Joshua’s Struggle

What was to be a joyous occasion became the start of a long struggle for Victor and Peggy. Seven months into her pregnancy, Peggy suddenly went into labour and was rushed to Mount Elizabeth Hospital where she gave birth to their second child, another son – Joshua.

Born two months premature and weighing just 1200 grams, the fight for his young innocent life began from his very first breath. Said Victor: “He was so tiny, so fragile … not much bigger than the palm of my hand. The doctors told us that there was fluid in his lungs, two of his heart valves hadn’t closed and his liver was swollen. He was on life-support… Peggy and I knew then that our perfect little world had fallen apart and life would never be the same again.

“Then Joshua’s blood platelets level dropped dangerously low. The doctors told us that there was nothing more that they could do. They advised us to call for a priest. It was one of the darkest days of our lives. We managed to get a priest who came down and baptised him. The next morning his blood platelet count suddenly went back up. It was a miracle.”

But Joshua’s struggle for life was far from over.

Three months after being warded in hospitals with bills running into the tens of thousands (which took the couple several years to pay off), there was an even bigger hurdle ahead.

Recounted Peggy: “When he was about 10 months old, we found out that he had cerebral palsy. He couldn’t move his arms. His fingers were clenched tightly by his chest. He needed almost constant care. We had to be so careful with every little thing. When drinking from a bottle he would sometimes turn blue and then his body would turn black because he would stop breathing. The same thing would happen if he cried.”

Joshua now nine, has come a long way. With therapy he now has better control over his arms and fingers. He is attending a special school and hopefully one day, he could be taught some useful skills.

Said Victor: “For a long time, we lived in our own world, taking care of Joshua and worrying about him. But when we joined Club Rainbow, a part of this dark cloud was lifted. We found that there were other families like us. Some of them were worse off. Before each time we brought Joshua out, people would invariably stare at him and us. But when we took part in some of the outings organised by the charity, there were no stares. Everyone was in the same boat and we felt like a normal family again. The sharing sessions were very helpful. It’s good to know that when times are tough, we are not alone.”