Good morning.
What if your child shows signs of developmental delay, epileptic attacks and the inability to utter a word – yet doctors cannot find a reason?
This is the reality hundreds of families in Singapore are living with, and three of them gave us an intimate look into their lives in On The Red Dot’s series, Undiagnosed.
For 5 months, my colleagues and I shadowed them, capturing the trials and tribulations of living with uncertainty and the lack of answers.
|
Take the twins, Dzakir and Dzakwan, who have cognitive developmental delays and cannot verbalise at 17.
I was a surprised by how readily their parents, Izwar and Norah, let the cameras into their life. When Dzakwan physically protested dental treatments or had a public meltdown, Izwar would lightly remark to me, “Dzakwan is always the more drama one.” I admire their strength in facing every challenging situation with humour and acceptance.
|
Then there’s Jayden. When his parents learnt he had a lifelong condition, they had two more children so that their eldest daughter would not be alone in shouldering the future caregiving responsibility.
Producer Tiffany Fumiko Tay, who shadowed them, noted: “Having to put off your dreams to care for your brother is daunting, especially when so little is known about how his condition will progress.
“But the sisters articulated themselves with incredible thoughtfulness and described him as the happy core of their family, which really put caregiving in a different light for me.”
|
As for the Menezes family, sisters Atira and Seana were world’s first to be diagnosed with a rare genetic condition named after the Singaporean doctor who discovered it. Even with a diagnosis, their condition is precarious, such as when Atira suffered an epileptic relapse.
Don’t miss episode 4 – which airs this Friday – where the family travelled to India to reveal the diagnosis to the grandparents. The scenes “turned out to be some of the most heartwarming ones in the series”, said producer Naveen Raj.
Li Xinzhuo
Producer, On The Red Dot
|
