KUALA LUMPUR: After waiting for seven years, Abd Rahim Mohd Napiah and his wife, Rositah Kames were blessed to have their first child. The couple were even more blessed when they had an addition to the family this year.
Life, however, has a way of throwing its challenges. The couple’s second child, Nur Aisyah Dalila, was born with a heart complication.
The parents are now appealing for help for the surgery.
Abd Rahim, 43, a control room operator, said his daughter needs immediate surgery to unblock her blood vessels to the lung and to fix a hole in her heart.
Two-month-old Nur Aisyah needs to undergo surgery, which will cost the family RM30,000.
Rahim said he first detected Aisyah’s condition several hours after she was born.
“My wife gave birth naturally. However after several hours, my daughter turned very blue and the doctor has diagnosed her with heart complications.”
He said doctors had diagnosed Nur Aisyah as having Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) and two holes in her heart.
PDA is a heart problem that occurs soon after birth in some babies. Within minutes or up to a few days after birth, the vessel is supposed to close as part of the normal changes occurring in the baby's circulation.
“Before my wife and I came to the Gleneagles Hospital Kuala Lumpur, our daughter was admitted and been under surveillance in the intensive care unit at the Kulim Hospital ever since she was born,” he said.
His wife Rositah Kames, 39, said she was trying to be strong for her daughter’s sake.
“Aisyah has been reliant on medication since birth to help her breathe,” she said, adding that the surgery will help her daughter to breathe normally without depending on medication and tubes.
Rositah said that doctors have told the family that Aisyah’s condition would worsen and would affect her body and brain growth if surgery is not done immediately.
“Aisyah needs to undergo a BT Shunt operation to supply extra blood to the lungs. By doing so, it can promote growth of the blood vessels to the lungs and allow her to gain weight to 10 kilograms for the final operative treatment.
“We are heartbroken at seeing her tangled up with tubes. I just want her to be healthy and grow up like a normal child,” she said.
Those who wish to donate can send cheques made payable to the Media Prima-NSTP Humanitarian Fund with the patient’s name written on the reverse side of the cheque and addressed to: The Group Corporate Communications Department, Media Prima Berhad, Level 1, Anjung Riong, Balai Berita, 31 Jalan Riong, Bangsar, 59100 Kuala Lumpur.
The public may also donate via cash deposit to Maybank account (5141-0532-3170). Click here for more info on how to donate.