PETALING JAYA: A widow turned what was once her grief into hope for others by donating a RM42,000 dialysis machine to the centre that took care of her husband.
After losing her husband to chronic kidney failure, Soh Sua Koo from Melaka saw the need to give back to the centre that stood by her family during their most difficult years.
“I knew how it was for me to support my husband and struggle financially at that time, just running a kopitiam.
“Now, I have some money and want to help others and do something meaningful in honour of my late husband,” said the coffee shop owner in Taman Pertam Jaya.
Soh’s husband, Richard Kua Kee Juan, was a salesman at a Japanese automotive company. He was first diagnosed with hypertension at the age of 39.
Then, after his health deteriorated, Kua was told by doctors that he suffered from chronic kidney failure.
“It was around 1991 and we had to seek medical assistance at the dialysis centre in Bachang,” said Soh, 71.
“At that time, my children were still very young and I was running my shop and also helping out an old folks home where my mother-in-law was a resident.
“In my absence, the centre staff took good care of my husband,” the mother of two added.
Soh recalled that she had to juggle multiple jobs for money.
“Some people even told me to sell my house to pay for my husband’s dialysis treatment,” she said.
Kua endured the condition for over 10 years before he passed away at the age of 51.
“When my husband left, I was lost for words. It was so tragic for our family because he was so young,” she said.
For Soh, the dialysis centre was more than just a medical facility.
It was a source of hope during one of the most challenging times of her life and now, it’s time to repay her gratitude.
“I saw a brochure from the dialysis centre stating that it needed funds for new dialysis machines. So I quickly took the opportunity to donate one,” said Soh, adding that some of the machines there were very old.
The initiative to contribute a new dialysis machine was on her own accord.
The Bachang dialysis centre assists patients battling chronic kidney failure, particularly those from the low-income group.
To raise funds to support growing demand for treatment and for the purchase of new machines at the centre, a charity dinner will be held on Aug 18.
