When their domestic helper of 13 years was diagnosed with brain cancer, a family in Singapore decided to sponsor her treatments to the sum of S$70,000.

They even hired another domestic helper to take care of her.

Sponsored S$70,000 for helper's cancer treatments

The employer, Chen Daimei (transliteration) told Shin Min Daily News that their 50-year-old Indonesian helper, Purwati, also known as Wati, had worked for her family for about 13 years.

However, on Feb. 10, the first day of Chinese New Year, Wati was about to make coffee when she couldn't stand up straight due to a splitting headache.

This shocked Chen as Wati was otherwise physically healthy, so she called her husband and they rushed her to the A&E department of Singapore General Hospital (SGH).

There, doctors found a 2.9-cm tumour deep in Wati's brain, and she had to undergo a craniotomy to remove the tumour the next day.

This was followed by another surgery, Chen said, along with electrotherapy and chemotherapy treatments for the cancer.

The bill for her treatments came up to S$130,000 — S$60,000 of which was claimable under insurance.

Chen said she and her husband decided to sponsor the remaining S$70,000.

And because of Wati's condition, they hired a maid from Myanmar to take care of her and help with the housework.

Flew her family members to Singapore to visit her

Wati told Shin Min that she was extremely grateful for her employer's kindness.

She disclosed that following her first surgery at SGH, Chen paid for her brother and husband to fly to Singapore and take care of her, whilst putting them up at her own home.

And sometime after they returned to Indonesia, Chen paid for a second set of flights for the two to return to Singapore and visit her again, Wati said.

Wati also shared that Chen was close to her, and treated her "practically like a daughter".

In 2012, when she got married in Indonesia, Chen made a point to fly back with her to her hometown in East Java, staying for five days and also serving as a witness for the ceremony.

Chen even contributed some funds to give her "the most luxurious wedding in her hometown", Wati added.

Wanted to bless helper and spread the love

Chen told Shin Min that she decided to bless her helper within what she was capable of providing, and felt it was a "small gesture" in the grand scheme of things.

Chen said in her childhood, she was inspired when she saw how nuns and priests would leave home and spend their entire lives serving the needy in foreign countries.

"Till today, these scenes have still stuck with me deeply. I'm also a Christian, and I hope to spread love in whatever way I can", she said.

And on why she flew Wati's family to Singapore twice, Chen said she believes those who are sick need the companionship and support of their family the most.

"My father was previously sick in Taiwan, but I wasn't able to visit him due to the pandemic. That was something I regretted a lot, not being able to visit him at the earliest possible instance", she added.

Top image from Shin Min Daily News