?” She continued to participate in weekly prayer meetings where she frankly shared her condition. She gained strength from those brothers and sisters’ love and prayers. She hummed hymns, read the bible, and watched sermons to distract her from her pain. She also chatted a lot with her friends. She called it her “talk therapy,” which in Mandarin rhymes with “chemo therapy.” Friends made and delivered food to her, hiked with her, and provided counseling and medical advice. Grace was thankful for all of the support.

秀芬很幸運，她的先生國城兄自始至終無怨無悔地照顧她。這段日子頻繁進出醫院及化驗室。她經常疼痛，還要忍受化療副作用的折磨。可是她從未抱怨過上帝 ”為什麼是我？” 每週二參加網路禱告會，她常分享近況。藉由兄弟姐妹的關懷及祝禱，她重新得力。她經常藉讀經、吟詩、聽道而轉移了對疼痛的注意力。她也常在電話中和朋友聊天，戱稱這是她的話療。秀芬很感恩諸多朋友的支持。這些人有的送為她客製的佳餚，有的陪她踏青，還有的給她經驗談以及專業的醫藥諮詢。

Grace told me that she had an abundant life since she knew Jesus. She was not afraid of death. But she did not want to show pain or burden us. She would tell me to go home and not to worry because God would be with her. She worried about her beloved grandson Titus who loved her so much. She discouraged him from staying overnight because she did not want him to see her struggling with pain.

秀芬對我說、信主之後她生命豐盛也不畏懼死亡。可是她不願讓我們看她痛苦而憂心。她常叫我回家去吧，她有主的同行會沒事的。她也擔心很愛她的孫子Titus 會承受不了。常不要他滯留過夜，免得看到她癌痛的煎熬。

Grace continued going on short hikes for a very long time. KC would drive her to beaches and parks on many weekdays. Most weekends, she spent time with her family outdoors. Grace was very resourceful. She would find outdoor locations that we never knew existed. We joked that she should write a book: “Bay Area Tours in a Day”.

秀芬一直維持著健走。週日間國城常載她去海邊、公園走走。週末則和兒孫們一起郊遊。秀芬很會找景點。很多地方我們聽也沒聽過。我們戲稱她該寫本 “灣區一日遊” 的書。

Grace’s second and third rounds of chemo were not successful this year. After seeing her last poor CT scan results, she knew that her end was coming. Her condition started to decline rapidly. On August 18th she had a video conference with Dr. Ko, and he advised her to enroll in at-home hospice. At the end of the call, Grace showed Dr. Ko a photo of her newborn granddaughter and told Dr. Ko that without his earlier advice she would have missed all the joy that Emma gave her. When the doctor was in the helpless place of saying he could do nothing more, Grace had the kindness to thank and encourage him.

今年她第二和第三輪化療都沒成功。看了最後一次電腦斷層的結果，她自己已清楚走到了生命的盡頭。之後病情急轉直下。八月十八日Dr. Ko 建議她轉入居家安寧看護。視訊尾聲，秀芬給 Dr Ko 看她小孫女 Emma 的照片。特別感謝他當初的化療建議。不然她就錯失了這小生命帶給她的喜悅。當醫生很無奈、不能繼續幫助病人時，秀芬仍然不忘感謝及鼓勵他。

For the 3+ weeks that Grace was on hospice, the amazing team at PAMF provided her with tender, loving care. Her pain was under control.

她生命的最後三個多禮拜，秀芬很滿意 PAMF 的安寧看護。每個護士及護工都很有愛心。癌痛也控制得相當理想。

She started becoming very weak and slept a lot. Then she started having difficulty swallowing food. KC discussed with me possibly getting a part-time helper. Grace overheard us through her dozing and said she did not need a helper. She never wanted a helper because she was a very independent person and KC was a very private person. God heard her. He took her to heaven before one was needed. And you know what? Grace was still able to walk 4,000 steps a day and occasionally do her own laundry and vacuuming up until 6 weeks before her departure.

她體力漸漸衰退，睡得愈來愈多。吞嚥也有困難。一天國城和我商議可能需請個半工幫忙。秀芬半睡半醒中居然説她不需要。她一開始就反對請居家看護。一來她非常獨立自主。而且考量國城不喜歡外人介入。上帝應許了她的祈求。在她還不需要時就帶她回天家了。你知道嗎？直到她過世六週之前，她每天還能走四千步，偶而也洗衣、吸塵呢！

Her last time getting up to go to the bathroom and kitchen was 5 days before she passed away. She was sleeping peacefully most of the time at the end.

她最後一次下床如廁、進食是過世前五天。最後幾乎都是在安睡。

KC, her children, and her grandchildren were by her side for the last week of her life, playing guitar, singing hymns, and reading the Bible to her. God blessed her with a dignified, peaceful, and loving ending. Grace went to be with God on Sunday, September 12th.

臨終前最後一週，國城、兒孫們都圍繞病榻旁，彈琴、吟詩、讀經。上帝恩賜，讓她走得滿滿是愛、安祥又有尊嚴。她於九月十二日禮拜天安息主懷。

Grace decided to do a tree burial in her beloved Sunol Regional Park. She was always a pioneer of new ideas!

秀芬一早就決定樹葬在她常去爬山的 Sunol Reginal Park。她永遠是新思想的先驅。

Grace, I am so blessed to have a sister like you. We will miss you. Goodbye for now until someday we see you again in God’s home.

秀芬，我很幸運有你這樣的妺妹。大家都會很懷念你。我們天家再會。

Thank you all for coming and God bless you.

謝謝大家來參加秀芬的安息禮拜。願神祝福你們。