KUALA TERENGGANU: Friends, former schoolmates and colleagues of hockey veteran Michael Yan Wai Pin are rallying behind the bed-stricken former international.
Yan, born in Seremban on Sept 15, 1946, suffered a serious stroke on March 1 this year and is in the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Negeri Sembilan.
Learning of his plight, alumni of the St John’s Baptist de La Salle group of Catholic schools in the country are planning a charity hockey match to raise fund for Yan’s medical treatment.
One of the alumni, the Fransciscan Club of Kuala Lumpur (FCKL), comprising old boys of St Francis Instituition of Malacca, mooted the idea.
FCKL past-president James Sia said they will rally behind efforts to raise money for 70-year-old Yan’s family to foot his hospital bills.
“We all remember Michael from his playing days, since the 1970s, not to mention his benevolent deeds in helping others suffering a similar plight.
“It is time we share the grief of his family and do our bit to assist as much as we can,” said Sia, who played for Malacca combined schools and later for Maybank and the Royal Selangor Club in local leagues and tournaments.
Sia added that Yan studied at St Paul’s Instituition (SPI) in Seremban and went on to captain Negeri Sembilan in 1974 to win the Tun Hussein Onn Cup and the Tun Razak Cup the following year and in 1977.
Yan represented Malaysia at the 1970 Bangkok Asian Games, skippered the 1974 Singapore Seap Games team and played at the Nehru Memorial Cup in New Delhi in 1975.
After active retirement, Yan was vice-captain of the national veteran’s team for the Veterans World Cup in Leverekusen, Germany in 2008.
He was Negeri Sembilan Sportsman for 1975 and 1976.
Yan is married to Foong Seow Ken and has three sons, all of whom studied at SPI.
According to Yan’s son Jerome Yan Swie King, his father pursued surveying and architectural draughtmanship under his grandfather’s architect’s firm and later Yan established is own firm in 1975.
“My father was a healthy and simple person who always gave back to the community, especially to the church and his alma mater SPI.
“The stroke that has left him unconscious and immobile, is an indescribable shock to our entire family and friends,” said Jerome.
Yan had collapsed at work was rushed to the Seremban Hospital where he was diagnosed with a right middle cerebral artery infarct with haemorrhagic transformation.
“Doctors then performed a decompressive craniectomy, a procedure that removes part of the bone from the skull to reduce the pressure on the brain.
“Unfortunately, the swelling in the brain did not subside and dad went into a coma and lost movements of his body.
“He remained in the ICU for three weeks on a mechanical ventilator but developed complications, including irregular heart rhythms, lung infection and severe bed sores,” said Jerome.
Doctors, then, performed a tracheostomy, an opening created at the front of the neck to insert a tube into the windpipe, to assist Yan with breathing and wean him off the ventilator.
“It was heartbreaking to see our dad, someone so healthy and fit not long ago, to be now fitted with tubes everywhere and part of his skull removed,” said Jerome.
Later, Yan was transferred to a private hospital to undergo stem cell treatment which incurred RM65,000, in addition to RM35,000 in other medical expenses.
Jerome said the family needs another RM135,000 for Yan, who has no medical insurance, to be treated for another three months at the hospital.
“Our hope is that he will one day regain consciousness and is fit enough to return home to spend time with his family, especially with his three grandchildren,” said Jerome.
He appealed for the public’s compassion and generosity to help foot his father’s medical expenses.
Donations can be made in the name of Jerome Yan Swie King with CIMB Bank (Account Number: 700 9769 895).