To all fellow Kiwanians

I have been following Yvonne's blog for a while now....

She suffers from NF - a nervous disorder which is debilitating
and has left her blinded in one eye, deaf in both ears coupled
with multiple impairments.

I am amazed at her strength and will to live inspite of all the
setbacks and hurdles. She has single handedly raised funds for
her numerous operations. Yvonne is losing sight of the other eye
and is raising funds through selling t-shirts at RM15 each.

Her plea is heart rending and I hope that you will support her, either in cash or kind.

I have copied the following for you to read. I am sure as Kiwanians, we will not fail to reach our to those in need.

Thank you

Yvonne Foong: Raising funds to save my eye

Bio

Full name: Foong Ming Niang, Yvonne
Birth Date: June 1986
Hometown: Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Highest Education: BSc in Psychology (current)

Formal Education Awards

The Malaysian Examination Certificate (SPM)
Cambridge GCE ‘O’ Level for English 1119.

Schools Attended with Merit:

1. Segi College Subang Jaya ( Spring 2007 - Present)
2. Life College, (January - August 2006)
3. MSC International College. (January - June 2004)
4. Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Subang Jaya
5. Sekolah Rendah Sri Subang Jaya

Work Experiences:

1. First Published Book, ‘I’m not sick, just a bit unwell’
2. Short Story Contribution to Sherry Cochran’s Late Deafened Book.
3 Freelance Columnist for The Malay Mail. (May - June ‘08)
4. Freelance Columnist for YellowPost (Sept ‘06 - May ‘08)
5. Freelance contributor to various newspapers and magazines.
6. Contributed short stories to Book Project 2 & Write Out Loud by Karen-Ann Theseira.
7. Full-Time Teacher at LCL SmartLearn Preschool. (Dec ‘04 - February ‘05)

Voluntary Work:

1. Co-founder of Counseling and Psychology in Malaysia.
2. Editorial contributions for Eden Handicap Service Center.
3. Occasional assistance to help individuals with NF raise funds for medical treatments.

Academic Awards:

1. Life College Full Scholarship for Diploma-level study.
2. Segi Collefe FULL Scholarship for Degree-level study.

Other Awards:

1. AYA Dream Malaysia, ‘Most Outstanding Youth of the Year Award.
2. Royal Academy of Dancing, Grade 5, Ballet Highly Commended.
3. ABRSM Piano: Practical and Theory. Grade 2

Past Co-Curricular Activities.

1. Figure Skating ‘SkateAsia 2000′ (with merit)
2. Choir (with merit)
3. Karate: Goshin-Ryu. Brown 4.
4 National Level Web Design Competition (with merit)
5. MSSS State Level Squash Tournament. (with merit)

Hobbies & Interests:

Feature Writing, Reading, Painting, Community & Social Interactions, Fine Art Appreciation, NF advocacy, Psychology.

Member of:

Advertlets.com, USJ.COM.MY FORUM, Grace Assembly of God Church in Shah Alam

Other Non-Academic Achievements:

1. Raised USD 58,600 for surgery by selling custom designed Heart4Hope t-shirts. The funds were used to pay for surgery to remove a brain tumor and purchase the Auditory Brainstem Implant - the only device that could help me with hearing rehabilitation. This has made me the first A.B.I. user in Malaysia.

Goals:

1. I want to become a Psychologist and therapist providing support to children with use of the Auditory Brainstem Implant, Cochlear Implant, and other hearing aids. Upon completing my studies, I look forward to gaining experience working at House Ear Institute.

Health Facts

If you’re first time reading my blog, it’s not surprising to find my medical history a mouthful. In fact, some long-time friends and readers still do not wholly understand my condition.

To make things easier for everyone, here is a list of my medical history and diagnosis.

Diagnosis
1. Neurofibromatosis Type 2. (July 2002)

Surgeries
August 2002 - Multiple spine tumor removal
April 2003 - Partial Acoustic Neuroma removal - Brain.
September 2004 - Complete Acoustic Neuroma removal - Brain.
October 2006 - Complete Acoustic Neuroma removal - Brain.
November 2008 - Decompression of the right optic nerve.

Prognosis
1. Optic Nerve Sheath Meningioma.
2. Under-development of left eyeball and retina, causing small optic nerve.
3. Semi facial palsy.
4. Jugular Foramen Meningioma.
5. Multiple brain tumors.
6. Multiple tumors along cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine.
7. Multiple peripheral schwannomas.
8. Absence of VIII cranial nerves - the vestibulocochlear nerves.
9. Usage of the Auditory Brainstem Implant to assist hearing.

Doctors involve in my health management
1. Neurosurgeon Dr. Gregory P. Lekovic M.D. (House Clinic)
2. Neurotologist - Dr. Rick A. Friedman MD. PhD. (House Clinic)
3. Neurosurgeon - Dr. Mark Schwartz MD. (House Clinic)
4. Neurosurgeon - Dr. William E. Hitselberger MD. (House Clinic) (past)
5. Neurosurgeon Mr. Johari Siregar Bin Adnan (past)
5. Neurosurgeon Mr. Mohd Saffari B. Mohd Haspani (past)

Hospitals frequently visited
1. General Hospital Kuala Lumpur (past)
2. Assunta Hospital
3. St. Vincent Medical Center, L.A.
4. Tun Hussein Oon Eye Hospital

Physical Limitations
1. Profound deafness.
2. Underdeveloped left optic nerve.
3. Low right visual acuity
4. Right central scotoma
5. Poor balance.
6. Semi facial paralysis.
7. Stiff Right Leg.
8. Slight Back Discomfort.
9. Tinnitus.

ShareThis