Yvonne Foong

A warm thank you for lending me a voice and platform to spread my cause. Jpurnalists keen on featuring my story are encouraged to contact me for an appointment.

Here are some scanned articles for your reading pleasure.
MillionaireAsia - January 2008
Click here to download

Her World Magazine, December 2006
Click here to download

Sin Chew Daily, 7th September 2006 (Chinese)
Click here to download (part 1)
Click here to download (part 2)
Click here to download (part 3)

Feminine Magazine, April 2006 (Chinese)
Click here to download (Page 1)
Click here to download (Page 2)
Click here to download (Page 3)
Click here to download (Page 4)
Click here to download (Page 5)
Click here to download (Page 6)

U! section of The Sun newspaper, 20th July 2006 (personally written)

Click here to download (part 1)
Click here to download (part 2)

Foong wins award for caring for others, NST (14th November 2005)

Click here to download

Three up for youth award tonight, NST (13th November 2005)

Click here to download

‘Dream Big’, All The Rage, The Star newspaper(18th October 2005)
In conjunction with the AYA Dream Malaysia Awards nomination.

‘Keeping A Cyber Journal’, KL Lifestyle Magazine (8th September 2005)

Click here to view the page‘Young Malaysians Speak’, Youth2 Section, The Star (31st August 2005)
‘Blogging For Goodness Sake’, Think Magazine Online (1st August 2005)For Edrei Zahari, it was losing a friend to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma three years ago.For Serge, it was a simple lifelong passion for children.

For Yvonne Foong, it was the uncertainty of not knowing whether she’d wake up alive every day.

Whatever the motivation, Edrei, Serge and Yvonne, together with Ee Yean and a six-person collective, are Malaysians who have decided to devote one day of their relentless blogging habit to a charitable cause by participating in Blogathon 2005.

“This Blogathon is the new ‘wrist band’ for a good cause,� says 19-year-old Ee Yean, whose blog is in support of the National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia (NKF). “[Sponsors] can donate to whichever charity they desire without having to experience the hassle of entertaining people who come knocking at the doors during dinner time.�

Much like a marathon, a Blogathon is an extended session of blogging over an extended period of time. Initially conceived by an American blogger named Cat Connor of Frytopia.com in 2000 as a self-cure for insomnia, it took on a philanthropic nature the following year. Participants (known as ‘Blogathoners’) register to blog alone or with others in support of a pre-selected charity, and on a given day determined by the organisers, they will post one entry every 30 minutes for 24 hours (though some choose update more frequently). Sponsors who support that particular Blogathoner pledge a certain amount towards that charity, which is paid when the event is completed.

The beauty of this endeavour is that it allows people to donate without having to jog 12kms or wash 50 cars under the scorching sun. Better still, it allows lesser known NGOs the opportunity to receive much-needed funds and exposure by riding on the crest of this grassroots phenomenon, while net junkies get to contribute back to society without leaving the comfort of their swivel chairs. The best of both worlds, really.

For some bloggers like 22-year-old Edrei, the chance to translate personal tragedy—his friend was 18 when she passed away—into public awareness was an opportunity too good to pass up. “Cancer is a war that affects not just those afflicted by it,� he shares, and his charity of choice is unsurprisingly the National Cancer Society of Malaysia. “Those around can only stand by their side and helplessly watch and pray that some miracle happens.�

For others like Yvonne, who is diagnosed with an incurable condition called neurofibromatosis that causes tumours to grow in the body at various times, the Blogathon affords compassionate citizens—because evidently not all bloggers are self-contained narcissists—the chance to help someone else without requiring some extravagant human ability other than the capacity to care.

“I think participation is sometimes not a question of whether [people are] are willing, but whether they can,� says Yvonne, 19, who chose the Penang-based Eden Handicap Service Centre as her charity recipient. “Most bloggers in Malaysia are too busy with the rat race to sit in front of the computer 24 hours straight.�

The inaugural blogathon in 2001 drew 101 mostly-American bloggers and raised US$20,099 for various charities such as RAINN, Save the Tigers and the Human Rights Campaign. Since then, the annual event has exponentially expanded to involve participants from various countries, and in 2003, over US$100,000 was raised, with significant mainstream media as well as members of the global blogosphere providing coverage.

After a one-year hiatus to improve its structure, this year’s event aims to raise US$50,000. This year, Blogathons worldwide are scheduled to begin on Saturday 6th August at 9am EST (which translates to 10pm Malaysian time on the same day), and the American organisers have even produced merchandise and prizes for specific bloggers who raise the most money, make the most interesting posts or barely make it through without dozing off (which can sometimes produce the most fascinating entries).

