No one, perhaps, can understand the heart of a parent like how a fellow parent does—and especially so when they see their child in pain.
So when Mr Eric Tan, father of a 8-year-old girl who was hurt in a car collision in Woodlands, heard that another parent had also experienced a similar situation, he was able to empathise with the family.
While his daughter, Lovelynn, was fortunate to have woken up from her 11-day coma, it was not the case for the 15-year-old teen, Huang Jun Yong who was involved in a separate traffic accident in Queensway.
He reportedly died on Oct 27 after succumbing to his injuries even after doctors fought to save him.
Since his daughter’s accident, Tan shared that he has received an outpour of support and donations from the public to help their family cover hospitalisation and treatment charges.
On Oct 30, a family friend who organised a fundraising campaign for the family handed over a donation fund of $39,575.00 to them.
Other charitable parties had also come forward to offer additional monetary support.
However, after hearing of the teen’s plight, the 45-year-old had since given part of the donations he has received to the teen’s family, in Lovelynne’s name.
Tan’s generous donation was met with gratitude by Jun Yong’s mother who is a single mum, only known as Mdm Tan.
According to Lianhe Wanbao, both parents met on Saturday (Nov 7) after Mdm Tan said she hoped to be able to meet with Tan and his family.
Father of girl in Woodlands crash on October 23, says he is grateful for the support the members of public have given to his family. | Image source: Facebook/Sharen Tan
Upon hearing about Lovelynn’s situation, the single mum too sympathised with Tan’s family. She noted how her son might have been in a coma the same after the traffic accident.
Jun Yong reportedly passed away after he was knocked down by a car at a u-turn junction while crossing the road along Queensway towards Jalan Bukit Merah.
He leaves behind his 40-year-old single mum as well as an elder brother.
Tan was said to have caught wind of Jun Yong’s situation through a news article, according to Lianhe Wanbao. As compared to Jun Yong who lost his life, he admitted that Lovelynn was “more fortunate”.
In addition, she had also received a lot of help from the members of the public. According to Tan, channelling part of the donations received is a way for him to pass on the kindness.
Father Grateful For Support, No Longer Accepting Donations
A day after receiving good news that his daughter has regained consciousness, Tan posted an update on Facebook to inform members of the public that he will no longer be accepting donations.
In his post, Tan is immensely grateful for everyone’s concern and support for Lovelynn since the time of her accident and even until she has awoken from her 11-day coma at the intensive care unit (ICU) of KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH).
He also thanked everyone for their donations.
“I wish to put everything to a stop. I will deactivate my PayNow Account to stop the donations from coming in,” he wrote on Facebook (Nov 4).
Still A Long Road To Recovery For 8-year-old Girl
While Lovelynn’s condition is said to be stable and was transferred to a high dependency ward, she is not completely out of the woods.
Image source: Facebook/宝旺
“Given her awake but uncommunicative state, the doctor diagnosed that the blood clot affected her memory and her brain-responsive system,” Tan wrote in a separate Facebook post (Nov 5).
According to him, she still faces a long road to recovery.
Tan explains that Lovelynn has to receive nutrition via a feeding tube for an estimated period of 12 weeks as she is unable to swallow.
As for the fractures that Lovelynn suffered in both her legs, Tan said that her cast can only be removed after about 15 weeks. Depending on the severity, it may take as long as three to six months to recover fully.
Father of girl in Woodlands crash says that while the 8-year-old is awake, there is still a long road to recovery. Image source: Facebook/宝旺
Lead image source: Facebook/宝旺
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