| A Musical Angel |
| By Lai Chih-ming Translated by Wu Hsiao-ting Graphics by Yong Zi |
Beautiful music flows from the teenage girl’s fingers as they glide effortlessly over the piano keys. But a closer look at the pianist reveals that her eyes are different from those of an ordinary person.
Cai Min-xuan (蔡旻諼) cannot see. She was born with a blistering rash which led to her being diagnosed with incontinentia pigmenti, a rare genetic disorder that affects the skin, teeth, nails, hair, and central nervous system. Other symptoms can include eye abnormalities leading to vision loss, which was the case with Min-xuan. Her parents were devastated when the doctor explained their baby daughter’s diagnosis and the challenges she would face in life. They cried over her, saying in their hearts, “Sweetheart, we’re sorry. We didn’t give you a complete life.” Despite the grim fact facing them, Min-xuan’s parents dedicated themselves to raising her the best they could. Under their loving care, she grew up day by day. It wasn’t long before she was ready to start school. Because she was blind, her parents couldn’t decide whether it would be better to enroll her in a special school or to mainstream her at a regular school. They asked around, seeking advice. A teacher told them that it would be better for Min-xuan if she could attend school with regular kids. On that counsel, they decided to register their daughter at a mainstream school. Even though this would mean a lot more work for them, they wanted to give her as normal a life as possible. Min-xuan was the only student in her school who was blind. When she first started, her mother, Chen Shu-ping (陳淑萍), accompanied her around the campus to help familiarize her with the environment, and she especially showed her how to get to the restrooms so she could go there on her own. Min-xuan’s classmates also helped her get around. Before long, Min-xuan was exploring the campus on her own with the help of her white cane. Such explorations helped her learn the layout of the school like the back of her hand. Even without her classmates to accompany her, she could walk from almost anywhere in the school back to her classroom without any problem.
“That’s really amazing, Min-xuan,” some classmates marveled. “How do you do it?” “It’s no big deal, as long as you pay attention,” she replied. “For example, when I get to the hallway near the school gate, I can feel a stronger draft there and I hear the sound of traffic.” How could she learn alongside kids with vision? How did she attend classes and read textbooks designed for children who could see? Luckily for Min-xuan, her mom had a background in arts and crafts, and she made teaching aids for her daughter to facilitate her learning. Even so, even though she was very handy, she often had to wrack her brain to come up with devices that would be helpful to her daughter. She was very creative. For example, she made cloth cutouts shaped like different body organs and stuck them to a board with Velcro based on the organs’ position to one another to help her daughter learn about the human body. Another example was a modified weighing scale. Min-xuan couldn’t see the needle and the little lines on a scale, so to help her understand how a scale worked, her mother removed the glass cover and made the lines three-dimensional so she could feel the needle and the lines. Before a new school semester began, the mother would ask her daughter’s teachers for the textbooks they would be using. She would review them, design teaching aids, and even teach Min-xuan some of the lessons in advance. With her mother’s help, Min-xuan was always one of the top students in her class. She often won prizes in composition writing and speech contests as well. To help his daughter, Min-xuan’s father, Cai Huan-lin (蔡煥麟), a computer engineer, designed software that could print out normal text and braille side by side to permit reading by both seeing and blind people. That way, Min-xuan had no problem attending classes with kids with normal eyesight. If we compare Min-xuan to an angel, her parents are like the wings that help her fly high in the world. “We three make a great team,” Min-xuan’s mother exclaimed.
Musical talent When Min-xuan was not yet three years old, her family discovered her musical talent. One day Min-xuan’s grandmother emerged from the kitchen and asked Min-xuan’s mother: “Who was playing the toy piano just now?” “No one,” she replied. “Well, I heard someone playing it,” the grandmother said. She turned to Min-xuan and asked, “Min-xuan, were you playing the piano just now? Could you play some more for Grandma?” But the little girl was so absorbed in playing with her other toys that she paid no heed to her grandmother’s request. The next morning, her parents heard her playing the toy piano too. They were amazed to find that she could play from memory songs that she often heard. They discovered later that even when a song required multiple notes at the same time, she knew which keys to press. They took her for an assessment and were told that their daughter was highly talented in music. Min-xuan started formal piano lessons when she was just three years old. Her strong musical sense and remarkable memory for tunes continued to impress people around her. One day, her mother discovered another musical gift of hers when she heard her playing one tune with her left hand and another tune with her right. Min-xuan’s teacher said that that was very difficult to do. “I hear that only very smart people can do that,” Min-xuan said. “But I’m not smart. I attribute it to God’s grace.” Min-xuan has a creative side as well. Instead of simply playing others’ musical pieces, she writes melodies herself as well. It is said that when God closes one door, he opens another. This is certainly true in Min-xuan’s case. She was elected a model student in elementary school, and in junior high she won the 2013 Presidential Educational Award for her positive attitude in facing her life’s challenges and for her outstanding performance in music and other areas.
When Min-xuan was younger, she once asked her mom if she had ever won a big lottery prize. “Yes,” her mom answered. “What was it?” “You,” the mother said. “Me?” “Yes, because you’re priceless.” “Am I more precious than diamonds?” “Sure!” “I know why,” said Min-xuan. “Because there are countless diamonds in the world, but I’m the one and only person like me in the world.” In saying this, Min-xuan expressed the idea that everyone is unique and special, that everyone can shine in their own way. Apparently, in addition to her musical talent, Min-xuan has a gift of wisdom beyond her years. |
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