This Woman Hopes To Raise RM265,000 For Her Faithful Maid Who Suffered A Stroke
Dora Sern is trying her best to help the domestic worker who has been working for her for more than two decades.
By John Lim — 22 Nov 2016, 06:21 PM
57-year-old Dora Sern was crushed when her Filipino domestic worker of 25 years suffered a sudden haemorrhagic stroke on 28 October
Felicidad Muna Mico, 57, had been taking care of Sern and her three children for more than two decades, according to Singapore daily The New Paper.
Fondly known as 'Felice' by the Singaporean family, she was admitted to the intensive care unit at Changi General Hospital (CGH) for a week
She was injected with a tracheostomy tube into her windpipe to help her breathe.
The shocker came when Sern and family found out that hospital bills had amounted to SGD55,000 (RM170,000)
Sern shared her plight on the crowd funding website, GiveAsia where she has raised around SGD38,000 (RM117,000) at the time of writing.
The masseuse hopes to raise SGD86,600 (RM265,000). That will also cover the cost of sending Felice home by air, rehabilitation care in the Philippines, and basic provisions for her family for a year.
The total amount had already been reduced after Sern found out that her insurance covers up to SGD15,000 (RM46,000)
Sern said that she was aware that all foreign domestic workers had to be covered by insurance but she did not know the details of the coverage.
"The insurance was paid each time we renewed her contract every two years. It has been 25 years since we hired her, and we are no longer in contact with any agents, so we are not aware that we can pay a higher premium for better coverage."
The totally amount was initially set at SGD96,000 (RM298,000).
Sern and her children, who are in their 30s, took turns to visit their helper every day
"My oldest son, Eugene, was the one who discovered her unconscious. He thought she was just resting but realised something amiss when he tried to wake her up for dinner," Sern told The New Paper.
Felice - who has high blood pressure - eventually got better and was moved to a normal ward
Her initial diagnosis was bleak. Doctors said that she might not be able to move the right side of her body and may never speak again.
But Felice proved them wrong when she managed to move her right hand and had her tracheostomy tube removed.
Her recovery was so smooth that doctors have decided that she was fit to fly, and she left for Manila by air ambulance with a nurse on Sunday, 20 November
Sern and her daughter spending the night with Felice before she flew off to Manila.
Image via Give AsiaAccording to Sern's latest update, Felice had arrived at a hospital in the Philippines for a check-up and to their surprise, the doctors said her condition is stable and doesn't need to be hospitalised.
She's currently resting at home where a nurse will be making daily house calls. She will need physiotherapy to speed up her recovery.
