JOHOR BARU: When his baby girl was born last November, first-time father Jonathan Pillai Arul Jaga Nathan was overjoyed, but now he needs half a million ringgit for her to survive.
Jonathan needs this hefty amount to pay for surgery in Singapore for two-month-old Velerie Ann, who suffers from complex heart disease.
All appeared well when they took Velerie home from Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) here.
Velerie resting in her cot in hospital in an undated handout photograph. The couple’s nightmare began four days later when Velerie’s lips and skin turned blue. She was not feeding well and her cries were weak, said Tio Minar Tobing, 23, Velerie’s mother.
Velerie was rushed to HSA, where she was placed in intensive care and treated for a viral infection and swollen heart and lungs. Her medical reports were sent to the National Heart Institute (IJN), where she was diagnosed with cyanotic heart disease.
The condition is a congenital heart defect that results in low oxygen levels in the blood and causes the child’s lips, fingers, and toes to look blue.
Jonathan said IJN told him that surgery would give his baby just a 30% chance of survival. But even then, no relevant specialist was available in the country.
Shocked, the couple went to Singapore’s Gleneagles Hospital for a second opinion where they were told that Velerie would have a 70% chance of survival if three surgeries were done. However, the cost would be S$211,000 (RM481,000), which Jonathan said he did not have.
“I emptied my life savings to pay the deposit of RM23,000 for Velerie’s first surgery and I need to pay the hospital another RM342,479 before they perform the second surgery.
“Every month, I’m only left with about RM200 after paying for house and car loans,” said the sole breadwinner, who works as an assistant manager in a Singapore restaurant.
Meanwhile, state DAP chairman Dr Boo Cheng Hau said he hoped the country would have enough specialists in future so that such surgeries could be done locally.
Donations can be sent by cheque to Skudai Catholic Centre Johor Baru, Parish Office for Human Development, or banked into Public Bank account 314 628 5324.
For more information, contact Jonathan at 012-751 6843.
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