“He has never returned home since he was born. He has always been in the hospital. His grandparents have never met their grandson.”

46-year-old Lim Lai Soon and his 39-year-old wife, Lo Fui Cin, from Sabak Bernam, Selangor, and their family members were overjoyed when their long-awaited baby was born. Like other parents, their biggest hope for their son, Kah Heng, was to grow healthily. However, the mother gave birth to the baby boy two weeks before the expected due date, and the doctor confirmed the newborn had several medical conditions. The doctor also told the parents that the child would be different from others.

Baby Kah Heng was born in Teluk Intan Hospital. Due to anorectal malformation and vitelline duct problems, he cannot defecate normally. He underwent surgery four days after birth and temporarily used an ostomy bag to solve the defecation problem. After a detailed examination, the doctor discovered he had heart problems, namely the ventricular septal defect (VSD), a double outlet right ventricle (DORV) and a left pulmonary artery sling. He needs to repair the heart blood vessels and treat his tracheal stenosis.

【His heartbeat stopped once and frightened the parents. The baby boy has a breathing problem which requires careful care】

Lai Soon revealed that his son had breathing problems due to negligence of care after the heart surgery. His heart stopped once. Fortunately, the medical personnel saved him in time and allowed him to grow to this day. Kah Heng, who is 10 months old, had just completed heart repair surgery and tracheoplasty. He needed to stay in the hospital for a long time. In addition, he had hemivertebra and hypospadias.

Lai Soon works as an oil palm collector and lorry driver in an oil palm plantation. He often needs to work on weekends. To see his son, he takes off every Sunday to visit his child in the hospital. Fui Cin, who is an Indonesian Chinese, is a housewife. She spends more than half of her monthly time caring for her son in the ward.

Although Kah Heng’s condition is yet to stabilise, the doctor felt the parents could start preparing for their child’s discharge and suggested purchasing a bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) machine, atomised inhaler and phlegm suction machine. The doctor also asked them to prepare several medical supplies, such as ostomy bags, feeding tubes and suction catheters.

In addition to needing to buy medical equipment for their son, the parents are worried that Lai Soon’s current income of RM2,000 may not be enough for Kah Heng’s surgical expenses and hospitalisation charges accumulated in the past few months. Although they live in their ancestral home, the couple has to care for their parents in their seventies and pay for transportation, utility bills and other miscellaneous expenses.

After reviewing the case following a home visit, One Hope Charity decided to assist in raising RM50,000 for little Kah Heng needed for his hospitalisation and medical supplies expenses to reduce the financial burden of his parents, with the hope that he can continue to receive the care he needs after discharge from the hospital.

His family agreed to fully authorise One Hope Charity to take charge of the fundraising and collect donations from the well-wishers on their behalf. Call One Hope Charity’s hotline at 04-539 9212, 016-419 2192, 019-232 2192 or 018-911 4192 if you have questions.