TIMA Paraguay
The Opening ceremony of the 2015 TIMA conference was at 8am on Sept. 26th. Several mystery guests appeared in the conference. One was Dr. Juan Silverio Meza from TIMA of Paraguay who has been hospitalized at Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital for medical treatment. The other one was Dr. Meza's wife "Dra. Marta Delgado de Meza". They were accompanied by staff He Zhao-Wei from International Medical Service Center of Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, volunteer Wang Mei-Pin, translation volunteer Ricardo Chang, retired diplomats Juan Liu and his wife Ye Wen-Xuan. Dr. Meza was frequently thinking of TIMA Conference. Two days ago, he was discussing with the medical team to request for several hours leave to participate in partial lessons of TIMA conference. Director of plastic surgery Dr. Lee Jun-Da agreed to let him join the TIMA conference because his recovery was well, Two days ago, Marta had ironed his uniform neatly with his expectation to meet his old friends of TIMA as soon as possible.
"We come from different countries… It's so nice to meet you! It is good to walk on Tzu Chi Path with you together". Dr. Meza looked healthy after one month careful treatment in Tzu Chi Hospital, He greeted everyone cheerfully. He was busy holding hands with volunteers, waving his hands, shaking his body and following volunteers' dance on the stage. Dr. Lin Chin-Lon , CEO of TIMA presented an opening speech and especially introduced Dr. Meza. Dr. Meza sincerely said "Thank you! Cheer up!" in Mandarin Chinese and got applause from all audiences. The lovely couple of Dr. Meza happily waved Paraguay flags and said hello to his TIMA families.
Concerned about Dr. Meza's health, the attending physician only allowed Dr. Meza to be at the conference for 2 hours. After listening to the the first section of sharing from Nepal Medical Disaster Relief Team, Dr. Meza have to return to his ward . He was reluctant and "I have a wish to recover and dedicate to be a Tzu Chi volunteer after going back to Paraguay. Next year, I want to join TIMA conference with a healthy body."
Although Dr. Meza was hospitalized in Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, he is still very concerned about the TIMA conference. In order to make his wish come true, the medical team carefully co-worked with TIMA staff to make sure he is in good health. They make sure conference room had appropriate space and electrical socket and in order for Dr. Meza's "hemodialysis machine" worked properly to achieve his wish.
Dr. Meza said that the love from Master Cheng Yen and Tzu Chi families let him come to the hospital smoothly. He appreciates the medical team making a comprehensive treatment plan for him. He and his family are full of gratitude to Tzu Chi. He had gotten full of love from participants of TIMA conference and Tzu Chi families for decades. He sensed a strong love towards people, and that was what he had to learn seriously. After listening to the sharing experience from Nepal team, he learned that the importance of "the quality of medical care". He especially understood the importance of medical support for the poor people's requests in Paraguay during the raining season. Although he cannot attended free clinics in Paraguay because of his treatment in Taiwan, he believed Paraguay TIMA team can do their best to take care of the people.
There are totally 11 doctors in his family including daughters, sons-in-law, and sons. Dr. Meza said, he expects himself is like a big tree, and his children are like the sprouting virtuous seeds, his family can spread Tzu Chi's ideology and spirit from generations to generations continually.
It is very far away between Paraguay and Hualien. It takes 40 hours flight and connection to Taiwan. Although he had been amputated because of illness, Dr. Meza lost his right leg. He vowed to take good care of his health and was fitted with prostheses. He will come back to join TIMA conference every year forever.