Glowing amid silence

This article is posted after a consent of Yvoone Foong and its sole purpose is to raise awareness among Nepali society and to help Yvoone Foong collect funds

"Yes, I want to spread awareness about NF2 in Nepal also" replied Yvonne Foong when approached via her personal website.

Yvonne Foong, a 20 yrs old student who's pursuing journalism at Life College, was first diagnosed with a rare, incurable disease called Neurofibromatosis Type-2 (NF2) at the age of 16, which causes tumours to grow on her spine, brain and nerves.

I found this topic very important as many have not known about this illness. Or, this is what I've been thinking. I came to know about this only last August.

There are two types in Neurofibromatosis. NF1 occurs in every 4,000 births while NF2 in every 40,000. There are only two known NF2 patients in Malaysia, one of which is Yvonne Fong. Who's a great writer and an author of her biography, I Am Not Sick, Just A Little Unwell, which would be hitting the bookstores in a few months. Besides, she speaks at colleges, schools, clubs and churches despite not being able to hear, her voice is chirpy and clear. Yes, the tumours interfered with her auditory nerves and she became completely deaf a year ago.

The main purpose of this article is not only to raise the awareness about NF2 in our society but also to present an extraordinary Yvonne Fong who's determined and motivated to greater mission because she's the must influential 'n powerful young woman I've ever come across.

"How many tumours I do have? I've lost track. Besides those in my brain and along the spine, there are new growths on peripheral nerves beneath the skin that can be felt". writes Yvonne in an email interview.

Besides being a full-time student, she some how finds time to maintain an amazing blog (www.yvonnefoong.com), reply emails within the day, write for various magazines and newspapers and raise funds for charitable causes besides her own. It was created not only to spread awareness about NF2 and appeal for donations for her treatment, but also to allow her an outlet to polish her writing (which ranges from blogs and stories to poems).

she's still raising funds for her surgery which cost about USD58,600. of which total of RM61,251.70 has been raised already. The target is : Ringgit Malaysia 230,000.00 (as of today's equavalent RM 1 = NRS 20.17 as per Kantipuronline.com).

"With perseverance, we can reach for skies" tells her, sharing her feelings after achieving an AYA award - award which is presented to the Most Outstanding Youth, which is designed to inspire; this award seeks to encourage individuals and institutions to persevere in their dreams in spite of obstacles they encounter. After winning this award last year, Yvonne's pursuing her dream of becoming a hard-hitting, mafia-toppling journalist at Life College.

Click here to know more about Neurofibromatosis type 1 & 2.

Donate for Yvonne Foong's treatment click here for more informations.

concluded!