CNN介紹英子長期支持多重硬化症病友的故事

Eiko騎車的模樣

(Source: http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/HEALTH/10/28/eiko.irpt/t1larg.eiko2.irpt.jpg)

Biking 150 miles for a cause -- in a dress and heels
By Rachel Rodriguez, CNN
October 28, 2009 -- Updated 1443 GMT (2243 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
．For the past 26 years, 84-year-old Lan Yin "Eiko" Tsai has
　worn a dress and high heels to bike 150 miles for MS research.
．72 percent of Americans are spending less time volunteering
　since the recession. But Lan Yin "Eiko" Tsai is continuing
　the 150-mile bike ride she's done for 26 years
．Tsai rides in a dress and high heels on a one-speed bike
．The "City to Shore" bike ride benefits multiple sclerosis research

(CNN) -- Amidst the sea of jerseys and bike shorts at New Jersey's City to Shore -- a 150-mile bike ride to benefit multiple sclerosis research -- one unlikely rider stands out.

A tiny 84-year-old woman wears a neat, green turtleneck dress and an embroidered jacket. On her feet is a pair of high-heeled pumps. Her salt-and-pepper hair peeks out from the helmet that indicates she is, in fact, a participant in the bike ride. Her old-fashioned one-speed bicycle is purple, with a large wire basket on the front that carries her belongings and her number for the ride.

Lan Yin Tsai doesn't give the impression that she could go five miles on that bike, let alone 150. But that's what she's done -- for the past 26 years. Eiko, as she's known to friends and family, is an institution at the annual City to Shore event. And over the years, she has become a symbol of hope and determination for City to Shore participants and MS patients.

Her unwavering determination makes her an unusual person in the days of this recession. According to the National Conference on Citizenship, 72 percent of Americans said they were spending less time volunteering since the economy hit rock bottom a year ago. It's a double blow to nonprofits, which are relying increasingly on volunteers as their revenues sink. But Tsai is persisting with the service she's done for 26 years.

"I always try to tell people, whatever you can do, keep doing it, keep doing it," she says. "And that's why I do MS. When I start something, I don't want to just quit."

It all started when Tsai began to work in a hospital many years ago. A native of Taiwan, she was trained in Japan in the art of shiatsu massage. So while working at the hospital, "I started to put my hands where they hurt," she says. Tsai began regularly giving massages to cancer patients, until one day, about 26 years ago, she massaged a patient with MS. It was then and there that she first heard about the bike ride and decided to participate.

"In Taiwan, riding a bike is very common," explains Tsai's grandson, Alan Sim, who also participates in City to Shore -- 2009 was his sixth year. "So she grabbed her little one-speed bike and was doing the ride."

And why the nice dress and high heels? Tsai says that's just her normal biking outfit.

"I went to church, so I always dressed up and would ride my bicycle," she says. "So that's why I do it that way -- I do it that way naturally. That's the way I ride my bike."

Tsai is well-known in the local chapter of the National MS Society and among MS patients.

"She's like the superstar of the ride," says Jeff Pickens, a volunteer at this year's event and a CNN iReporter. "When she shows up, the whole place applauds."

See Pickens' photos of Tsai and other riders

"When the last rider comes in, [the MS society] usually has like a police car or fire truck with sirens going off. And usually my grandmother is the last person," says Sim with a laugh. "So the people who know about her, they just sit around waiting for multiple hours after most people have finished. And she'll just ride in, and people are cheering, taking pictures, asking for autographs. It's like being with a celebrity."

"I have the most pressure out of anyone on the tour," Sim adds jokingly. "I know I can't quit, because my grandmother's behind me somewhere!"

Tsai's determination runs beyond her annual participation in the bike ride. She's still practicing shiatsu, running her own massage business out of her basement. It keeps her busy -- Tsai usually spends about two hours with each patient, she says. But just like the MS ride, it's a commitment that she won't soon give up. She plans to continue with both for as long as she can.

In 2008, Tsai's family honored her commitment by creating a team in the bike ride called "Team Eiko." Sim says17 riders, all family and friends "from all over the place," joined the team to participate in the ride, and returned this year. The 2009 City to Shore ride raised more than $5 million for MS research and care, and Team Eiko was responsible for more than $6,000 of that. Sim says his grandmother's determination is inspirational for both the other riders and the MS patients themselves.

