Devotees help China girl, 7, with leukaemia

Some 20 devotees at a temple here have been raising funds and volunteering their time to help a Chinese girl with leukaemia.

Fang Li Wei, seven, from Jiangxi in China was diagnosed with leukaemia in November last year. After three rounds of chemotherapy, doctors in China said she was beyond help.

Her parents were ready to give up, but her father's former supervisor, a Singaporean, suggested they seek help here.

Li Wei and her father, Fang Yang Kang, arrived here this month, and have been staying at the Fu Shan Tan temple in Lorong 15 in Geylang.

The devotees have been taking turns to take care of her, Lianhe Wanbao reported.

When a reporter visited yesterday, Li Wei was running a fever. She appeared pale, her gums were swollen and her arms bruised.

"She used to be lively and laughed a lot. Now her joints hurt and she cannot sleep at night. She has difficulty swallowing, and her appetite has suffered," Mr Fang said.

Richard Low, 49, one of those in charge at the Taoist temple, told Wanbao the temple is providing accommodation and meals to them.

Being foreigners, the medical fees for Li Wei, including a bone marrow transplant, could come up to $400,000.

"We raised about $2,000 for her last month, but that is barely enough for a short stay at the hospital," Mr Low said.

Mr Fang, 36, was an accountant earning about 4,000 yuan (S$800) a month. Unable to work now, he plans to use all his savings of about $20,000 to try and save his daughter.

He told Wanbao that after coming to Singapore, he now knows "the extent of human warmth".

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