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Singapore baby Neira Ng’s battle for survival goes viral

3.5-month-old Neira Ng is battling for survival (Photo: From "Save Neira" blog)
3.5-month-old Neira Ng is battling for survival (Photo: From "Save Neira" blog)

[Updated 24 September 2013: Added reaction from father and blogger]

The father of three-month-old Baby Neira, who had a successful operation on Monday to remove the remaining tumour in her brain, said that the blog entry detailing the baby’s illness is not an appeal seeking for donations.

“I am not asking for donations…but people have been kind enough to give them,” said father Derek Ng to Yahoo Singapore on Tuesday.

Since the story of Baby Neira went viral after it was blogged by Derek’s friend and IT consultant, Adrian Chua, the parents have been receiving donations from readers.

However, they have not “touched” the money, said Ng, adding that the couple will transfer the donations to a children’s foundation if they do not use them.

When asked about how they felt with the success of Baby Neira’s recent operation, Derek said that he and his wife felt relieved.

In a recent blog entry, the couple said, “We thank everyone for the prayers, well-wishes, and donations. In the good care of the surgeons, the operation was successful, she (Neira) is safe now. Let’s pray for her recovery and prepare for her third operation ahead.”

Chua, who was Derek’s close friend while studying in Leeds University, set up a blog called “Save Neira Ng” on Saturday and gave details on Baby Neira’s illness in a post that has been shared for over 7,000 times on Facebook.

Chua said that he set up the blog to help the family, saying, “As a parent myself, I could feel the pain for him to go through this.”

According to the blog, the baby was diagnosed with two brain tumours in early September.

"She was not smiling like a usual baby would. She kept vomiting, and was feeling sick. Her parents sent her for checkup but found nothing. The only unusual thing was that baby Neira’s head circumference was way off the chart for her age," said the blog post.

The blog went on to detail how an MRI scan revealed there were two tumors in the brain, which were growing at a rate of 50 per cent.

The first operation was carried out, and the doctor successfully removed 75 per cent of the tumour at the centre of the brain.

The remaining 25 per cent located at the centre of the brain was successfully removed in the operation on Monday.

Another tumour in her left brain area has still not been removed.

The medical bill for the past three weeks of treatment and hospital stay in C class ward before the Monday operation amounted to $50,000, out of which Ng said that he has paid $12,000 using his MediSave and the rest was government subsidies. He had not bought HealthShield insurance for Neira.

Total cost of medical treatment, with the second operation and subsequent medical support, may come up to an estimated S$400,000 to S$500,000 (from private hospital).

According to the blog, social workers and the Children's Cancer Foundation have stepped up to help, but the married couple of two years – who also have a two-year-old son – are expecting a tough time paying the bills. The blog says both are working parents from a middle-class background.

The parents are also exploring overseas medical treatment for Neira because of the rare tumour case and complexity of the treatment due to her young age.

Details of how you can help here.