Teen with curved spine in dire need of funds for surgery

Andy and Rashida speaking to Koh after the press conference. — LIM BENG TATT/The Star

MOHAMAD Andy Hakimi Abdullah has always wanted to march with his school’s Youth Cadet Corps, but he cannot do so because he has adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (spinal curvature).

The 14-year-old SMK Bukit Jambul student used to play handball at school, but had to stop as he got breathless easily and could not walk far.

“I feel very frustrated because I can only do limited activities,” he said at a press conference to appeal for funds to undergo posterior instrumentation on thoracic and lumbar spine and thoracoplasty surgery at the Penang Adventist Hospital on Oct 18.

The total cost of surgery is RM130,000 and the Penang Adventist Hospital Charity Fund (PAHCF) committee has approved a disbursement of RM50,000 for Andy.

Andy’s mother Rashida M. Abdul Gafor, 51, said the family took a RM1.5mil insurance for him when he was young, but their claim for the surgery was rejected.

She first noticed Andy’s curved spine sometime in March as he was not walking right.

“He also started to feel tired most of the time,” she said, adding that her son was an excellent student.

Rashida said doctors did not recommend physiotherapy for Andy as his spine was curved at more than 40 degrees.

“Doctors told me that after the surgery, his spine will be back to normal and his lung function will improve,” she added.

Penang Adventist Hospital president and chief executive officer Ronald Koh said Andy needed surgery urgently and appealed for public support to raise the balance of RM80,000.

Those wishing to contribute can make out their donations to the Penang Adventist Hospital Charity Fund’s CIMB account number 8605007005.

For details, contact 012-410 2223 (PAHCF charity manager Jenny Ooi) or 04-222 7644 (medical welfare officer Tan Hui Nee).