Preparation is essential, and various bloggers have resorted to different techniques to last through the night. Some like Yvonne, Ee Yean and the BloggersAreMorons.com collective who are supporting the Hospice-at-Home Programme, have turned to their friends and fellow bloggers to share posting duties, and have plans to spice up their activities with photos, stories and tips. Edrei and Serge, on the other hand, are making their own plans to combat sleep-deprivation. Edrei, who is presently pursuing his degree in an Australian university, has fine-tuned his site to make it bug-free, thus maximise accessibility, while counting on pre-prepared snacks and cold winter showers to get him through. And Serge? “I have 50 Nescafe 3-in-1 packets and some menthol sweets.�

Such external devices are but a expression of the internal passion that these bloggers possess. “There is this latin quote I have followed, which goes Una Salus Victus,� says Edrei, who is Malaysia’s most experienced Blogathoner, having participated “on a whim� in two previous instalments. “It literally means ‘the doomed have no safety’, which translated to us would mean, when you’re screwed, you might as well go all the way and finish it. Which is what I intend to do.�

Evidently, the journey has only just begun—over 200 bloggers currently participating as opposed to an estimated 50 million blogs worldwide—and much remains to be seen as to the feasibility of these activities long term. Because donations are channelled directly to the charities themselves, thus eliminating middleman complications, much of this is based on trust that the pledges will be fulfilled. Then again, it’s a predicament that faces any charitable cause.

“I’m doing it because I have the power to do so,� says Serge, who has selected UNICEF Malaysia. “If one does not use that power, it will be wasted.�

(Blogathon 2005 is scheduled to begin on Saturday 10pm Malaysian Time. Those interested can still participate by logging on to Blogathon.org or via one of the aforementioned blogs.)

‘Plucky Teen’, Youth2 Section, The Star Newspaper (3rd August 2005)

IZUAN SHAH speaks to a young lady with a rare condition that has made her life more challenging than many other teenagers.BEFORE she was struck with a medical condition that changed her life, Yvonne Foong was like many other Malaysian girls her age – the 19-year-old was a huge fan of singer Lee Hom, she enjoyed going out with her friends, she was an active member of a choir, and she took up ballet and karate.That was before she was diagnosed with a rare illness called neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2). Only one in 40,000 people in the world suffers from NF2 and in Malaysia, Yvonne is one of only two NF2 patients – the other is a 16-year-old girl. There is no known cure.

Yvonne Foong was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type II (also known as NF II) in 2002.
Neurofibromatosis (NF) is a genetic disorder that causes benign tumours to grow along various types of nerves and, in addition, can affect the development of non-nervous tissues such as bones and skin.

There are two distinct types of NF – Neurofibromatosis Type 1(NF1) and Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2).

NF1 is causes benign tumours to grow on peripheral nerves, and on or under the skin. Some people with NF1 also develop tumours in the brain, on cranial nerves, or on the spinal cord. Children with NF1 are known to have developmental abnormalities such as learning disability and gross motor delay.

NF2 is a rare form of NF. It causes tumours to grow in the brain and on the spine, and the tumours also affect the auditory nerves, causing bilateral deafness and imbalance prior to their removal. Multiple tumours also grow along the spinal cord. People with NF2 also develop tumours on or under the skin.

“NF1 patients have more problems compared to me. They face discrimination because of their conditions, because their symptoms can be seen on the outside,� says Yvonne.

“For that, I count myself lucky. In a way, I’m not that lucky because even though NF2 is not physically disfiguring, I will have more physical limitations in the future,� adds the 19-year-old who now has tumours growing in her brain and on her spine, as well as multiple others “that I feel in different parts of my body.�

Her peripheral nerves are being affected as well. “It’s more about how we live with the disabilities that come with NF2. I’ve found it difficult to socialise in noisy environments, and I’ve noticed that I have gotten more private. I used to be a social butterfly, and I loved being among friends. Lately I’ve been more closed up,� she shares.

Yvonne was diagnosed with NF2 in 2002 and it couldn’t have been at a worse time as she was in her last year of secondary school. “It was initially quite difficult because all the while I had been very happy, and then all of a sudden, I discovered that I had NF2,� says Yvonne, who speaks clearly and articulately, and is a good listener, despite being hard of hearing.

“I slowly got used to being a sick girl,� she adds.

