Tiffany was a candidate of 2023 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) examination. She achieved excellent results with five subjects scoring 5** and one subject scoring 5*. She has been a recipient of the "Academic Award Scheme" Outstanding Award multiple times. During early childhood, she was diagnosed with having Ventricular Septal Defect and regular hospital check-ups and ultrasounds were required to monitor her heart condition. About her personal growth experiences, Tiffany shared that she is a disciplined and organized student, and these qualities have played an important role in her studies. "I attended an ordinary local primary school when I was young, and when I entered secondary school, I successfully gained admission to a prestigious traditional school with English as the primary language of instruction. I knew I had to work hard to catch up with the learning progress."
Tiffany describes herself as a long-distance runner, achieving excellent results by steadily moving forward with perseverance. "After entering high school, I started preparing for the exam. I reviewed my studies every day starting from the beginning of F.6. Doing revision doesn't mean studying under pressure in a closed room. I set goals for myself every week and then allocate daily tasks to systematically practice and try to cultivate an interest in learning."
Beyond academics, Tiffany also participated actively in volunteer service. She served as the president of the Service Community Club, providing tutoring and organizing fun days for children in different community centers. Her desire to help others has also sparked her consideration of becoming a doctor. "As I have been regularly visiting hospitals for check-ups since childhood, the medical profession is not unfamiliar to me. During high school, I also enjoyed reading various medical-related information. Seeing that doctors can identify diseases through different symptoms and case studies and find out the treatment plans, I find this work very meaningful."
Currently, Tiffany is attending the first year in the Chinese University of Hong Kong's medical school. Regarding her future development, she hopes to expose herself to a variety of experiences. "Broadening my horizons is the learning goal I have set for myself in these six years." Tiffany also encourages other children with congenital heart disease not to set limits for themselves and to strive slowly but steadily towards their aspirations, believing that one day they will achieve their dreams.Details
Rising from the Waves: The Hong Kong Flying Fish’s Journey of Rebirth - Frank Ho
Someone once said, "Dreams should be something that you feel you must do even when you're about to stop breathing." If one day, your dream conflicts with your safety, how would you choose?
The Sudden News and A Ticking-time Bomb Inside His Body
Hong Kong swimming athlete Ho Siu Lun, Frank, who holds the title "Backstroke King", setting the Hong Kong youth record for the 100m freestyle and 50m butterfly events, as well as six records at the Hong Kong Schools Sports Federation (HKSSF). Frank started learning to swim in kindergarten and had been training four days a week since elementary school. He had never felt any discomfort until the school and swimming pool were closed due to the pandemic. In order to continue training, he applied to become a full-time athlete at the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI). However, during a heart ultrasound, he discovered that he had a congenital heart abnormality.
"It's as if there's a ticking time bomb inside my body, and I could be in danger of losing my life at any time when I do high-intensity exercise because of insufficient blood supply." Frank's condition is an abnormal location of the coronary artery outlet, and his blood vessels are thinner than those of the average person, leading to poor blood flow in his body. "At that time, I asked many doctors, and most of them had a negative view of my situation." In addition to the high risk of surgery, doctors also said that Frank's physical fitness might be worse after surgery. But if he didn't undergo surgery, he would only be able to swim in "healthy swim" in the future. "I remember I cried with my family for a long time immediately. It felt like a cannonball hit me suddenly, and my more than ten years of perseverance suddenly vanished." Fortunately, the HKSI referred him to a primary doctor who provided him with four surgical plans and gave him great confidence. At first, Frank's family did not agree to the surgery, but they knew that swimming was not only his dream but also the focus of his life. After balancing all factors and with the surgical sponsorship from the school and alumni, Frank underwent an open-heart surgery in 2021.
A Long Road to Recovery, A Desire to Catch up
After the surgery, Frank woke up with a long scar on his chest and a long recovery process. "I had a fever after the surgery, and the wound was very painful. I also had many tubes inserted into my body, so I couldn't move, and I couldn't sleep for several days." At the beginning after being discharged from the hospital, Frank still needed medication and regular follow-up visits, as well as relearning how to breathe. "There is a breathing training device that requires me to blow three waves. I used to find it very easy, but after the surgery, I could barely blow one balloon." The doctor recommended that he should not do any exercise for at least one to two months to prevent excessive stretches in the upper chest. "I remember the first time I swam after the surgery was during a staycation. I still felt a slight pain in the wound, and although I could only swim very slowly, I was already very happy."
