"A man filled with the love of God is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race." Joseph Smith

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Extra-Ordinary Persons of Taiwan

Your mind is a map. It records everything you do and everywhere you go. You just have to learn how to read the map.

This is Ruby's story.

Arriving at English Conversation Group
I was six months old when I had my first heart surgery. I couldn’t breathe. My parents took me to the hospital where the doctors diagnosed me with a type of valvular heart disease. One of my valves didn’t close completely at birth.

I had another heart surgery when I was 14, and then another just this year. I’ll need more in the future. For now I'm doing well.

My parents divorced when I was seven. After that I didn’t see them much or live with them – I lived at school in the dorm. It was a regular school, not one for the blind or the disabled. In our high school you have to choose a major and a minor. I chose music. My mom had been my piano teacher, so music was already familiar to me. I majored in viola and minored in piano. I practiced 8 hours a day.

When I graduated from high school I entered Tamkang University or TKU. It’s a private university here in Taipei. This time my major was Japanese and my minor was German. Government scholarships kept me in school. When I graduated, I became a teacher for a junior high school.

I am also blind.

It can take over 100,000 times to learn a new skill when you are blind.

Simple things for everyone else can be very difficult. It’s a challenge when I can’t find the water dispenser. Getting the water into my water bottle is difficult. Every day tasks are complicated. 

I worked for 7-½ years as a teacher. Then my dad got liver cancer. In Taiwan, when someone gets sick, it is the responsibility of a family member, usually the oldest child, to take care of them. I am an only child. So I quit my job and went to live with my father in the hospital.

Someone stole my dad’s ID, and used the ID to fraudulently buy a car. I sued him. It took 8 years of my life. I had to go back and forth from the lawsuit activities to the hospital. After four years in the hospital, my dad passed away. That was three years ago.

This year I lost the lawsuit. 

Sometimes I still miss my dad. I don’t see my mom much.

Now I am a masseuse. I went to school for 2 years to learn the trade, and have been doing it for over 7 years. 

Sister Coffey's first professional massage.



I live in my dad’s apartment. I memorize the way to get from my home to work. I also take the subway and then walk to the Church where I attend the weekly English conversation group. I am learning about the teaching of Jesus Christ from the missionaries. 

President Peterson and I in a recent visit.

When I finish at the Church I walk to the subway to get back home. The street signals don't have beeps to alert me when it is my turn to cross the street. I have to listen to the cars to know when it is safe to do so.

Taiwan does not have a lot of mobility services for the blind. I do the best I can. But I do have a cell phone that reads my messages to me.  That’s an easy way for me to communicate with others. It also tells me what it sees in photos that I take.

The camera tells me what the image is in the screen.

A photo of Elder Coffey

I want to help change the laws or policies in Taiwan to provide more resources for the disabled. My philosophy in life is nengliang ( 能量– or energy. A blind person can do almost anything. I don’t want people to feel sorry for me or think I can’t do things. I’m just an ordinary person, almost like everyone else. Blind people have many capabilities. You just need to give them a chance.




Ruby continues to advocate for the disabled. Her life is exemplary in showing that disabilities need not stop a person from pursuing their goals and dreams. In spite of all the challenges she has faced, she retains her self-reliant lifestyle with a cheerful attitude, optimism and grace. 







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