Yvonne Foong: Fighting NF

One of the best things about Heart4Hope and the need to raise funds for surgeries in L.A. is the opportunity to foster meaningful relationships with people all over the world. I met up with Yuh Wen for tea today. This Malaysian girl was studying in L.A. when I visited the city to tune my Auditory Brainstem Implant in December 2007. She was a friend of Steven Toh who introduced us. Yuh Wen is presently residing and working for a bank in Malaysia. Few weeks ago, she bought 25 copies of my book for RM500 to help with my surgery funding. She will be giving them out as Christmas presents after placing several copies in her office pantry so that the staffs could read and get to know my story too.

It’s amazing to think about the places that Heart4Hope has gone and the people that it has connected with. I used to keep to myself and stay uptight in the presence of people I didn’t know. But over time, Heart4Hope gradually helped me relax and see people with fresh eyes. I met Yuh Wen’s deeply passionate soul today.

This is one of the feelings that I carry with me wherever I go to raise awareness for Heart4Hope. It is also the kind of passion that I want my business to be built on. Recently, I told a friend I had known for 16 years about my new business. After hearing me out, she immediately said how this is going to be a way for me to reach out to more people. She believes that I will be able to do what I have always intended to do even in business – that is my childhood desire to help people.

So this is what I remind myself each time I get impatient with the slow business growth – I must care for people first. If the business isn’t growing, it might mean that I am not caring enough or rightly and need to care better.

I didn’t learn this on my own though. It’s the very people I sought support from who demonstrated it through their very act of caring for me.