TODD: Today’s EIB High Note is about taking a negative and turning it into a positive. This happened to a woman named Chen Lie. At the age of 60 in 2017, she suffered a stroke, and so this caused paralysis to her entire right side. So she had to use her left side for everything, which was her nondominant side. One day, under these circumstances, she decided to pick up a paintbrush.
She’d never done that before. So, to her pleasant surprise, it turned out she had a new talent. Five hundred paintings later, she’s hoping to inspire other people who are dealing with medical adversity, and her daughter, Paulina Purnama, who credits her mom’s recovery to painting, echoes that statement.
PURNAMA: We just want to tell other people that it’s… Don’t ever give up, because a new life might be waiting for you. A new hobby, a new love, a new passion might come out of something that was so devastating. This is not the end, right? This is not, “Life as you know it is over.” This is a change in the way that we knew things to be before, but it’s not something that is hopeless. It’s amazing how with family, love, and determination, how many a family can overcome.
TODD: It is. And speaking of the family, the EIB family knows this, that when Rush lost his hearing, a bunch of people said, “That’s it! He can’t continue.” But much like Chen Lie, there was something inside the Maha. (laughing) I just laugh at even thinking of him ever considering himself a victim.
He refused to be one! He never did turn away from the Golden EIB Microphone and wouldn’t have dreamt of it. This lady also mentioned the power of family, which is… Well, it’s all of you in this audience, and I want you to know that you played a huge role in Rush being able to stay with us all these years and, as he would say, “Keep the faith.” He did.
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