VIDEO: Pinetown baby diagnosed with heart disorder needs your urgent help
"Our plea to the public is to please help us give our baby a chance to live. That's ultimately all that we ask. No matter the size of the donation, every cent helps." - mother, Roxanne Pennington.
A CHANCE for their baby to live, is all a Pinetown couple is asking for.
Roxanne Pennington and Kerwin Fortein need to raise R400 000 for a lifesaving operation for their baby, Hollyn.
Hollyn was born pre-term at seven and half months on 16 February 2019.
Soon after her birth tests were run for Down Syndrome, she was diagnosed with Hypoglycemia.
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“After being discharged about two weeks later from King Dinuzulu Hospital, further tests confirmed she has complete AVSD (Atrioventricular Septal Defect). This is a heart disorder. In simple terms, Hollyn has two holes in her heart, both said to be 7mm wide,” said Roxanne.
Hollyn is two days away from turning four months and the sad reality is that she needs an operation before she turns six months old.
Roxanne said eThekwini Heart Hospital has started a foundation to assist in raising funds for babies with the same condition.
“Hollyn is currently on medication for cardiac failure. Her heart is working too hard and too much of fluid is getting into her lungs. Our plea to the public is to please help us give our baby a chance to live. That’s ultimately all that we ask. No matter the size of the donation, every cent helps.
Roxanne said she cannot go back to work until her baby is 100 per cent.
“This has put a huge financial strain on us as well.
“Our weeks involve visits to hospitals such as Inkosi Albert Luthuli, King Edward, Mccords and King Dinuzulu. These can be two different hospital visits per week and sometimes just one visit week,” said the mom.
To donate go to clickndonate.com (https://clickndonate.com/hollyns-heart-matters-goal-r-400-000/).
The Children’s Cardiac Foundation of Africa needs your help
The Foundation is on a mission to raise funds needed for life-saving surgery for children who suffer from Congenital Heart Disease (CHD).
Consumers and corporates alike can help, no amount is too big or too small – all donations are welcome. Visit crowdfunding page to support today: https://www.givengain.com/cc/tccfa
Fast facts about Congenital Heart Disease (CHD):
-1 in 100 children are born with a congenital heart defect.
-CHD is about 60 times more prevalent that childhood cancer and 25 times more common than cystic fibrosis.
– South African children born with CHD are placed on surgical waiting lists which can be up to 1 000 patients long. Without adequate financing, often this can result in years of waiting before they receive the surgical treatment they need, if there is still time.
– Despite the fact that CHD’s, once diagnosed, are mostly treatable, more than 3 000 South African children die or remain disabled each year while waiting for surgery.
For the rest of Africa, there are an estimated 335 000 annual CHD births, half of whom will die within a few years of birth.
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