AT JUST eight days old, little Vernnice Teoh was gasping for breath.
The doctor had to frankly tell her parents “it was bad”.
Vernnice’s aorta (main artery)is so narrow that oxygenatedblood cannot spread into her little body quickly. She also has a holein the heart.
Another baby, 10-month-oldTeh Su Fang, has the blue babysyndrome caused by four inborn defects in her heart. Not enough blood can reach her lungs to be oxygenated, leaving her bluish especially in her fingers and toes.
The only way to save the livesof these two babies is a series of surgeries that will cost a total of RM145,000, and Lions Club of Penang Evergreen is appealingto good hearts out there.
Club secretary Thomas Lim said on Friday that both girls are in urgent need of surgery but theparents faced financial problems.
Vernnice’s mother Teoh Poh Ping, 29, said her daughter had been in the intensive care unit of Seberang Jaya Hospital since birth.
She gave up her job as a sales promoter and the family now depends entirely on her husband, a general worker earning RM1,200.
Su Fang’s father, Chek Shyong, 40, a hawker in Langkawi, said he earns barely RM2,000 a month.
“She is my first child and we love her very much. I pray everyday now that someone will come and save her,” he said in a pressconference organised by the club.
Gleneagles Penang Intensive Care Unit nurse manager Ong Phaik Hoon said both girls are scheduled for surgery this week.
She said Vernnice needed two surgeries to repair her aorta and the hole in her heart, while Su Fang needed an operation to correct the defects.
Those who wish to donate may do so at the 6th floor of Gleneagles Penang to Vernnice and Su Fang or call Henry Cheah or Mandy Lau at 04-2229111.
Cash or cheques may also be banked into Kelab Lions Evergreen Pulau Pinang’s Public Bank Berhad account 3178643800.
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