BUKIT MERTAJAM – A 32-year-old saleswoman who went to the hospital to have her pain treated was left speechless when she was told that she was about to deliver, and gave birth to a premature baby a short while later.
Recounting the experience that she underwent last month, Nurazani Ahmadon said that her ordeal has not ended as her son was born with defects in his organs.
Newborn Muhammad Mikael suffers from incomplete growth of lungs and had ingested his own meconium while in the womb.
The baby had to be placed in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for the first two weeks, incurring treatment costs exceeding RM45,000.
“I was pregnant after three years of marriage and had difficulty urinating. The doctors found I had a gallstone problem,” she said.
“By the end of February I became uncomfortable and brought my employee insurance card to the hospital to receive treatment for a kidney stone problem.
“While examining me, the doctor found that the cause of the discomfort I was experiencing was that I was about to deliver. In about 20 minutes I gave birth to a seven-month-old premature baby.
“However, the baby boy was born with various health problems and needed to be placed in an incubator at the NICU,” she said.
She alleged that she was abandoned by her husband after she gave birth.
Unable to settle her medical costs, which have since risen to RM50,000, with her monthly pay of RM2,250, she approached One Hope Charity and Welfare for help.
NGO chairman Datuk Chua Sui Hau said that since Nurazani can only cover RM5,000 of these costs, it has decided to raise the remaining funds for the infant’s treatment.
Chua said the baby, born weighing only 2.1kg, had to undergo treatment for two weeks to save his life.
“We decided to raise the remaining money and we appeal to the members of the public to donate generously to save the life of the baby,” he said.
Members of the public who wish to donate can call 016-419-2192, 019-232-2192 or 04-539-9212.
In another development, Chua said One Hope Charity and Welfare distributed 3,000 units of Covid-19 rapid self-test kits to the prison in Sg Jawi.
The group had previously donated other equipment such as face masks, body temperature gauges, and oximeters to the Penang prisons in an effort to combat the Covid-19 epidemic.
The donation event was held at the One Hope office in Bukit Mertajam, which was attended by Seberang Perai Prisons director Khairil Nizam bin Anuar, deputy director S. Tanabal, and One Hope Charity advisor Datuk Seri R. Arunasalam.
Khairil Nizam said the Sg Jawi prison currently holds about 2,000 inmates, 80% of them men and 20% women.
“If a positive case occurs, the prison has a special room to quarantine the infected. The nearby Health Department usually visits the prisons to conduct daily inspections and monitoring,” he said. – The Vibes, March 14, 2022
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