SIBU: A RM2,550 donation has provided much-needed relief to a dialysis patient who has been struggling to care for his mother with dementia while battling his own health and mobility problems.
The contribution will cover a three-month shortfall in the cost of placing the elderly woman at a private care centre, allowing her son, Tiong Hung Hie, to focus on his own medical treatment.
Tiong had been his mother’s primary caregiver but found it increasingly difficult to continue looking after her after his own health deteriorated.
He is undergoing regular dialysis treatment and now uses a wheelchair after suffering injuries in a fall that affected his mobility.
With his wife working and his son having recently left home to pursue studies in hairdressing, Tiong was left struggling to manage his mother’s daily needs.
The situation prompted him to seek assistance from Tian En Methodist Church to ensure that his mother could continue receiving proper care.
The church subsequently arranged for the elderly woman to be temporarily placed at a private care centre, where the cost of care is about RM2,500 a month.
Although two churches agreed to contribute towards the expenses, there remained a shortfall of RM850 a month, amounting to RM2,550 over three months.
An appeal was subsequently made to members of the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) and other individuals willing to assist.
The appeal proved successful when the PDP Central Region Youth and Women’s Wing raised the full RM2,550 required.
The wing expressed its appreciation to all those who contributed, particularly Pelawan PDP Women’s chief Anna Lau, who helped secure a RM2,000 contribution.
The remaining RM550 was contributed by the Political Secretary to the Premier and PDP Central Region Youth head, Joshua Ting Fu Ying.
The contribution is expected to help ease the family’s immediate financial burden while ensuring that the elderly woman continued to receive the care she needed.
Ting handed over the donation to Tiong today.
