According to the post, Papa Jen was at the gym when he received a call from one of Selina’s colleagues informing him that his daughter had sustained serious injuries during a shoot. “I asked if it was life-threatening, and when they said it was, it felt like I had been struck by lightning,” he wrote. “I felt numb from head to toe.”

He immediately went home to pack a few things before flying to China with Selina’s then-fiancé — now ex-husband — Richard Chang and a few others. It was around midnight when they arrived at the hospital, but due to regulations, they were not allowed to see Selina for three days.

On the first night they were there, he told Richard, “Although you two are already engaged, I think Selina has already changed beyond recognition and is no longer the original Selina. Let’s call off the engagement.”

However, as we all know, they went through with the wedding the very next year. “I am so grateful for Richard’s loyalty. If not for his care day and night, as well as his calm and rational personality as a lawyer, it would have been difficult for Selina to make it through this valley of death.”

On the third day, they managed to secure an emergency flight back to Taiwan, and that is when Papa Jen got to see Selina, who was “bandaged up like a mummy”, for the first time since the accident. “It’s been 10 years, and the image of us crying together on the plane is still very vivid in my mind.”

The road to recovery was probably the toughest part. Selina had to receive morphine injections every day ‘cos of the excruciating pain she was in, and she was constantly struck with high fevers that wouldn’t go away. Papa Jen also refused to let their relatives visit her ‘cos he was afraid they wouldn’t be able to handle seeing her in her condition, which might make Selina feel guilty.

Things didn’t get easier even after she was discharged from the ICU three months later. While Papa Jen didn’t go into much detail about this part, he said that the rehabilitation process at home was even longer and more painful than it was at the hospital.

But she survived, and Papa Jen couldn’t be prouder. “During the rehabilitation process, a middle-aged woman who also suffered severe burns came to visit you,” he recalled. “In addition to sharing about her own experiences, she encouraged you to get better, and confidently declared that one day, you would be able to swim, soak in hot springs, run, and climb mountains like her. I remember thinking, what long and difficult days we have ahead of us.”

He continued, “Now, 10 years have passed. Whether it’s running, climbing mountains, swimming, or soaking in hot springs, Selina, you have done it, you have done it, you have done it. Daddy and mummy are so proud of you, so proud of you. Bless you.”

Of course, he didn’t forget to thank all the people who accompanied Selina on her journey, from the rehabilitation care team to those who prayed for her and sent them their sincerest well-wishes.

Selina herself ended the post with a brief note of her own, writing, “Thank you for patiently reading Papa Jen’s life story. I’m sincerely grateful for everyone, and I also wish you all well. Live in the moment and be happy and healthy.”

Photos: Selina Jen/Facebook, Taipei Times