SINGAPORE – He proposed to her last month while she was by his bed in the hospital ward, despite having breathing difficulties due to complications from his terminal illness.

On Saturday (Dec 15), almost a month after he asked her to marry him, Mr Pang Ming Kwong, 58, exchanged engagement rings with his fiancee, Ms Koh Soh Kuan, 49.

They did so at Mount Elizabeth Hospital’s Endoscopy Centre, with 50 of their family members and friends bearing witness to an engagement ring ceremony officiated by a pastor.

Mr Pang, who has terminal lung cancer, has been warded at Mount Elizabeth Hospital since Nov 9. He had expressed his wish to propose to Ms Koh, an executive at a reinsurance company, to the ward nurses when he was receiving treatment at the hospital.

Ms Koh told The Straits Times that she was unaware of his intention to propose last month. Mr Pang, who runs an online business, had told her to keep Nov 17, the date of his proposal, free as he wanted her to attend a cancer group meeting with him.

Little did she know that he would ask her hand in marriage when she visited him at his hospital ward.

The couple have been together for more than eight years, since they first met at a tea appreciation event.

“We meet up almost every weekend, he calls me almost every day and tells me about his work. We have both been busy working all the while, but he always says that he treasures every moment that we spend time together,” Ms Koh said.

But two years ago, tragedy struck when the couple found out that Mr Pang was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.

However, the diagnosis did not affect the couple’s spirits, as they continued to meet for lunches and whenever their busy schedules allowed it. Mr Pang was optimistic and tried his best to cope with the side effects from chemotherapy by asking his friends for advice, Ms Koh said.

Saturday’s engagement ceremony was a surprise for her when she learnt about it a few days earlier, as Mr Pang was often drowsy from his medication and she was not sure what he had in store for her.

The hospital’s staff put everything together, said Ms Koh, adding that she was very thankful to them and was very touched by Mr Pang’s gesture.

“He always asked, ‘What date is it’? How many more days to the 15th?” she said.

The Endoscopy Centre was decorated by hospital staff for the engagement ceremony.

Nurses from the ward which Mr Pang was staying in sang songs for the couple, and presented them with flowers and balloons. Some of the nurses also helped Ms Koh with her make-up, while the hospital’s chef specially prepared a cake for the couple.

Senior nurse manager Yong Wee Joan said: “Mr Pang is a kind and grateful person and all our nurses love him so much.

“We were so excited when we first learned that Mr Pang wanted to hold an engagement in our hospital, and the ward eight team wanted to make this event special for him.”

Added senior nurse Melane Glenda Maranon: “It is a great privilege to fulfil a patient’s wish and make him feel really loved by healthcare providers.”

While Ms Koh does not know how much more time her fiance has, her priority is to spend time with him.

“It’s all I can do, to spend time with him and make it feel that it’s not that bad,” she said.

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