PETALING JAYA, July 9 ― Yvonne Foong was forced to give up music, ballet and figure skating when she was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis (NF) type II when she was only 16, and has been battling with the disorder ever since.
Now 33 years old, she has actively raised awareness about the genetic disorder ever since she was a teenager and was even presented with the Most Outstanding Youth of The Year award in 2005 by the Asian Youth Ambassadors.
A hereditary genetic disorder of the nervous system which affects how the nerve cells grow and form, NF also facilitates the growth of tumours in the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves.
The tumours are generally benign, but can also become malignant.
Despite it, Foong was not one to sit around and let the disorder control her life, as she has been working hard to not only spread more awareness about the disorder but also to fund her own surgeries and help her fellow NF patients too.
“I’ve worked very hard to earn money to have quality surgeries so that I can live a normal life, through school, college, and my career as both a motivational speaker and author,” said Foong during the Works of Gratitude talk in Taylor’s College in 2015.
Sadly, she is currently unable to do this anymore after experiencing a bad fall last year.
Foong who is also deaf in one ear and whose vision is impaired, has published two books, the first titled, I’m Not Sick, but Little Unwell and the second, A Life Worth Living For, about her battle with the disorder in the hopes of collecting funds for her costly surgeries overseas.
And now she needs a helping hand to sell off the remaining 1000 copies of her second book (A Life Worth Living For) priced at RM35, after the fall had taken a toll on her body, leaving her bedridden for the last year.
Foong is in desperate need of aid, after her latest surgery in May 2019 which cost RM42,000, burnt a hole in her pocket, making it harder for her to pay for physiotherapy sessions and her daily needs like diapers and milk.
She is unable to sit up on her own or turn around while laying down, because of a contracture in her right leg as a result of the fall.
Foong is also in need of professional caregiver on a pro-bono basis as her current caregiver in her 70-year-old mother Chia Kwee Que, herself suffers from thyroid problems and faces difficulty to help her daughter because of her old age.
If you are interested in helping her out or want to find out more about Foong, you can follow her on Facebook or surf over to www.yvonnefoong.com.
To help in any manner, you may contribute funds for Foong via her mother’s bank account: Chia Kwee Que, Maybank, 112223064302.
