X
theAsianparent Logo
theAsianparent Logo
Product GuideSign in
  • Awards
    • Parents' Choice Awards 2023
  • Pregnancy
    • Due date calculator
    • I'm pregnant
    • Trying To Conceive
    • Labour
    • After birth
    • Baby loss
  • Parenting
    • Parent's Guide
    • Relationship & Sex
  • Child
    • Newborn
    • Baby
    • Toddler
    • Pre-Schooler
    • Kid
    • Pre-Teen & Teen
  • Feeding & Nutrition
    • Diseases-Injuries
    • Breastfeeding & Formula
    • Meal Planner
    • Health
    • Allergies & Conditions
    • Vaccinations
  • Education
    • Pre-School
    • Primary School
    • Secondary School
    • Primary School Directory
  • Lifestyle
    • Money
    • Travel & Leisure
    • Fashion
    • Home
    • Fitness
    • Contests & promotions
  • News
    • International
    • Health
    • Celebrity
    • Singapore
  • TAP Recommends
  • Shopping
  • Press Releases
  • Project Sidekicks
  • Community
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Become A Contributor
  • VIP

Heart Failure In Babies: Heartbroken Singapore Dad Shares His Grief

5 min read
Heart Failure In Babies: Heartbroken Singapore Dad Shares His Grief

This story of a baby girl dying from heart disease highlights the need for more facilities to treat heart failure in babies in Singapore...

Eight days after her first birthday, little Ho Yuan En Jovelynn’s infant care teachers found out that her lips had suddenly turned purple and she was very lethargic.

Her worried parents took her to KK Hospital, where she was diagnosed with heart failure.

Sadly, baby Jovelynn passed away on 17 February 2018, on the second day of Chinese New Year. She was only 20 months old.

Her heartbroken father, Jason Ho, shares his grief with theAsianparent. He hopes there were will be more facilities to treat heart failure in babies in Singapore.

“Singapore is so advanced but nothing can be done to save my daughter”, says Jason…

Heart failure in babies: Singapore dad shares his grief

heart failure in babies

You might have read about Jason before. He and his wife had met with an accident while going to visit their critically ill baby in hospital…

Jason works as Sales Executive, and his wife Cindy Lim works as Clinic Assistant. The couple are also parents to Ho Yuan Kai Jovan,10, and Ho Yuan Le Javier, 4.

Jason tells us that family history was the cause of Jovelynn’s illness, “I myself am a heart transplant patient. I suffered heart failure when I was 15 years old. My mother is also a heart failure patient.”

Doctors at KK Hospital had diagnosed Jovelynn with cardiomyopathy. 

The heart disease had impaired the baby girl’s growth and development.

Says Jason, “She was learning to walk, jump, crawl and talk, but after she started on medication she had no strength to do all that.”

“For the first 6 months, she was on medication but when her doctor resigned from KKH there was a month without a specialist. That was when her condition turned from bad to worse.”

“She was in and out of hospital for 8 months. Then later, when her condition worsened, she had to be warded in NUH paediatric ICU for 2 months.”

Dealing with the loss of a child…

heart failure in babies

As parents, we cannot imagine what Jason and his wife would have gone through…

Jason shares, “We can accept that she is no more, but my heart still aches in sadness. Whenever I see her pictures, I still cry.”

“My wife also misses her badly…when anyone mentions her name or she sees her pictures or videos she will cry badly…”

“Jovelynn’s elder brother, who is 10 years old, understands what happened. He also has this condition (although in a mild form) and is on medication. My younger son does not understand much as he is still quite young.”

Jason also talks about his regrets, “We regret that we couldn’t do much for her, take her overseas, or even bring her out to see the stars or lights. My little girl loved the lights a lot, and she loved to go out.”

“We also regret not taking more family photos with her. We wanted to take 1 last family photo but we couldn’t.”

There are some valuable life lessons that only death can teach us…

And Jason has this advice for all parents, “Love your children more, they are God’s gifts.”

“I always wanted a girl. When I first found out that my third child was a girl, I was super happy. But happiness won’t last, you never know what will happen tomorrow…”

“So please treasure the time you have with your children.”

