I read with joy the article "Nearly $2.9m raised in 10 days for toddler's treatment" (Aug 17). It clearly shows that Singaporeans are willing to step up and contribute to help even during a pandemic.

I applaud the more than 29,000 donors who have helped, and many others who have given help to other needy causes during this period.

I remember the case of Baby Yujia, who was born without part of her oesophagus. Her parents also turned to crowdfunding to raise money for her surgical bills.

And recently, I read about the Lang family, whose three children were born with a rare disorder (Help pours in for siblings with rare disorder, July 11). 

The two surviving children are unable to walk, stand, sit without support, talk, eat, drink or swallow their saliva. They are tube-fed and breathe through tracheostomy tubes.

Every month, Mr David Lang needs about $7,000 to $9,000 for medication, utility fees, medical check-ups and his helpers' salaries. More than $250,000 was donated to the family.

The Government has been campaigning for Singaporean couples to have more children.

But when children are born with medical conditions that require lifelong medical assistance or requiring costly surgical procedures, who or where can they turn to for help?

And what happens when the children grow up but are unemployable due to their medical conditions? Is there a fund that they can tap after their parents have passed on?

For every reported case we see in the newspapers, there are many more that remain unknown to us.

If we could set up a fund devoted to children with severe medical needs that parents can tap - along the lines of the self-help group contributions from employees' wages - that would go a long way in helping many families.

Raymond Khoo Tin Wan

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/forum/forum-sustained-help-needed-for-kids-who-need-lifelong-costly-medical-care