All photos by Cheryl Tang

It’s 10:00 AM on a Tuesday morning, but Wei Qing, 7, and Wei Xian, 4, are not in school. Wei Xian is on MC, and Wei Qing is having the runs. We are sitting in the doorway of their bedroom while they doodle on some scrap paper; their stick-figure drawing of me has a curly ponytail and butterfly wings.

You wouldn’t know this, because Wei Xian looks and behaves like any other 4-year-old—chirpy, cheeky, and all too eager to show off her favourite sticker book. But when she was just 21 days old, she contracted a serious form of meningitis, an inflammation of the membranes which protect the brain and spinal cord.

She passed her man yue, the traditional celebration of a Chinese baby’s first month of life, in the hospital, eventually moving from the neonatal ICU at KKH to a regular paediatric ward.

“We read up online and it said there was a chance that the illness might stunt her growth. We were scared that she wouldn’t make it, or if she did, that she wouldn’t grow up like other children,” her mother, Mdm. Chan tells me.

Wei Xian made it to her first birthday, and then her second, but the effects of her illness still linger. At 4, she still struggles with food; when she is unwell, she throws up most of what she eats. To ensure she gets the nutrients she needs, her mother gives her a special kind of infant formula, one tin of which costs $90.

Her overall health remains fragile. This year alone, she has been admitted to hospital 5 times (the most recent stay ending just a few days before my visit); last year, it was 7. Her mother tries to explain what the cause is—some kind of growth, or obstruction, in her gut that isn’t life-threatening, but nonetheless serious enough for their GP to refer them to the hospital whenever it flares up.

“At least we have insurance now,” says Mdm. Chan. The combination of the basic policy and the rider Wei Xian is under provides 100% coverage. Without it, this most recent stay would have set them back a few thousand dollars.

By contrast, the year in between Wei Xian’s first and second birthday passed in a haze of prayers, tears, and the unremitting anxiety that comes with having an uninsured baby in poor health. Her medical history meant she had to spend a year in the clear before any insurer would be willing to cover her, or at least with premiums the family could afford.

“What insurer would pay?” asked Mdm. Chan.

There was nothing for it but to hope for the best, because continuing uninsured was not an option. They had already wiped out both their savings and CPF funds, borrowed $3,800 from Mdm. Chan’s brother, received financial aid, and still struggled to pay off Wei Xian’s medical bills. There was just no money left.