Ooi Hon Lim is all smiles after being presented with a portable DVD player and DVDs by CWS executive director Allan Hubbert. Looking on are Hon Lim's father (in yellow t-shirt) Ooi Hun Boon and mother Lim Kwee Fong.
Eleven Year Old Leukemia Patient Ooi Hon Lim Gets His Wish Come True! Children’s Wish Society of Malaysia (CWS) Makes Its Maiden Gift.
Wishes do come true and in the case of Ooi Hon Lim, 11, getting a new portable DVD and several children’s DVD programmes brought a smile back to him almost instantly. Diagnosed with Down Syndrome since birth, Hon Lim, as his parents, Ooi Hun Boon and Lim Kwee Fong, fondly call him, was found to be suffering from Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in February 2006. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of the white blood cells, the cells in the body that normally fight infections.
Hon Lim, according to his father, Hun Boon, has been undergoing chemotherapy in University Malaya Medical Centre but had experienced a relapse. “Hon Lim was supposed to undergo a bone marrow transplant but because of the relapse, he is unable to undergo that. He is on three types of painkillers, including morphine to address the pain and aches he experiences from the disease,” he said. Hon Lim who is the youngest of three children in the family, is now unable to walk and feeds from a tube.
His mother, Kwee Fong had left full-time employment when he was born to care for him full time. “He used to attend kindergarten and also attend a special school for Down Syndrome children and he was well-liked by his teachers and class mates,” she said.
Children’s Wish Society of Malaysia (CWS) Executive Director Allan Hubbert who presented the DVD player and several DVDs to Hon Lim, said the society had learned of Hon Lim’s condition and had approached the family to see if he wished for anything. “When we visited Hon Lim a week ago, we learned that he loved to watch children’s programmes. We considered his immobility and decided we could get him the portable DVD player,” Allan said, adding that Hon Lim immediately smiled when he opened the gift. Allan said Hon Lim was the first CWS recipient since the society was set up more than a month ago. “We are a registered national charity organisation set up with the objective of granting wishes to children afflicted with terminal diseases. Our only wish? To see a smile on the child’s face when they get their wish fulfilled,” he said.
CWS raises funds through donations and contributions from the corporate sector and individuals. For more information on CWS, email cwsmalaysia@cwsmalaysia.com