The diabetic has been in and out of hospital for the past four years. Things took a turn for the worse two weeks ago when both her kidneys failed. Doctors say it is unlikely she will live past this year.

In the meantime, family members - who gathered at a relative's four-room flat on Balam Road where Mdm Loh will live - want her to have the best few months of her life.

One of her daughters hired a full-time maid to nurse her, and family members took her home from Changi Hospital - where she spent the last two weeks.

The old lady, now 85, believed in fighting for what she wanted: A better life.

Once, when her husband insisted that she cook rice the old fashioned way - with a large clay pot - the then-40 year old bought one secretly with her savings and sneaked it into the house.

Her third-eldest child Ms Lilian Phua, 51, said: 'She was hands-on and not the type of woman who would rely on her husband. For years, she made handicraft for sale, cooked for construction workers and ran a provision shop to survive.'

'We really want to do everything we can for her', said her second eldest son Patrick Phua, 60. 'She brought us all up and has suffered quite a bit in her life.'

Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.