A Heart For Hope

Yvonne is 19. She has Neurofibromatosis. While most people her age are out there living their life, she is fighting for hers.

Today, there are numerous tumours growing in her brains, her spine, her neck and even her fingers. But the ones that are most dangerous are the ones that grow in in her brain. There are three. One grows on her brain stem threatening to take away what's left of her hearing and, possibly, her balance. And that, is her best-case scenario. Worst-case; it grows to cut off oxygen supply to her brain and she dies.

Her best bet now is a surgery in US. But that will cost a whopping RM 200,000. However brain surgery is a delicate procedure and so far, only the doctors in US have been able to offer her a good chance of a safe surgery that would also preserve her hearing - the 5% that she has left of it.

Yvonne needs RM 200,000 by Christmas this year. But she will not take your money without giving something back. She is making T-shirts for sale, to raise funds. I am helping her with the design. My company has also helped negotiate a good price for the production of the T-shirts with our vendor. We now need someone to help come out with a name for Yvonne's campaign.


Lance Armstrong has his LiveStrong and Bob Geldof has his LiveAid. We need one for Yvonne's campaign too. As per Yvonne's request, I have incorporated a heart in the design of the shirt. She wanted something that would symbolise love. A campaign name along those lines will help. The picture is the design that we have pretty much settled on. Right now, our working name is Heart4Hope. If you have a better suggestion, do leave it in the comments section, and we can get started on the production. Beyond that, you could contribute to Yvonne's operation by buying a T-shirt or two.

You can find out more about Yvonne here:

• Yvonne's condition
• The low-down on her surgery
• The collection so far
• Her T-shirt campaign

Some people have told Yvonne that she is being lavish, and that she could probably get the operation done at a fraction of the price somewhere else. Some people have also accused her of exaggerating her condition. Perhaps these people need a brain surgery more than Yvonne. But right now, Yvonne has asked for help. If you can, please do.