This case happens only once in ten thousand, and the girl had a rare and complex heart malformation.

Thalia Inara Bt Mohammad Akmal Afiq from Padang Serai was born with cyanosis due to hypoxia. The test showed a hole in her heart, and one of the blood vessels connecting to the lungs was missing, resulting in a low oxygen supply. The doctor rushed the baby to the intensive care unit, and she has been relying on a breathing aid to survive.

The baby girl would not survive without surgery. The parents were excited to welcome their firstborn. Unexpectedly, the baby was born with a heart defect and devastated the parents. They hoped to save their baby, so they approached One Hope Charity to seek help for RM70,000 in surgical expenses.

【The parents are sleepless and sad when they think of their daughter suffering alone in the hospital. However, they know that living in sadness does not help. They hope for assistance and prayers from the public】

The mother’s prenatal check-ups were usual. In the ninth month of pregnancy, the doctor discovered that the baby’s heartbeat had weakened during a routine prenatal check-up, so the doctor suggested an emergency caesarean section. The baby was born at full term on 25 July, weighing 2.52kg.

However, the baby was born with cyanosis due to hypoxia. The oxygen content in her body dropped drastically, so the doctor rushed her to the intensive care unit. She relies on oxygen aids to survive. After the doctor’s examination, the doctor initially suspected the baby girl had a hole in her heart, so he transferred the baby girl to a general hospital. A thorough check confirmed she had a hole in her heart, and the heart lacked a blood vessel connecting the lungs. The doctor diagnosed her with pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect (PA-VSD), a complex congenital heart disease.

The heart pumps blood through two major arteries. The aorta carries oxygen-rich blood from the pumps on the left side of the heart, called the ventricles, to the body and brain. The pulmonary artery carries oxygen-poor blood from the pumps on the right to the lungs. Blood flow from the ventricles to the aorta is controlled by one-way gates called valves, the aortic and pulmonary valves. In pulmonary atresia, the valve between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery does not develop properly and affects oxygen supply.

The doctor initially suggested placing a stent in the baby girl’s heart to ease her condition. However, a test found that the place for the stent was just at the intersection of the respiratory tract and oesophagus. Therefore, it was not suitable for the stent placement. The doctor could not do much and referred her to a specialist hospital for Blalock-Taussig Shunt to create a channel connecting the arteries and pulmonary arteries. Her condition was critical, and she needed surgery in two weeks. However, the parents could not afford the RM70,000 in surgical fees.

His 25-year-old father, Mohammad Akmal Afiq Bin Mansor, and 26-year-old mother, Nurul Syakina Dyana Bt Zaidi, are factory operators, earning RM1,700 each. The baby girl is the firstborn of the couple. They have to pay for the rent, car loan and other family expenditures, so they cannot afford the surgical cost.

After reviewing the case following a home visit, One Hope Charity decided to assist the patient in raising the RM70,000 in surgery and follow-up expenses. 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 04-539 9212, 016-419 2192 or 018-911 4192 if you have questions.