THE pastor looked in very good shape for someone who had just undergone a double transplant operation.
Sitting up, he peered at the roomful of reporters through his webcam. His bespectacled eyes looked very alert.
Said Pastor Lau Chin Kwee, a father of three, two of whom are in their 20s and working: 'God made me a son when I was already past 50 years old.'
That son is now 6 years old.
'It's a great responsibility to bring him up to be a proper human being to serve God. That alone is a lot of work,' he said to much laughter in the room at yesterday's press conference.
'I want (everyone) to know that the gift of life is really a miracle. I want to thank the loved ones of the donor and encourage Singaporeans to be selfless in giving and enjoy and live life to the fullest.'
When he was diagnosed with familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP), a rare genetic condition, he knew his treatment was not going to be simple.
Said Pastor Lau: 'The possibility of a heart and liver transplant had always been there in my mind. I had, through the Internet, contacted a lady from the US with (my) condition. She had three organs transplanted.'
He was referred to the Singapore General Hospital Liver Transplant Service in September 2006.
In January 2008, it was confirmed that his heart had also been affected by the disease.
The National Heart Centre (NHC) Heart Transplant team found him suitable for a transplant. He was placed on the waiting list for a combined heart and liver transplant in November last year and was quoted a mortality rate (risk of death) of 30 to 40 per cent.
