DONATION FOR CHAI YAO JIUNN – *target reach RM 56 K (19/10/2023)

His mother, Lee Sew Ken (41 years old), mentioned that her son had always been in good health. However, since he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in February this year, he has been constantly afflicted by infections leading to fever, mouth ulcers, and wound inflammation, leaving his body in a very weakened state. For nearly 4 months, he has been unable to eat and relies solely on nutritional fluids to sustain his body’s needs. This has caused great suffering for a child who used to enjoy eating.

“To better take care of Yao Jiunn, I have temporarily stopped my previous job as a salesperson to stay in the hospital and care for him. Currently, our family’s livelihood depends solely on my husband’s income as a store manager,” she shared.

She pointed out that in order to manage Yao Jiunn’s condition, he has received a total of 10 infliximab injections over the past 6 months. While there has been a slight improvement in his condition, leaving the hospital increases his susceptibility to infections, leading to recurrent symptoms like fever.

“Yao Jiunn really enjoys going to school. The hospital has an affiliated school, and whenever his condition allows, he will definitely attend classes. He loves learning, and he looks forward to being discharged and going back home, just like before, attending school and returning to our house. Yao Jiunn’s sister also misses him a lot.”

She revealed that during this period of treating Yao Jiunn, the couple has been forced to borrow money from relatives and friends to cover medical expenses. Unfortunately, these funds are still insufficient to cover Yao Jiunn’s significant monthly medical costs.

“To assist in his waste elimination, the doctors have created an artificial opening for him. He needs to use 2-4 ostomy bags per day, and just the cost of these bags ranges from RM 400 to RM 500 per month. This doesn’t even include the expenses for injections, lubricants, ointments, and more.”

She mentioned that Yao Jiunn is a sensible and cheerful child, but he cares deeply about his mother’s feelings. Even if his mother is slightly downhearted, he would also feel sad, so in order to keep his spirits up, she refrains from showing any sadness in front of him, no matter how much it hurts her.

“He is sensitive to my emotions, so I constantly remind myself to stay strong and optimistic. Because he picks up on what I feel, I want him to be happy.”

CEO of CCEP, Yee Poo Yoon, pointed out that while Crohn’s disease is not an urgent illness, prolonged illness could lead to malnutrition and trigger other serious complications. Moreover, the treatment course for this condition extends over a period of 2 years, and the cost of the medication is exceptionally high, beyond what an average family can afford.

“During this period, Yao Jiunn’s condition has led to recurrent fever, diarrhea, mouth ulcers, and severe cases might even require the removal of the affected parts of the colon. This is an agonizing experience for anyone, let alone a child.”