As his body gradually recovered, Ho returned to training at the HKSI, but he experienced many setbacks both physically and mentally. While his teammates were training intensively, he could only slowly swim by himself, and the coach did not let him practice too much. "I was impatient and wanted to catch up with my previous level as soon as possible. I asked the coach if I could try to swim faster all the time." From not being able to swim backstroke and butterfly strokes, he could only swim freestyle, to re-swimming his personal best after participating in competitions with unsatisfactory results. After a year and a half, Frank finally represented Hong Kong in international competitions again in September 2022.
A Seal of Life: Spreading positive energy through experiences
Talking about his feelings of returning to the competition after the surgery, Frank said that the biggest difference was other people's gaze. He recalled that when he took off his shirt in the warm-up pool during the competition, other athletes were surprised to see his scar, and everyone was curious about his experience. After all, there are fewer such cases in the world, and even if they encounter his situation, they may choose to give up their athletic careers. "This scar is like a trophy of my life, proving that I have successfully won a tough battle." Frank also said that this experience of illness gave him the opportunity to share his story with others. "There may be many people in society who have similar problems. I hope to use my experience and my identity as an athlete to encourage them."
Riding the Waves: Motivations from swimming
Currently, Frank is studying in Canada and still lives the life of an athlete who practices swimming and fitness every day. Two years have passed, Frank frankly said that because his cardiopulmonary function is not as good as before, he has not been able to return to the 200-meter competition arena, but he hopes that with appropriate training, he can return to this event someday. "Swimming is everything in my life and has made me who I am now. Whenever I encounter frustration, I think of the moment when I could have lost swimming, and it gives me the motivation to persevere."
A dream that cannot be crushed, fearlessly breaking through oneself, and still daring to create one's own territory after breaking through the waves. In the future, Frank still regards swimming as the most important part of his life and looks forward to representing Hong Kong in more international competitions.Details
I am Cheung Sze Chai and I am turning 18 years old this year. While I am still a "little kid", I would like to share my story.
I was born with a congenital heart condition called Patent Ductus Arteriosus, in which a small blood vessel that is supposed to close at birth, did not close properly in my case.
Having a congenital heart disease may sound daunting and may cause a lot of inconvenience in many aspects of life. However, my childhood was no different from any other girl's, if not more rewarding! Not only did I not shy away from different activities and foods, but I was in love with things like gymnastics, ice skating, the park and ice cream.
My parents regularly brought me to follow-up appointments to monitor my condition. Later on, due to an abnormal pressure difference in my heart vessels, I underwent an operation at the age of five at Queen Mary Hospital for a patent ductus arteriosus occlusion surgery, under the arrangement of Dr Dr Adolphus Chau Kai Tung. Fortunately, the surgery was very successful and left no sequelae. With this success, I was then able to embrace my primary school life as happily as other children around me and continue to be a lively and energetic child.
When I was in Primary 3, I was introduced to the sport of rope skipping through my school's extra-curricular activity classes. The plethora of rope skipping styles were so fascinating that I joined this extra-curricular activity. I gradually fell in love with the sport, joined the school team and represented the school for the first time in the inter-school rope skipping competition organised by the Hong Kong College of Cardiology, where I won the championship. After that, I followed the coaches to undergo more rigorous training outside of school and participated in various local rope skipping competitions. In 2015, I was invited to the Hong Kong Rope Skipping Team, and at the age of 10, I officially represented Hong Kong for the first time in the 8th Asian Rope Skipping Championships in Malaysia.
In the following years, my four teammates and I continued to represent Hong Kong at the Asian Rope Skipping Championships and World Rope Skipping Championships in Sweden, Korea and Shanghai in 2016, 2017 and 2018. With the experience of training and competing together over the years, we have gotten better and better in team competitions, and in 2018, we won the first place for Hong Kong in the FISAC-IRSF World Rope Skipping Championships for the first time in the girls' age group of 14 or below.
Although the COVID-19 epidemic affected many aspects of our lives including our training, it did not destroy our love for rope skipping. In 2021, my teammates and I switched to the girls' 16 and above division and, after many changes in teammates and the competition system, we participated in the International Jump Rope Union (IJRU) Virtual World Championships and successfully attained first place!
At times when I look at my personal experiences, I find myself to be especially lucky. Apart from my own hard work, I am very grateful to my parents for the education I received and their perpetual support of my dream to be an athlete, and never stopping me from trying different strenuous sports.
This year, I will be studying physiotherapy at in the UK. Although I may not be able to continue my dream of representing the Hong Kong Rope Skipping Team for the time being, I hope I will continue to be lucky and successful in my aspiration of becoming a physiotherapist!
I hope you will all work together to follow your dreams and live your own exciting chapters!Details
