Painful progress

because his education ended at middle school level, and he couldn’t do manual work. “Seven years with no job left me devastated”, he said.

In the midst of his trials, Sham had a lucky break. In 2007, he met his future wife, Chen Wei-ling, and they married a year later. “To make me feel less bored, my wife supported me in engaging in any kinds of sports I wanted, such as table tennis and cycling. I really appreciated her unconditional companionship,” he said.

Even today, he is nervous when he rides in a car. “I refuse to sit in the front passenger seat. Fast driving still distresses me,” he said.

In 2009, Sham finally landed a job. He was recruited as an administrative assistant by the Hong Kong Physically Handicapped and Able-Bodied Association, which is funded by the Jockey Club.

With his newfound security, he began dreaming of a better life and decided he wanted to learn to play the violin — he viewed it as a form of “compensation” for his loss.

It wasn’t easy. Progress was painfully slow. Then he met Foley Lam Ho-yin via an introduction from the Hong Kong Amputees Association. Lam was an amateur violinist who had a vision that he could teach a one-handed person to play the instrument. Sham became his first pupil.

Lam had been through trials himself. In middle school, his violin training had been suspended for an entire semester after he sustained a wrist injury playing soccer. “I know how difficult it is to play the violin with only one hand. When Janice Chak Man-fung (chairwoman of the amputees’ association) told me about Sham, I was happy to help,” he said.

“Sham cannot draw a whole bow. It takes him longer to switch strings by drawing the bow back and forth, and the prosthetic limb was not designed specifically for him. That makes it hard to place the bow completely perpendicular to the strings to make a perfect sound.”

Sham is undeterred. Every day when his working day finishes at 6 pm, he and Lam study shortcuts to make playing easier.

Recently, they have been busy practicing songs such as Castle in the Sky, the theme to a movie made in 1986, and Below the Lion Rock, the title music to a TV series of the same name, which was often broadcast by the Hong Kong media during the SARS outbreak in 2003 and became something of an unofficial anthem for residents.

On Friday, Sam and Lam will perform the songs at the Ten Outstanding Young Persons Selection Ceremony, a flagship project founded by the Junior Chamber International Hong Kong in 1970 to recognize young people who excel in their professional endeavors and commitment to the community. Then, on Monday, they will play at the Konica Minolta Green Concert.

Lam acknowledged that Sham is a novice musician, but insisted that the recitals, and public acclaim, will signal the real start of his pupil’s love affair with the violin.

Sham is still trying to come to terms with his situation, and is learning to be more philosophical.

“It may sound ridiculous but sometimes I see good changes because of the amputation. At least it stimulated me to cultivate this, my first real hobby,” he said.

When his daughter June was born in 2015, mastery of the violin took on a new importance to Sham Hang-fu.

“Before she was born, I wanted to become a hero in my own right. Now, I want to become a ‘superhero’ for her,” he said. “When I practice the violin at home, my daughter sits quietly and pays full attention to my playing. If her mother is not there, she asks her to join us,” he said.

Sham is learning to become a good father, trying to fulfill a promise he made to himself at the time June was born. However, his injury still haunts him.

Once, when he was walking in the park with his daughter, a boy approached and asked if Sham’s arm would grow back. When the 36-year-old replied that it wouldn’t, the boy turned to June and said, “Your father has one arm for ever. He’s different from my father.”

Sham didn’t know what to say.

Another time, he was flustered when June wanted to give him a high five. He reached out with his right hand awkwardly. “How about the other one? Give me five!” she cried, patting Sham’s stump, leaving him nonplussed.

“It made me realize I hadn’t fully accepted the reality of my amputation, even after 14 years,” he said. “My little daughter taught me a very good lesson. To become her superhero, I have to accept my imperfection and try to find an appropriate way to tell her how I lost my arm.”

Sham said playing the violin does not make life easier for him, and he faces new challenges every day. The responsibility of having a daughter who needs his care never leaves him, but he wouldn’t change it for the world — and he will never stop trying to be her superhero.