People ¢ By Lucy Cheng, volunteer sub-editor from Wesley Methodist Church. / Photos courtesy of Cheryl Mah
A mother’s story:
Hope comes with small steps “When Lucien was a newborn, I had prayed to God to not
hospital bills soared beyond their budget. To compound
let him grow up so fast, so that I could enjoy his early
their woes, the insurance company repeatedly rejected
childhood years for a longer time. I often joke that I did
their application for a medical and hospitalisation
not mean for God to slow him down by so much!”
insurance policy for Lucien. It was only after almost two frustrating years and a few rounds of appeals
Cheryl Mah’s wry humour belies a tough journey of ups
that the application was approved, albeit with several
and downs that started with her second pregnancy in
added stipulations.
2019. Neither she nor her husband, Jonathan, could possibly have imagined what would happen—after all,
At Lucien’s 15-month polyclinic check-up, the doctor
her first pregnancy resulting in the birth of their first
noted his small size and weight of about 7kg and
child, a daughter, had been relatively uneventful.
referred them to a paediatrician at the KKH Department of Child Development (DCD). The paediatric appointment
While pregnant for the second time, she was diagnosed
was the start of a long chain of interviews, tests and
with a number of prenatal complications including
treatments involving the departments of Ear, Nose &
abnormal
Throat (ENT), Ophthalmology, Nutrition, and the Speech
bleeding
and
Group
B.
Streptococcus.
Additionally, she contracted Hand, Foot and Mouth
Therapy and Occupational Therapy (SPOT) clinic.
Disease (HFMD) from an unknown source in her second trimester. In her last trimester, the doctor gravely
Then came the news that Cheryl and Jonathan were not
pronounced that she had placental insufficiency and
expecting.
promptly performed an emergency Caesarean section delivery after 30 hours of non-progressive labour.
Lucien was diagnosed with Global Development Delay (GDD), a condition in which the child shows signs
Her son Lucien was born a preemie with a birth weight
of significant delays across more than two areas of
of only 1.95kg. He had barely passed his oxygen test,
development. In fact, he was found to be significantly
and nearly landed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
delayed in all five child developmental areas and at
(NICU) in Mount Alvernia Hospital. This was when
least one to two years behind his peers.
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METHODIST MESSAGE May 2022
