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She ain't heavy, she's my baby: Mum's devotion to 38-year-old daughter with neuromuscular disease

Vivian Goh will turn 38 this Mother's Day, and she says she has her mother to thank. Diagnosed with a neuromuscular condition as a toddler, she was not expected to live past the age of 12, but has defied all expectations because of her mother's devotion. The Straits Times documents a mother's love and sacrifice.

Madam Yong has a bowl of oats for lunch in the bedroom while chatting with Ms Goh, who uses her laptop with eye-control software. Ms Goh taught her mother how to use the computer and mobile phone. Says Madam Yong: "If I didn't have her, I wouldn't ha
Madam Ivy Yong takes a nap with her daughter Vivian Goh, who is hooked to a medical ventilator and oxygen tank. "She's like a baby, my baby," says Madam Yong. Ms Goh likes her mother to take naps with her on the same bed. At night, Madam Yong sleeps on a mattress next to her daughter. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Madam Yong has a bowl of oats for lunch in the bedroom while chatting with Ms Goh, who uses her laptop with eye-control software. Ms Goh taught her mother how to use the computer and mobile phone. Says Madam Yong: "If I didn't have her, I wouldn't ha
Mother and daughter enjoying a view of Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay on their first trip to the Singapore Flyer last June. "You have to cherish the time you have with a person, and not be filled with regrets when the person departs. It will be too late by then," says Madam Yong, who organised a trip to Gardens by the Bay for Ms Goh two months ago. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Madam Yong has a bowl of oats for lunch in the bedroom while chatting with Ms Goh, who uses her laptop with eye-control software. Ms Goh taught her mother how to use the computer and mobile phone. Says Madam Yong: "If I didn't have her, I wouldn't ha
Madam Yong with photos showing the deterioration in her daughter's physical condition. Ms Goh had difficulty sitting up by herself before she was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy type 2 as a toddler. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Madam Yong has a bowl of oats for lunch in the bedroom while chatting with Ms Goh, who uses her laptop with eye-control software. Ms Goh taught her mother how to use the computer and mobile phone. Says Madam Yong: "If I didn't have her, I wouldn't ha
After Ms Goh wakes up in the morning, her mother will remove the mask connected to a medical ventilator. On top of being hooked up permanently to an oxygen tank, Ms Goh relies on the ventilator to breathe better when sleeping at night. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Madam Yong has a bowl of oats for lunch in the bedroom while chatting with Ms Goh, who uses her laptop with eye-control software. Ms Goh taught her mother how to use the computer and mobile phone. Says Madam Yong: "If I didn't have her, I wouldn't ha
Ms Goh celebrating her 38th birthday, which falls on May 13, with her mother and their friends. They celebrated on Labour Day so most of their friends could attend the party at their flat. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Madam Yong has a bowl of oats for lunch in the bedroom while chatting with Ms Goh, who uses her laptop with eye-control software. Ms Goh taught her mother how to use the computer and mobile phone. Says Madam Yong: "If I didn't have her, I wouldn't ha
Dr Thong Wen Yi, a consultant from the paediatric critical care division at National University Hospital, checking on Ms Goh last June with nurse Elaine Hor (partially hidden) under the Paediatric Home Care Programme. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Madam Yong with photos showing the deterioration in her daughter's physical condition. Ms Goh had difficulty sitting up by herself before she was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy type 2 as a toddler.
At 7am daily, Madam Yong gives Ms Goh 100ml of milk via a feeding tube. Her daughter cannot swallow solid food well and switched to drinking milk 14 years ago. Ms Goh now takes her milk every three to four hours. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Madam Yong has a bowl of oats for lunch in the bedroom while chatting with Ms Goh, who uses her laptop with eye-control software. Ms Goh taught her mother how to use the computer and mobile phone. Says Madam Yong: "If I didn't have her, I wouldn't ha
Madam Yong had planned a trip on March 29 to Gardens by the Bay for Ms Goh, who in turn surprised her mother with a birthday lunch with family friends there. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Madam Yong has a bowl of oats for lunch in the bedroom while chatting with Ms Goh, who uses her laptop with eye-control software. Ms Goh taught her mother how to use the computer and mobile phone. Says Madam Yong: "If I didn't have her, I wouldn't ha
Madam Yong has a bowl of oats for lunch in the bedroom while chatting with Ms Goh, who uses her laptop with eye-control software. Ms Goh taught her mother how to use the computer and mobile phone. Says Madam Yong: "If I didn't have her, I wouldn't have learnt so many things. Because we are by each other's side and interact all the time, we teach each other different things." ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Madam Yong has a bowl of oats for lunch in the bedroom while chatting with Ms Goh, who uses her laptop with eye-control software. Ms Goh taught her mother how to use the computer and mobile phone. Says Madam Yong: "If I didn't have her, I wouldn't ha
Madam Yong during morning prayers. She says: "I don't really know what keeps me going. I've always been more of an optimist. Ever since we embraced the Catholic faith, it gave me strength." ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Kevin Lim Executive Photojournalist
Updated
May 11, 2018, 11:49 AM
Published
May 07, 2018, 05:00 AM
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Concluding her morning prayers at 8.30am, Madam Ivy Yong, 64, puts away her rosary beads and slides under the blanket on a medical bed.

The sound of mechanical whirring fills the bedroom of her three-room flat in Bedok.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 07, 2018, with the headline She ain't heavy, she's my baby: Mum's devotion to 38-year-old daughter with neuromuscular disease. Subscribe

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