SINGAPORE
- Indonesian Lauw Tjoan Eng, 50, has
been living with horrific tumours covering his entire body for the last 45
years.
He was
born healthy, the first child of five siblings, in Sawah Besar, central
Jakarta.
However,
tumours began mysteriously appearing all over his body when he was five, and by
the time he was 20, he had random lumps growing on several parts of his body.
Doctors
said he was suffering from a hereditary disease, despite both his parents being
normal.
The
disease is called neurofubromatosis, or Von Recklinghausen's disease, and there
is no cure for it.
Unemployed
and without sufficient funding, his condition got worse, till his appearance
resembled one of a grotesque monster.
'People
are scared of me. They don't make any nasty comments. Maybe because they are
afraid of retribution,' he told The Straits Times (ST).
There
is no cure for the non-contagious disease.
He had
surgery once, but since then, he has been unable to afford more treatment.
The
lumps grow on the nerves or under the skin, and in the last 15 years, the lumps
within the tissue of his eyelid have been growing bigger and bigger.
They
caused his eyelid to droop down to his nose, robbing him of his right eye.
But
now, with the help of a volunteer group and three Singapore benefactors, he can
see again.
Help
Thanks
to the help rendered free of charge from three Singaporean doctors, he can now
see from his afflicted eye.
After
viewing a photo essay on Mr Lauw published on The Jakarta Globe, anonymous
donor and volunteer group Count Me In reached out to help Mr Lauw.
They
paid for him to be flown to Singapore, and arranged for doctors to see him.
Touched
by his plight, plastic surgeon Leslie Quek, eye specialist Lee Hung Ming and
anaesthetist Kong Chee Seng agreed to offer their services for free. Gleneagles
Hospital also waived its charges.
"If
I was in his position, I would like for someone to offer to help me," said
Dr Quek, who agreed to help when he read of Mr Lauw's disadvantaged background
and knew he was in a position to help.
Last
Wednesday, the surgeon removed the growths covering his eye and eyelid.
Dreams fulfilled
In the
Jarkarta Globe report, Mr Lauw said that he hoped to visit Singapore, and also
the Universal Studios here.
Thanks
to his benefactors, he now has done both.
A day
after photo essay ran on the Globe, an anonymous donor called the newspaper
offering to pay for Eng and a family member to go Universal Studios.
Count
Me In then contacted the Singapore Tourism Board, who then facilitated contact
with Gleneagles Hospital and Universal Studios.
He
visited the theme park a day before surgery and took a picture with Marilyn
Monroe, whom he described as 'very pretty'.
However,
there is still one more dream to fulfil. He hopes to one day meet
Indonesia-based Chinese Indonesia actress, TV Host, presenter and model Yuanita
Christiani.
She is
his favourite TV host.
However,
he expressed fear that she might be too afraid to meet him.
Hoping for a miracle
Mr Lauw
says he is resigned to a life of loneliness.
His
parents had in the past told him that appearances do not matter for men, and
that he could find a wife if he worked hard to earn money.
Today,
he is unmarried and has never been near a woman. His appearances and disability
also prevents him from landing a job, and he survives on the 400,000 rupiah
(S$56) one brother gives him a month.
He
receives money from another brother occasionally, and is distant from the rest.
He said
what pains him is that he is a burden on his family.
He
lives simply in a tiny, one-bedroom house on Jalan Lautze, near Pasar Baru,
that he inherited from his parents.
In
previous reports, he said he refuses to look in the mirror and only goes out
during the night. When he goes out, he covers his face almost completely.
He does
little everyday. He goes out to eat and shop, and once in a while strikes up a
conversation with neighbours, guards or cleaning staff who are not scared by his
appearance.
He
feels the most comfortable at home, than anywhere else. He loves watching TV
and movies, and has pasted a poster of Leonardo DiCaprio on the wall in his
home.
Mr Lauw
said that he is used to people being afraid of him, and says what he wants is
not pity, but for people to see him no different as anyone else.
He
admits he believes life has been unfair to him, and just prays for a miracle to
cure him one day.
YourHealth
AsiaOne
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