Parents of infant appeal for donations for open-heart surgery
KUALA LUMPUR: The parents of a 2-month-old baby born with heart defects are appealing for public donations to help fund their baby’s urgent open-heart surgery.
Nyeo Jia Ho is suffering from congenital heart defects called Large Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) and Fenestrated ASD.
The heart defect occurs when the ductus arteriosus, a hole between two major blood vessels from the heart, remains open after a baby is born.
The hole is supposed to close shortly after birth. Ng’s condition has worsened with the presence of many smaller holes (Fenestrated ASD) as part of the congenital heart defects.
Due to the defects, he has been developing symptoms of heart failure and has been on the lifesupport machine since birth.
Having spent his life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital, Klang, he has never felt his mother’s physical touch since he was born.
His mother, Ang Suh Huwa, 36, said she had kept going over her pregnancy experience to look for an explanation on what could have caused baby Jia Ho’s current condition.
“We could not tell where we went wrong, as my other four kids were born and are growing up normally.
“Nothing alarming had appeared during the pregnancy screening.
“However, due to his weight and his condition of being born prematurely, the doctors detected his heart condition in the second week after his birth.
“I am still grappling with the reality of having to see my son hooked on to so many wires since I gave birth to him. On some days, I cannot accept this is happening to my poor baby.
“His siblings, too, have been asking why hasn’t he come home yet,” she told the New Straits Times over a Google Meet session yesterday.
The mother of five said she had never held her baby in her arms since birth, after he was born through Caesarean section.
“He has lived for over 30 days but not once was I allowed to hold my baby due to his condition and his size.
“I was also not allowed to feed him my milk. The situation has been difficult. He has to be fed through a tube due to his small size… I have to express my milk and pass it to the nurses to feed him,” she said.
Jia Ho, who weighed 1.36kg at birth, now weighs 1.66kg. The heart defect has stunted his growth.
Due to his deteriorating condition, he was transferred to Sunway Medical Centre for urgent treatment.
The medical team has informed Ang and her husband, Nyeo Kok An, 39, that Jia Ho would have to undergo PDA ligation and ASD closure surgeries as soon as possible, as any delay would pose a challenge to his survival.
The open-heart corrective surgeries would cost the couple RM35,000.
“We grow more worried after learning the cost, as my husband works as a gravedigger with no steady income, while I’m a housewife.
“We pray and hope that there are kind-hearted people out there could help us save our baby,” she said.
Donors can send cheques made payable to the Media Prima-NSTP Humanitarian Fund at Group Corporate Communications Department, Media Prima Bhd, Level 4, Anjung Riong, Balai Berita, 31 Jalan Riong, 59100 Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur (with the patient’s name written on the reverse side of the cheque).
The public may also send their donations to Media Prima-NSTP Humanitarian Fund’s Maybank account 5141-0532-3170 and indicate the patient’s name on the recipient’s reference or other payment details field.