A 5-year-old girl suffering from congenital heart disease urgently needs surgery
Five-year-old Mikayla from Pahang is urgently seeking RM30,000 to cover the cost of a life-saving heart surgery and related medical expenses. She was diagnosed at just four months old with two congenital heart diseases called Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) and Atrial Septal Defect (ASD).
Her mother, Mut Mahina, said Mikayla underwent a successful PDA device closure in 2021. However, during a follow-up examination in April this year, doctors found that the ASD had enlarged from 11 mm to 18 mm and that her heart had begun to enlarge. She has now been advised to undergo open-heart surgery, which is expected to take place in August.
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KUALA LUMPUR: Five-year-old Mikayla from Pahang is urgently seeking RM30,000 to cover the cost of a life-saving heart surgery and related medical expenses. She was diagnosed at just four months old with two congenital heart diseases called Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) and Atrial Septal Defect (ASD).
Her mother, Mut Mahina, said Mikayla underwent a successful PDA device closure in 2021. However, during a follow-up examination in April this year, doctors found that the ASD had enlarged from 11 mm to 18 mm and that her heart had begun to enlarge. She has now been advised to undergo open-heart surgery, which is expected to take place in August.
Due to her condition, Mikayla is unable to participate in strenuous physical activities like other children and must be closely monitored. Her parents hope she can undergo surgery before starting primary school, giving her the chance to grow up healthy and enjoy a normal childhood.
“While my husband and I are at work, Mikayla is cared for by her elderly grandparents as we work to support our family,” she said.
She added caring for a child with a heart condition is challenging, especially as Mikayla’s grandfather has hearing impairment and her grandmother has poor eyesight.
“As a mother, I worry about her every day. Leaving her in the care of elderly grandparents with their own health issues is never easy, but I have no choice, ” she said.
Community Care Enrichment Programme CCEP Foundation Chief Executive Officer Yvonne Yee said that without timely surgery, Mikayla’s condition could lead to severe pulmonary hypertension, heart failure and other life-threatening complications.
She added that Mikayla’s parents work as a retail assistant and a mechanical technician, earning less than RM2,000 each per month. Despite working overtime to increase their income, they are unable to afford the high cost of the surgery after meeting their family’s daily living expenses.
CCEP Foundation is appealing to the public to support Mikayla and help give her the opportunity to receive the treatment she urgently needs.
