CHOOSING LOVE EVERY DAY

The first instalment of the HER WORLD, HER SPARK’ series, presented in partnership with DBS, spotlights Dr Lim Hong Huay, founder of the non-profit organisation CaringSG. Dr Lim shares how the joys and challenges of raising her two special needs children ignited her passion to advocate for better support for caregivers like herself.

- Goh Hwee Koon

“I thought I was going to die,” says Dr Lim Hong Huay, 51, recalling the time when she was suffering from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) – and pregnant with her first child.

“I asked myself then what I would give my life for, and I realised that my family actually means a lot to me,” she says, adding that she and her unborn baby survived the ordeal.

The former developmental and behavioural paediatrician, 51, is married to Dr Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious diseases physician. They have three children: Marianne, 20; Vivianne, 15; and Lucas, 13. Her eldest and youngest children have autism.

CHANGING PRIORITIES

Dr Lim gave up her career at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in 2017, when the reality sank in that she could not keep up with her three children and the demands of her work. She ended up devoting herself completely to her children, much to the detriment of her personal relationship with her husband.

“I realised that looking after your family is also about looking after your relationship with your spouse, because the best gift you can give to your children is a happy marriage,” she says.