Local comedian Mark Lee and his wife, Catherine Ng, recently revealed on Aug. 6 that their five-year-old daughter Calynn Lee is battling a rare medical condition that affects her kidneys.

Calynn is their youngest child.

The couple has two other children, aged seven and 10.

Immune system attacks kidney

Calynn suffers from a progressive kidney disease called glomerulonephritis, where the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the kidneys and causes them to malfunction.

The family found out about her condition in May 2018 after tests revealed that her kidney was infected, Toggle reports.

The check-up was prompted by a fever that went as high as 40 degrees.

As of last week (early August), Calynn has started her first round of treatment. However, doctors are unclear on how long a full recovery would take.

The family was also told to "prepare for the worst" if Calynn experiences side effects from the treatment, or if her condition does not improve — which could lead to kidney failure.

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Facebook support page

On Aug. 6, Facebook page "Cheers for Calynn Lee" was set up by Lee's wife, Ng.

She then wrote a post on Calynn's condition and their reasons for setting up the Facebook page, even though her husband initially did not intend to announce the situation as it might add to their stress.

However, they eventually decided that setting up a Facebook page would provide them with some much-needed support.

Given the complexity of Calynn's medical condition, Ng hoped that anyone who had similar experiences with the disease would reach out to them.

This is so they can understand how to better care for their daughter, she wrote.

In addition, she hoped for the page to raise awareness and even form a support group for people with similar conditions.

This is the original Facebook post written in Mandarin:

Numerous well-wishes

The initial post went viral and garnered over 6,000 comments and 2,000 shares.

Just one day later on Aug. 7, Ng posted another update on the Facebook page, saying that they have received numerous encouraging messages and well-wishes.

Some people also reached out to them to share more about their own medical conditions.

They apologised for not being able to respond to all of these messages, but expressed their heartfelt gratitude for everyone's help and support.

This is the second Facebook post:

Lee has been quoted by Toggle, saying that even though Calynn does not fully understand the situation, she has been brave.

Top photo composite image from Cheers for Calynn Lee Facebook page.