Former celeb chef 'Fang Tai' Lisa Fong hospitalised 20 days for urethritis and pneumonia

Singapore former celebrity chef Lisa Fong, known affectionately as Fang Tai (Mrs Fang), was hospitalised for 20 days in May, her daughter Bao revealed on Facebook.

Bao made the lengthy post on June 30, exactly one month since the 89-year-old's discharge, apologising for not having the "time or mood" to inform her mother's audience earlier as she was with her in the hospital.

She added that, in late April, Lisa was visiting the toilet too frequently and the doctors immediately suspected urethritis, an inflammation of the urethra (which carries urine from the bladder to outside the body).

Despite taking antibiotics, Lisa did not feel better and Ah Bao found her mother motionless surrounded by her vomit on the seventh day. Trying to rush her to hospital, Ah Bao met some difficulties.

"Who knew that the hospital's reply would be, 'We don't have any rooms left, so don't come here'," Bao wrote. "I also contacted my mother's doctor and tried another nearby hospital, and was told that I could go to the outpatient clinic.

"After two hours of fussing in the outpatient department, the conclusion was, 'The patient has a high fever and can only stay in a private room. But we have no more private rooms left'."

They offered to write Lisa a referral letter but Bao would have to look for another hospital herself.

"I broke down a little at this point. I almost thought I was browsing a travel website to book a hotel! When a person is seriously ill, the hospital doesn't regard their treatment as a priority?" Bao added.

Lisa was finally admitted to the Union Hospital in Hong Kong, and Bao shared that the bacteria causing urethritis was antibiotic-resistant and had entered Lisa's bloodstream, causing sepsis.

She would need to remain in the hospital for at least two weeks, but after just one, Lisa also contracted respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and developed pneumonia, extending her hospital stay.

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"Fortunately, we met a very good doctor, and mum was able to be discharged from the hospital after 20 days," Bao wrote. "A few days ago we went back to the doctor for a follow-up visit, and the doctor told her, 'I didn't expect you to recover so well'."

Bao was "very glad" that she was with her mum when she got sick, and that she "made the decision to go to the hospital immediately".

"I told my family and friends afterwards that this might be the only thing I did right in my life," she said. "Therefore, no matter how busy you are, no matter how independent and capable the elders in your family are, please pay more attention to them."

She added: "Before Fang Tai was discharged from the hospital, the doctor comforted me, 'You have done a good job. Many people in this situation would be in the ICU (intensive care unit) as soon as they enter the hospital'."

She was glad that Lisa was mentally alert throughout her hospital stay and even "uncooperative" on her seventh day there.

"The doctor even said, 'She is back!' For some people, losing their temper shows their vitality. If they can scold, they must be in good spirits."

Bao added that she was currently sleeping in the same bed as Lisa to monitor her - which her mother dislikes as her cat joins them on the bed a few times - and that her goal is to return Lisa to her past standard of living and "restore her abilities".

"I could take care of her, but I have to encourage her to get back on track," she wrote. "So I had her get her hair done last week and told her, 'If you don't like what you see in the mirror, you won't be happy'.

"Yes, her happiness is important. Physical health is important, but so is mental health."

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drimac@asiaone.com

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