I am a doctor and often attend important academic conferences around the world, but I’m scared to fly in an airplane. As is known to all, traveling on an airplane can be a very tiring task even in the best of circumstances. Especially when the plane arrives above the destination and encounters some special reasons that prevent it from landing safely, the feeling cannot be described in words. In this situation, if you see a patient with Down syndrome (唐氏综合征) in trouble, are you willing to help him?

Last week, I took an early flight to Paris, and it was during this flight that I experienced a lifelong and touching experience.

When it was announced on the broadcast that the plane was about to land and passengers were required to prepare, a teenage boy with Down syndrome who was traveling with his family had become upset and would not return to his seat. In spite of the cabin crew’s warnings over the loudspeaker that it was almost time to land, the boy completely disregarded all this and still went his own way. In terms of such a situation, the pilot was forced to circle above the airport temporarily, delaying the landing and angering people on the already tense flight.

Though the boy’s parents and adult brothers and sisters tried to persuade him to get off the floor and back into his seat, he was opposed to their advice resolutely. They seemed to be in despair.

Finally, the crew sought professional assistance from the passengers. Although I am a doctor, I was helpless in that situation. Subsequently, Murphy 42 — who had been a teacher for about 20 years — glanced at the boy, stood up and quickly headed to the back of the plane.

She found the boy in the passage between rows of seats, lying on his belly. So she also lay down on her stomach to face him. She began chatting calmly with him, asking his name, his favorite books and his favorite characters.

He told her he felt sick and she tried to comfort him.

The plane was finally able to land safely on the ground.

It was a warm, sunny, Saturday afternoon some fifteen or sixteen years ago. I had volunteered to take my two older kids to the local playground while my wife put the youngest down for a nap. As soon as we got there my daughter headed for the swings and asked for a push. As I was helping my daughter to go higher and higher, I noticed another girl who was about 8 years old, trying in vain to get her own swing going. Her elderly grandmother was sitting quietly on a nearby bench and smiled at me.

I gave my daughter one big push and then walked over to the little girl and asked if she could use a push too. She smiled and said “Yes!” I soon had her feet soaring towards the clouds while she laughed happily. For the next two hours I found myself pushing swings and playing tag with my son, daughter, and the other little girl. By the time we headed home, I was physically exhausted, but my spirits was still flying higher than those swings.

One day, I was exhausted again after a long day’s work. Still, I needed to pick up my kids from the local grade school before heading home. I stood wearily in the parents’ waiting area watching for my children. Suddenly, I felt two tiny arms wrap around my stomach. I looked down and there was the little girl from the playground smiling up at me. She gave me one more big hug before heading off to catch her school bus. As I watched her back, I didn’t feel quite so tired anymore and my spirits were once again soaring in the Heavens.

10 years later, something terrible happened to me.

I was so excited to hear that.

When I was 9 years old, I used to cut grass for Mrs. Long. The elderly lady paid me very little, for she hadn’t much money. But she did promise me, “When Christmas comes, I shall have a present for you.” I spent much time wondering what it would be. The boys I played with had baseball gloves and bicycles and ice skates, and I was so eager to acquire any one of these that I convinced myself that Mrs. Long intended choosing from among them.

“It would hardly be a baseball glove,”I reasoned with myself. “A woman like Mrs. Long wouldn’t know much about baseball.” Since she was old and weak, I also ruled out the bicycle, for how could she handle such a large item.

On my last Saturday at work, Mrs. Long said, “At Christmas you come to the door and collect the present. “ These words clinched(确定)my guess. Since she was going to have the present in her house and handle it herself, unquestionably she was giving me a pair of ice skates.

I became so convinced of this that I could imagine myself upon the skates and the excitement they brought me. As the cold days of November arrived and ice began to form on the ponds, I began to try my luck on the ice. “ Get away from that ice! “ a man shouted. “ It’s not strong enough yet.”

As Christmas approached, it was with difficulty that I restrained (抑制) myself from reporting to Mrs. Long and demanding my present. On the 21st of December, icy weather froze all the ponds so that boys who already had ice skates were able to use them. My longing to possess mine became overpowering.

So the next day I could control myself no longer and presented myself at Mrs. Long’s door. “I’ve been waiting for you,” she said with a smile.

She set me in a chair and handed a package to me.

On Christmas morning, I could not wait to open the package.