Hong Kong woman was crippled and then faced heartache as her husband left her; she now flies like an eagle
Susanna Tang is nominated for an Overcoming Personal Challenge Award in the Spirit of Hong Kong Awards for all the volunteer work she has done since her horrific traffic accident in 1988
In 1988, a 28-year-old woman was caught in a serious traffic accident.
She awoke 20 bags of blood and hours of surgery later, missing an arm and a leg, wrapped up like a mummy, with tubes connecting her to machines like a science fiction horror show.
That’s only the first of the major obstacles life has thrown at Susanna Tang Ying-lan, whose nickname these days is “Flying Eagle”. And she’s leapt over every one of them with her one remaining arm and leg.
She went home seven agonising months later, feeling hopeless and hideous – “like a worm” – after doctors ruled it was impossible to fit her with prosthetics. Tang explains: “A third of my pelvic bone was crushed, and back then such devices weighed a lot” – too much for her small, fragile body to carry. “I broke down sobbing every time I saw myself in the mirror.”
Over months, her family supported her through her recovery, as did her boyfriend who refused to leave her, “even though I’d suggested breaking up because I didn’t want to be a burden.”