“My girl cannot walk too much and cannot be as active as other children. She gets tired easily, so she sometimes needs to use a stroller even though she is already eight.”

An eight-year-old girl from Sabah had congenital heart disease. She underwent surgery when she was small, but as she grows up and gains weight, she must undergo the subsequent surgery as soon as possible. Otherwise, the “time bomb” in her left chest might explode anytime and endanger her life. However, her father lost his job after the outbreak of the pandemic, and her mother became the sole breadwinner of the family. The girl is still short of RM95,000 in surgical expenses.

【The family had mixed feelings when they welcomed the newborn】

During a prenatal test within the seventh to eighth month of pregnancy, the doctor discovered that the baby had a heart problem. Later, baby Nur Sara Umairah was born prematurely due to placental problems. Her family was happy to welcome the newborn, but at the same time, the doctor discovered the right side of her heart was underdeveloped, which made the family worried. Her family had no choice but to let her undergo surgery repeatedly.

Nur Sara Umairah had surgery when she was still an infant and has grown up safely for years. However, she cannot walk or play for a long time. Otherwise, her fingers and lips will turn cyanotic, and she will become short of breath. She went for regular follow-up treatments, but the Covid-19 pandemic and movement control order (MCO) had negatively impacted her. Her regular follow-up visit schedule was affected, and her father lost his job. Her father was originally a farmer growing ginger, but his business was severely affected due to MCO, and he could not continue growing ginger. He later returned the land he leased from a friend and looked for a new job.

【Her little heart can hardly bear her body weight as she grows older】

When Nur Sara Umairah went for a follow-up visit at the hospital last year, the doctor diagnosed her with pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (PAIVS). She needed a cardiac catheterisation and Fontan surgery. Her previous surgery allowed her heart to support her until 12kg, and now, she is eight years old, and her body weight has already exceeded this level.

Nur Sara Umairah has four siblings, aged between two and 15. She lives with her parents and grandparents, where nine people live under one roof. The family’s financial burden falls on her mother, who works as a clerk and earns RM5,000 monthly. Besides basic living expenses, they also need to pay for car loans, education expenditure of the children, and Nur Sara Umairah’s medical costs over the years, which exhausted their savings.

The family could not afford the substantial surgical expenses, so they took up a loan to pay for part of their daughter’s surgical fee. However, they could only raise RM15,000 and are still short of RM95,000. After learning the case, One Hope Charity conducted a careful review and decided to assist the family with the shortfall of RM95,000, hoping to get donations and support from the well-wishers to help Nur Sara Umairah.

Nur Sara Umairah and her 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 016-419 2192, 019-232 2192 or 04-539 9212 if you have questions.