Vivien J. Lim, (E 13) an international student from Singapore, would have graduated from Tufts in May 2013. She was an engineer, but with a firm passion for design. The Class of 2013s class banner, beautifully designed by Vivien, hangs in the campus center today. She was a dear friend to many at Tufts, stunningly talented and intelligent, and always patient and understanding.
Vivien was diagnosed with Myoepithelial Carcinoma of the parotid salivary gland, a rare form of cancer without a standard treatment, in May 2012. When the doctor asked her how she was feeling, she calmly replied, We just have to deal with it. That was the attitude she had always had and continued to embody in the final year of her life. Always stoic and always a fighter, she was at once both hopeful and realistic, while never feeling sorry for herself. In May 2013, after 12 months of dealing with it, Vivien even hoped to return to the Hill for the semester.
But on Sept. 26, 2013, Tufts lost one of our own. Vivien passed away in her sleep. She was just 24.
Many of us in the Tufts community, from the Class of 2013 and beyond, have fond memories of Vivien. She was incredibly smart and had a great (and dark) sense of humor. She was always glad to lend a listening ear and offer sound advice. She intently observed the world around her, and when she wasnt painting she was reading Kate Beaton comics.
Vivien was also an avid baker. With friends, she once baked pineapple tarts from scratch. It was the Lunar New Year, and pineapple tarts were a small reminder of family and friends thousands of miles away. When the tarts emerged from the oven at 2 a.m., they tasted just like home.
Even while fighting cancer, Vivien continued to bake. A friend remembers visiting Vivien, who had lost a lot of weight and was no longer as energetic. Despite that, Vivien wanted one of those crazy midnight baking sessions all over again. They baked chocolate chip cookies and while she was visibly exhausted, she was also very happy. It was the beauty in the simple things, in hope, and in friendship, that Vivien truly loved.
In her final blog post, dated July 2013, Vivien gave us a look into the final days of the fight, of times both good and bad. She had completed her final chemo session the previous April, and felt well enough to apply to a summer architecture program. For six weeks, she was a student again, grappling with unforgiving deadlines and busy schedules. Architecture is at the best of times demanding work, but in that studio, wrapped up in her passions, Vivien felt at home.
Design, she said, was this damned lovely soul-consuming discipline. She loved it, and she was also great at it. Her teachers at the program commended her strong sense of who she was as a designer, and recommended she apply to architecture school. For those six weeks, she lived among a community of people who understood her and who inspired her. In Viviens own words, she had been a fish out of water who had now truly found the ocean.
Unfortunately, her condition proceeded to take a turn for the worse. Within a week, she was twice readmitted to hospital with an inflamed lung, and both times doctors had to drain fluid from it. Even in such a difficult time, her characteristic dark wit never left her side (Nearly three pints of frothy, beer-like liquid in as many days! Im a walking refinery.)
Vivien didnt let it stop her. Poor health cant stop anyone from doing what they love, she said, and she loved to design and to create. So she carried on working, drawing both on paper and in Illustrator, simply continuing to create. Vivien pressed on stoically, soldiering through the pain and fatigue that were wearing her down.
As I read this final post, I saw the questions and uncertainty that had followed her since her diagnosis. Vivien allowed us a glimpse of what lay beneath her usual strong and calm exterior. At the end of her post, she simply asks: Where is my place in life? And why does my health keep getting in the way? She offers no answers, and we dont know if she ever did manage to answer them for herself.
While we dont know what Vivien would have said, we have some answers of our own. Vivien, while your health may have ultimately failed you, please know that you showed those who knew you what it meant to be truly strong. You gave us the gifts of your talents, but more importantly you gave us the gift of your friendship.
Vivien, you showed us how to deal with it with courage and grace. And for that, we thank you.
In memory of Vivien, the Tufts Singapore Students Association , LCS Cancer Outreach and the International Club have come together to organize a week of fundraising activities. The proceeds from these activities will benefit the Vivien J. Lim memorial fund at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. This fund is dedicated to research towards a cure for the cancer that took Vivien from us. No standard therapy exists at this time. These events will run from March 2 to March 8. For more details, please contact any of these groups. We sincerely hope youll join us in remembering Vivien and doing our part towards finding a cure.
