Senior Police Constable (SPC) Yau Tak-him is currently stationed in the Motor Transport Office of the Airport District. He was transferred to a driver post with a more stable job nature ten years ago upon the birth of his eldest son so that he could have more time to spend with his family. In 2017, he had a new baby, Tin-tin, and the family of four enjoyed a happy life since then. However, bad news came in 2019.

“In June that year, the belly of Tin-tin was bloated and he often felt listless. So we sent him to hospital for medical treatment. He fell into a coma while he was in the hospital. After surgical rescue, the doctors found that the swelling was caused by cancer cells rupturing the liver and blood filling the belly. Tin-tin was diagnosed with stage-four neuroblastoma, the last phase of the disease.”

The danger of this common cancer in children is that cells mutate and spread very quickly. Hence, Tin-tin had to undergo surgery, chemotherapy and electrotherapy simultaneously in the intensive care unit of Hong Kong Children’s Hospital. It was 2019, when street riots were rampant. Yau, who was stationed in the Emergency Unit (EU), was to go to the frontline. Knowing about Yau’s situation, his superior immediately approved his leave of some twenty days. To encourage Yau, his supervisor said, “Don’t worry about the work. Taking care of your son should be your top priority now.”

When Tin-tin’s condition had stabilised slightly, Yau returned to work immediately. Yau said that despite the hard work, he would call home to ask about Tin-tin’s condition as soon as he had time to spare. He was exhausted mentally and physically as he was juggling between two “battlefields”, at home and at work at the same time. However, it was heartwarming that his superior noticed his special needs and exercised discretion to allow him to switch to a 9-to-6 shift during that extraordinary period. To encourage Tin-tin to fight the cancer actively, both Yau and the elder brother shaved off their hair to express their support for Tin-tin, who was suffering from hair loss due to chemotherapy.

Unfortunately, after one year of treatment, Tin-tin’s condition still kept recurring. Looking back on the situation at that time, Yau still had tears filling his eyes. “I was really afraid of losing the child then.” Not knowing what to do about the situation, Yau learned that a hospital overseas was testing a new type of targeted drug which had a significant effect on treating neuroblastoma. Although the doctor said that Tin-tin was suitable for trying the drug, Yau’s problem was that the treatment had to be done overseas, and the medical expense was as high as HKD2 million, far beyond the family’s affordability.

At this point, some colleagues suggested that Yau apply for fundraising within the Force. With the assistance of the Regional Training and Staff Relations Officers, the fundraising campaign was carried out quickly, with HKD1.8 million successfully raised in a month. Yau said very gratefully, “Soon after the fundraising started, I received many messages of encouragement from colleagues with whom I have worked and even those who I have never met. Seeing that everyone not only donated enthusiastically but also worked together to help forward the fundraising messages, all my family members were deeply moved. Thanks to everyone’s kindness, Tin-tin got a chance of rebirth.”

After treatment with the new drug, Tin-tin’s body indexes returned to normal, showing that he succeeded in fighting against the cancer. Yau emphasised that this experience made him feel the profound love in the Force. Through OffBeat, he hoped to thank his colleagues who contributed to the fundraising and saved his son’s life, as well as the brothers and sisters who worked together to share his work. “I believe that without your timely help, Tin-tin might not have escaped from death. I will do my best to teach and nurture my son well so that your kindness will be passed on.”