The Taiwanese actress hasn’t come home for 10 days, and her father, who is mentally ill, broke two TVs in anger and called her “useless”

Miao serves as the charity ambassador of the Kelly Eden Foundation’s “Elderly Care Service Project”. She joined the (second) show today to share her journey of caring for her father who is suffering from dementia. She admitted that her father had been suffering from dementia for more than a year. To support him, she had to give up a lot of work that required long hours and travel between Taipei and Taichung almost every day. He recalled that when he debuted at the age of 15, his father would always take him to perform in palaces and temples. From repairing water and electricity to handling household matters, it seemed as if all problems could be solved as long as her father was around. Now the roles of father and daughter have been reversed, and she has become the person her father trusts most.

Miao Kelly’s father has been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for a long time. As his condition worsened, he developed further symptoms of dementia and hallucinations. Once, she was busy with work and did not come home for about 10 days. When her father saw her, he complained that he had been “locked up” and that his family had prevented him from seeing his daughter. He was so angry that he broke two TVs for half a year. Another time, she stayed with her father for several days, and when she was about to leave, he complained distressedly: “It’s useless! You can’t go now!” She couldn’t help crying: “I know he is mentally ill, but I still get upset after hearing those words.” In the end, she could only hide in the toilet and cry.

Facing the challenges of care, Miao Kelly gradually learned to change her mind and understood that her father was expressing his reluctance by losing his temper, so she would “cooperate in the performance”. For example, her father often thought there was a thief in the house, so she would shout “Catch the thief” instead of blindly correcting him. She also avoided discussing her illness in front of her father, lest he take her place. “Earlier, it was like being hit by an arrow. I couldn’t catch every move. Now I know what he wants to give me and how I want to respond to him,” she said laughing. She also lamented that the hardest thing about caring for an elder with dementia is not being able to hit the pause button. Her father once woke up in the middle of the night and fell, so the family placed extra protective equipment near the bed. She considers this experience a life lesson, a lesson in giving and cherishing, and hopes that her sharing can give strength to other caregivers.