A Tribute to Life

When Chi-Lin Yen passed away in November 2003 – only a year after being diagnosed with gastric carcinoid cancer, a rare form of stomach cancer – he left behind his wife of more than 40 years, Elaine Yen, and their three grown sons, Scott, Simon and Steven. Elaine has been a longtime patient of Dr. Bart C. Lally, an internist and gastroenterologist at the Camino region of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), and she often turned to Dr. Lally for support and advice during her husband's illness.

Over time, Elaine felt a growing sense that she wanted to do something to honor the memory of her late husband. "My mom had the idea to create a peaceful place where people could sit and rest," said Scott, the Yen's eldest son, an internist who has lived near Chicago since 1987. "My father always loved his garden at our home in Los Altos Hills, and my mother wanted to design a garden he would have liked to tend himself."

After discussing her wishes with Dr. Lally and members of the Camino region's Philanthropy Department, Mrs. Yen decided to make a gift to create a garden that could provide some solace to patients who were undergoing treatment at the infusion center at PAMF's Mountain View Center, which was then nearing completion of construction.

After making her gift, Elaine worked closely with PAMF's landscape architect, John Wong, who presented her with some initial sketches. "I told him what my husband liked best and what was in our own garden at home," she said. "We wanted a garden that would be there forever, with a pagoda, boulders and a waterfall, and with flowering azaleas, maple and black pine trees."

The Chi-Lin Yen Garden, which is open to the public, is located on the lower level of the Mountain View Center and can be easily viewed through large windows by infusion center patients. Allegra Lewis, R.N., an oncology nurse who works in the infusion center, has witnessed the garden’s soothing effect on her patients. "It is so therapeutic to be able to look out on trees and flowers. People almost forget for a moment that they are in treatment," she said. "So many peoples' lives are touched by chronic illness," she continued. "The environment we create here honors the uniqueness of each person, and encourages healing, optimism and a sense of connection."

Dr. Edmund Tai, an oncologist, sees his patients every day at the infusion center. "Our patients are fighting a war against cancer, and this garden provides a spiritual counterpoint to the high technology of their treatments. It gives people a calm place to focus so they can experience some sense of serenity."

The dedication ceremony for the Chi-Lin Yen Garden was held on April 14, 2007, and attended by family members and friends, as well as by many physicians and staff members. "The ceremony was a celebration of my dad’s life, so he would live on in this world," said Scott. "He lives in my heart forever, even if he's not on this earth. When I visit the garden, I feel peaceful and a little closer to my dad." At the dedication, all three of Elaine Yen's sons spoke about their memories of their father. "We do not want him to be forgotten," said Elaine. "My husband was taken too soon, but this garden will leave a footprint in this world of who he was and what he loved."

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