Little Tino Wong needs help with liver transplant costs.
SIBU hawker Wong Sie Deng and wife Ngu Fui Tin urgently need the public’s help to raise RM200,000 for their six month-old son, Tino, who is scheduled for a liver transplant at Renji Hospital in Shanghai, China.
“A recent blood test showed that his bilirubin level has risen to over 400 (micromoles per litre),” said Wong of the infant, who was diagnosed with biliary atresia.
“Doctors have warned that time is running out.
“Currently, they are vaccinating him and using a feeding machine to pump milk into his body, with the main goal of providing necessary nutrition.”
Tino Wong Huan Yan was born on March 19 and at first, everything was normal – no jaundice, normal bowel movements.
However, following a check-up at the government clinic on April 5, doctors suggested a liver function test.
“The results showed a dangerously high bilirubin level, so we immediately brought him to Sibu Hospital’s paediatric department.
“The hospital then contacted Sarawak General Hospital’s paediatric surgery team.
“From late April he underwent a series of tests and was eventually diagnosed with biliary atresia.”
Although the liver disease has been known for decades, its cause is unknown.
“The incidence is about one in 20,000 to 30,000 newborns,” said Wong.
Since the diagnosis, the distraught parents have been by their son’s bed in the hospital as he needs to take a large number of medications daily and undergo frequent blood tests.
“His hands are constantly being pricked with needles, and he cries and struggles in pain.
“I pray for a miracle so our child can have a second chance at life,” said Wong, who has two older children.
The Community Care Enrichment Programme (CCEP) Foundation has extended its help to raise money for Tino’s surgery.
Its group chief executive officer Yvonne Yee said the infant underwent a Kasai procedure to correct the condition on May 27 in Kuching.
However, on July 15, doctors informed the family that the surgery was unsuccessful and a liver transplant was urgently needed.
She said Tino weighed just 5.7kg while the standard range for his age is 6.5kg to 8kg.
He relies on 40ml of a special formula milk every hour with breast milk.
Yee said Tino’s parents flew from Sibu to Kuala Lumpur and admitted him to the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre.
“His mother has taken one year of unpaid leave from her job as office administrator, while his father has handed over his food stall business to his parents.
“Since their son’s hospitalisation, the medical expenses have exceeded RM5,000 and Wong is deeply worried about the upcoming surgery costs and travel expenses to Shanghai.
“They only have a little over RM10,000 in savings – not enough to cover the current hospital bill let alone flight tickets and surgery overseas,” added Yee.
Emphasising that the baby’s condition is severe, Yee is appealing to the public to help save the child’s life.
All donations managed by the CCEP Foundation are tax-exempt.
For details, call 03-7955 9999 or 010-279 8849.
