Employer raises funds for critically-ill Indonesian maid

A Singaporean woman in her 50s is seeking to raise S$100,000 via an online campaign for her 28-year-old former Indonesian maid, who is in a critical condition due to brain tumors and hemorrhaging.

Employer Pauline Tan told Shin Min Daily News that Liviani, a mother of a three-year-old boy, came to Singapore from Indonesia and worked as her domestic this year in order to boost her family’s finances.

The maid, described as a very good and caring worker, had been looking after Tan’s 88-year-old mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease.

In April Liviani expressed a wish to return home to look after her young son, but Tan asked her to stay around until she managed to get a new helper.

The employer said it took some time to find a replacement and that may have been a blessing in disguise, as Liviani’s health woes occurred while she was in Singapore, so she was treated in the city-state instead of in Indonesia.

On May 9, Liviani complained of a headache that could not be relieved with painkillers. She visited several doctors but the pain remained.

Ten days later, the maid suffered heavy limbs and other problems, so Tan sent her immediately to Changi General Hospital, where the maid was found to be in a critical state – diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage as a result of a suspected tumor.

Two emergency operations were performed to drain excess blood and fluid from the left and right hemispheres of her brain within a period of eight hours.

Then on June 15, doctors at Singapore General Hospital removed Liviani’s tumor, but she is not fully out of danger and still in the surgical intensive care unit.

The fund her employer is setting up is intended to cover her operations and hospitalization costs at Changi General Hospital and Singapore General Hospital, which amount to S$40,000 (US$29,367) and might reach S$100,000 (US$73,444), according to doctors. It would also pay for follow-up medical treatment when she returns home to Indonesia in the future.

At the time of going to press, more than S$12,800 has been raised. Tan and her family continue their efforts to seek donations, and with prayers and other support for the young Indonesian mother.