According to Yvonne, the past six months have been “quite stagnant and quite stable� and she spends most of her time reading in her room, writing poems and managing her blog.

Yvonne admits that this is quite a big difference because she is a much more active person by nature. She used to hang out a lot with her friends and was involved in extra-curricular activities at school.

So how long did it take Yvonne to come to terms with her condition and continue doing the things she loved before?

“It didn’t take very long because the moment I was diagnosed, I had to go for emergency surgery, so there wasn’t much time for me to feel sorry for myself,� she says, matter-of-factly.

Yvonne’s blog (www.yvonnefoong.com) is called The Life Of An Aspiring Writer. 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).

“Actually I’m very happy that my website is able to reach out to a lot of people. I feel quite glad that my website is among the top few results whenever someone keys in NF2 on a search engine,� she says, smiling. “My website also lets me practice my writing as freely and as creatively as I can.�

Yvonne has also written a book entitled I’m Not Sick, Just A Bit Unwell, which is due to be published in three months. She hopes it will be out by the end of November, “just in time for Christmas.�

Writing the book proved “very therapeutic� for Yvonne.

“It’s my biography, and I wrote about my own illness. Over time, as you go through the negativity, you start feeling suppressed because all the pressure builds up. When I write, it is like facing my own demons. All this pressure surfaces, and I deal with it. It’s something close to self-actualisation for me,� she shares.

Favourite books that have inspired Yvonne in both her writing and her life include R.K. Narayan’s Bachelor of Arts and Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie. The third is Fourteen Bullets, written by young Malaysian author, John Ling, whom she met online in April, thanks to a common passion for writing and getting published.

John will be teaming up with Yvonne in an upcoming fund-raising “blogathon� this weekend. The Blogathon 2005 is a charity event where bloggers will write non-stop from 9pm on Aug 6 in an effort to raise funds for the Eden Handicap Service Centre in Penang. It is a race to blog one post every minute for 24 hours straight, in hope of attracting donations. For more information, check out www.blogathon.org.

“John is a very sincere and generous person, most of the time going out of his way to be helpful. This is aside from the fact that his fiction work is one of its kind in my (book) collection,� smiles Yvonne.

Perhaps one thing that hasn’t changed for the former student of SMK Subang Jaya (1) is that she remains a big fan of singer Wang Lee Hom. She recently became a member of his Malaysian fan club, Homaniacs Malaysia.

“I was a casual fan before and never really thought I would go as far as becoming a fan club member. I decided to join only recently because I really want to treasure and make the most of the times when I can still hear and listen to music. I did it knowing that in the near future, I won’t be able to attend such concerts anymore,� she explains.

Trips to Sea World in Florida, Disneyland in California, and Hollywood in Los Angeles in the United States earlier this year proved even more life-affirming for young Yvonne, who a year earlier was faced with news of her physical condition of swelling nerves, erratic hearing and pains around the cranial and spinal areas.

“It was an unexpected treat from my mum, and it was a dream come true,� says Yvonne.

Although NF2 is a hereditary genetic illness, there is no history of the condition in Yvonne’s family. When Yvonne was diagnosed in 2002 and subsequently bedridden after her first spinal surgery in in 2003, it was her mum, Chia Kee Que, and a few close friends who became her stellar support group.

“That was a very difficult time because I wasn’t able to move from the chest down. I could not do all the things I had taken for granted, like picking up my own things, taking my own bath and walking on my own two feet,� Yvonne says.

“Even now that I’m out of school, friends still support me, in the way they purposely speak louder when I can’t hear them. Even if it means that our group will be in the spotlight,� she adds, with a small laugh.

After finishing secondary school, Yvonne went on to study music – one of her biggest passions – at a time when the tumours on her eighth cranial nerve only affected one ear. She joined a choir, and set out majoring in vocals, with a minor in piano.

“I thought then, ‘Never mind, I still have another ear, and maybe I could be a special kind of musician’,� she says. However, all that changed when six months later, cranial tumours inhabited the other ear.

“I’ve since put (that loss of) the music passion behind me,� adds Yvonne, who then found that she was not even able to sing because of erratic hearing and imbalance. “Fortunately, I was also reminded that I am someone who has always been able to adjust to new environments very quickly.�

Music was not the only passion she left behind, as Yvonne also did ballet, figure-skating and karate.

“I can’t do those things anymore so all of that energy has shifted to writing. I have found that writing is the only thing that I can do in the long run. Nowadays, it is what I concentrate all of my energies on,� she says.