KUALA LUMPUR: The prospect of seeing your baby turn blue from a congenital heart defect would be any parent's nightmare -- and one that Voon Jang Mui faces daily.

Her daughter, Joel Wong Zhi Yi, 16 months old, was born with a hole in her heart. The little girl underwent corrective surgery last year, but her lips, hands and feet are still blue.

Joel was scheduled to undergo a second surgery at 18 months, but recently her health took a turn for the worse. She has had breathing difficulties and has been refusing to eat for the past three months.

"When my husband and I took her for a check-up a few days ago, the doctor said we should have brought her to the hospital earlier, as her condition is bad."


The doctor asked the couple, who live in Johor, to bring their baby to Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre here for intensive respiratory care. Joel underwent cardiac catheterisation, a medical procedure costing RM5,000, which is used to diagnose and treat heart conditions.

Joel's father, Wong Chiew Guan, said she needed to undergo a second surgery tomorrow, which costs RM35,000.

But as the family relies solely on Wong's monthly income of RM1,500 as a scrap metal collector, they are appealing for donations to cover the RM40,000 medical and surgical costs.



Donors can send their cheques, made payable to New Straits Times Press, with Joel Wong's name written on the back to: The Cashier, Finance Department/Charity Unit, NSTP, Balai Berita, 31 Jalan Riong, 59100 Kuala Lumpur.