Stroke patient to receive artificial skull
Donation courtesy of fellow villagers and Liow
BENTONG: A stroke patient, Lee Hup Fatt, will get a new lease of life with the donation of an artificial skull courtesy of Kg Bukit Tinggi villagers and Bentong MP Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.
Chong Mei Wan, 35, said her family was devastated when her 65-year-old stepfather came down with a stroke and a swollen head after a heart surgery went awry in October last year.
Lee, a papaya farmer and breadwinner, started having recurring fevers and showed symptoms of cold sweat, shortness of breath and low appetite in September last year.
A clinic referred him to a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur where an electrocardiogram showed he had irregular heartbeat and a further scan revealed that three of his heart arteries were blocked.
His wife Chan Yoke Ling, 56, claimed her insurance agent advised the family to transfer Lee to a private hospital, in spite of his doctor’s advice to send him to the National Heart Institute.
“After the heart surgery, he kept shuddering. He came down with a fever the second day and his head started to swell on the third day. That’s when he suffered the stroke.
“We were told he had a viral infection and needed a brain surgery,” said Chan.
The family was caught in a tight situation as Lee’s daughter and stepdaughter had each borrowed over RM20,000 to pay for his first surgery.
They then decided to transfer Lee to Hospital Kuala Lumpur for the second surgery. Lee’s skull became dented after the surgery and has been bedridden for several months.
Xuen Lee, a family friend, said they have collected RM8,000 for Lee’s third surgery to install the artificial skull.
However, Xuen and Liow highlighted that there have been unscrupulous people using Lee’s case to solicit for donations on Facebook.
“I hope the police will look into this,” said Liow.