The sad plight of a little baby has come to light in Singapore. This baby suffers from Apert Syndrome, and her parents are badly in need of help to support her treatment. We request our readers to please help in whatever way they can; every dollar counts…
Baby with Apert Syndrome in Singapore
10-month-old Rizky Ramadhani,was born in Malaysia, and diagnosed with Apert Syndrome on the very first day. In January this year, her father got transferred to Singapore. She is currently being treated at KK Hospital (KKH).
Apert syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that causes abnormal development of the skull. Chief symptoms of this disorder are:
- A head that is long, with a high forehead
- Wide-set, bulging eyes, often with poorly-closing eyelids
- A sunken middle face
- Abnormal fusion of the bones of the hands and feet, with webbed or mitten-like hands or feet
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Poor intellectual development (in some children)
- Heart, gastrointestinal, or urinary system problems.
- Repeated ear or sinus infections
- Hearing loss
Baby Rizky also suffers from most of these symptoms. Her skull and face are abnormally shaped, and all her fingers and toes are fused together, causing her thumbs to be swollen and infected.
She is also unable to close her eyes while sleeping, that caused dry eyes infection when she was 3 months old. Her parents have to apply eye drops every two hours, and tape her eyes closed while sleeping, to avoid dry eyes and infection. She suffers difficulty in breathing.
She also suffers from Ventricular Septal Defect, a congenital heart disease, and mild hernia at the right side of the groin.
PHOTO: GIVE.ASIA
Give.Asia page set up
Baby Rizky needs surgery, for forehead advancement, to give more room for her brain to grow normally, and also to help close her eyelids while she sleeps. Another surgery involves the separation of her finger bones.
The estimated cost of surgery is around 55,000 SGD and her parents are not covered by any insurance. They have run out of money to support the costs of surgery and have requested for help through a Give.Asia page titled, “Help Baby Rizky Fight Apert Syndrome”.
If she does not get surgery done soon, baby Rizky’s brain will not be able to develop properly, and she may suffer from mental retardation or have low IQ. This will not be the only surgery though, she might need multiple surgical procedures until she is 12 years old.
Baby Rizky is mummy Duong Thi Hai Nhi and daddy Eko Susilo’s only child.
Mummy Hai Nhi has been quoted by The New Paper as saying, “I hope for Rizky to be healthy and grow up like a normal kid. I see my baby is suffering and in a lot of pain. I have to be responsible for her, take good care of her. I’m very happy to have her. I love her so much.”
Our heart bleeds to see a little baby suffering so much. We hope and pray that she gets help for her treatment, and recovers soon.
Also READ: Singapore baby with hydrocephalus in need of help!
(Source: Give.Asia, The Straits Times, The New Paper, WebMD)