"I think because of her personality and her demeanor, it really gives people hope. It doesn't matter who you are or where you're from, as long as you're persistent, you'll be able to come up with a cure," he says. "She's a pretty remarkable woman. And I'm just hoping the genes pass down."

在過去的26年，現年84歲的Eiko蔡蘭英一直是專著舊的洋裝及高跟鞋騎車參加多重硬化症研究所舉行的150英哩自行車活動。
在紐澤西到海岸的路上，穿著自行車衣和自行車短褲的人海中，一個位特別的自行車騎士引人注目。

一位瘦小的84歲婦人，穿著整潔的綠色高領洋裝及繡花外套，腳上穿著一雙高跟鞋。從自行車安全帽旁露出來的灰髮顯示出她是自行車活動的參加者。她的老式、紫色無變速自行車前面的菜藍裝著她的隨身物品和她的活動號碼牌。

蔡蘭英給人的印象是她並無法騎著這部自行車走超過5英哩，更不用說是150英哩。但是在過去26年以來她持續做到（騎150英哩）。Eiko的朋友和家人都知道，參加150英哩自行車活動已經成為例行的活動。數年以來，她也已成為給予參加者和病友希望和決心的象徵。

她堅定的決心使她成為經濟蕭條時期不凡的人物。根據調查，百分之72的美國人自從去年經濟落到谷底以來，已花較少時間在志工相關的事務。對非營利組織來說更是雙重打擊，這些組織由於收入銳減，須更仰賴志工。唯有蔡女士仍堅持她已從事了26年的服務。

她說道：「我一直嘗試告訴人們，不管你可以做什麼事，就持續去做它。這是我為多重硬化症協會服務的原因。當我開始做了某件事，我就不會想要放棄。」

這件事的緣由是當蔡女士在多年前開始在醫院工作。身為一個台灣人，她在日本受訓學習指壓。她提到，「當在醫院工作時，我開始按摩病人疼痛的地方。」蔡女士開始固定地幫癌症病人按摩。直到26年前有一天，她幫多重硬化症病人按摩，她得知了自行車活動並決定參加。

蔡女士的孫子Alan說：「在台灣，騎自行車非常普遍，所以阿媽就騎了自己的無變速自行車參加。」（Alan在2009年也參加了第6年的自行車活動。）

那為什麼穿洋裝和高跟鞋呢？蔡女士說這是她平常騎車所裝的衣服。

蔡女士說：「我騎單車去教堂，所以我永遠穿著整齊。這是為什麼我穿這樣騎自行車，我覺得自然而然這樣做。這是我騎車的方式。」

蔡女士是當地多重硬化症協會和病人之間眾所週知的人。

今年活動志工暨CNN記者Jeff Pickens提到：「她就像是活動的超級巨星。當她出現的時候，全場響起掌聲。」

Alan笑著說：「當最後一個自行車手抵達時，協會通常會鳴苖。而且通常最後一個到達的都是我的阿媽。所以知道她的人，會在大部分人都完成騎乘後，仍在終點等候數小時。當她抵達時，人們會鼓勵、照相、找她簽名，就像是身為名人一樣。」

Alan開玩笑地說：「我比參與活動的任何人都感受到壓力，因為我知道我的阿媽就在我身後某處，而我不能放棄。」

蔡女士的決心表現在她每年參加自行車活動。她仍在自己家裡幫人指壓按摩。蔡女士通常幫每個病人按摩2小時。就像是參與自行車活動，這個工作就像是一個承諾，在短期內不會停止。她仍會繼續參加自行車活動與幫人指壓。

在2008年時，蔡女士的家人組成了"Team Eiko"自行車隊。Alan說17位來自各地的家人和朋友們加入了車隊並且參加了活動，而且今年也參加了活動。2009年的活動募集了5百萬美金，包含了"Team Eiko"車隊募集的6000元美金。Alan說他阿媽的決心啟發了車友和多重硬化症病友們。

Alan說：「我認為她的人格特質和行為帶給人們希望。不管你來自何方，只要你堅持，你必定能痊癒。她是一位了不起的女士。我希望她的基因能繼續傳承下去。」

文章來源：

採訪原文：
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/10/28/eiko.irpt/index.html

中文翻譯：
http://eikohealinghands.blogspot.com/2009/10/cnn.html