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THE drug overdose could have killed cancer patient Yip Poh Hung, 44.
And her husband, Mr Yip Yew Keong, knows he has every right to be angry at the two pharmacists responsible for incorrectly programming her infusion pump.
But he is not.
Said the 49-year-old taxi driver: 'What's done is done. My wife and I have already forgiven the pharmacists.
'What's more important is that they learn from their mistakes and not repeat them.'
The New Paper on Sunday spoke to Mr Yip over the phone. He said his wife needed rest after the overdose and did not want to be interviewed.
Mrs Yip, who is still in hospital, is in a more serious condition than Mrs Ng.
This is because she was given the drug 5-florouracil (5-FU), which is potentially deadly if the dosage or infusion rate is doubled. Her kidney, liver and bone-marrow could also have been damaged.
In Mrs Yip's case, the infusion rate was 24 times the prescribed rate.
However, she has since been given a special antidote to neutralise the toxic effects of the drug.
Mr Yip said he has been trying to stay positive and encouraging.
'I keep telling her she will survive, that she is faring well and not to worry unneccesarily,' he said.
He was upset when he first found out about the blunder, but he said there was no point staying angry.
The couple have two sons, 20 and 16, and live with Mr Yip's parents, both retirees in their 70s.
Although Mr Yip, who is the family's sole breadwinner, is 'not sure' how much his wife's bills have amounted to so far, he has been working 14-hour days since the incident happened.
His only break is spending an hour in the morning and another hour in the evening with his wife at the hospital.
She has been warded since 6 Nov. Mrs Ng was discharged earlier this week.
No legal action
Said Mr Yip: 'There is no choice. I have to work to earn the money. I just want our lives to go back to normal.
'I'm not thinking of legal action or compensation for now. I'll wait for my wife to get better first.'
Mrs Yip, who was diagnosed with stage one cervical cancer in July this year, is currently being closely monitored in hospital.
On top of coping with mouth ulcers, her white blood cell count fell drastically earlier in the week = although this has since rebounded.
Associate Professor Tan Kok Hian, who chairs the division of obstetrics and gynaecology at KKH, said: 'Mrs Yip has tolerated the antidote well, and so far, the drug had not caused any organ damage.
'She is in stable condition.'
The two pharmacists who were responsible for the error have been given light duties. They are helping with investigations into the case.
This article was first published in The New Paper.
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