Heart failure in babies in Singapore

Heart Failure In Babies: Heartbroken Singapore Dad Shares His Grief

Partner Stories
4 Good Toilet Hygiene Habits for Kids to Have Early in Life
4 Good Toilet Hygiene Habits for Kids to Have Early in Life
Flu in Singapore: Is Your Family Protected?
Flu in Singapore: Is Your Family Protected?
6 Top Ways to Prevent Diaper Rash
6 Top Ways to Prevent Diaper Rash
Experiencing Mood Swings, Irregular Periods and Weight Gain Among Other Things? Here’s What You Need to Know About Hormonal Imbalance
Experiencing Mood Swings, Irregular Periods and Weight Gain Among Other Things? Here’s What You Need to Know About Hormonal Imbalance

This father remains disappointed that he was unable to save his own daughter, “In Singapore there is no heart transplant program for children.”

It is true that Singapore does not have a paediatric heart transplant programme. Malaysia, China, India, Japan and Thailand are among the many countries in the region where paediatric heart transplants have been performed.

According to Associate Professor Quek Swee Chye of NUH, in Singapore, the main barrier to starting a paediatric heart transplant programme is the lack of donor hearts.

Dr. Chye has been quoted as telling Channel NewsAsia earlier, “For kids, there are different ages and sizes from newborns, infants, to toddlers, children, adolescents. You have to have a heart that is of fairly similar size. That’s a major difficulty compared to the adult population.”

Countries where paediatric heart transplants have been performed usually have a larger population and a bigger donor pool.

Also, children are not covered under Singapore’s Human Organ Transplant Act, which allows doctors to recover the kidneys, liver, heart and corneas from the bodies of all Singaporean citizens and permanent residents of sound mind if they die for any reason, unless they opt out.

We hope that Singapore can one day develop a paediatric heart transplant programme, so that babies like Jovelynn have a better chance of survival.

Daddy Jason’s words are heart-wrenching, “If I could, I would give up my heart and give to her…” 🙁

 

*This article is from our archives.

ALSO READ: Facts About Heart Failure In Children

Got a parenting concern? Read articles or ask away and get instant answers on our app. Download theAsianparent Community on iOS or Android now!

img
Written by

Jaya

  • Home
  • /
  • Health
  • /
  • Heart Failure In Babies: Heartbroken Singapore Dad Shares His Grief
Share:
  • Must-know Facts About Heart Failure in Kids: Can It Be Prevented?

    Must-know Facts About Heart Failure in Kids: Can It Be Prevented?

  • Don't Overlook These 6 Heart Attack Symptoms!

    Don't Overlook These 6 Heart Attack Symptoms!

  • Xiang Yun and Edmund Chen Were Forced to Reveal Marriage When They Saw Media Waiting for Them at Rom

    Xiang Yun and Edmund Chen Were Forced to Reveal Marriage When They Saw Media Waiting for Them at Rom

  • ‘You Will Always Be a Part of Us’: Singaporean Family Gives Helper of 20 Years ‘Long Service Award’

    ‘You Will Always Be a Part of Us’: Singaporean Family Gives Helper of 20 Years ‘Long Service Award’

  • Must-know Facts About Heart Failure in Kids: Can It Be Prevented?

    Must-know Facts About Heart Failure in Kids: Can It Be Prevented?

  • Don't Overlook These 6 Heart Attack Symptoms!

    Don't Overlook These 6 Heart Attack Symptoms!

  • Xiang Yun and Edmund Chen Were Forced to Reveal Marriage When They Saw Media Waiting for Them at Rom

    Xiang Yun and Edmund Chen Were Forced to Reveal Marriage When They Saw Media Waiting for Them at Rom

  • ‘You Will Always Be a Part of Us’: Singaporean Family Gives Helper of 20 Years ‘Long Service Award’

    ‘You Will Always Be a Part of Us’: Singaporean Family Gives Helper of 20 Years ‘Long Service Award’

Get advice on your pregnancy and growing baby. Sign up for our newsletter
  • Pregnancy
    • Baby
    • Education
    • Events
    • Allergies & Conditions
  • Family Occasions
    • Breastfeeding & Formula
    • Child Safety
    • Health
    • Diseases-Injuries
  • Lifestyle
    • Home
    • Money
    • Feeding & Nutrition
    • Diet & Weightloss
  • Normal Delivery
    • Cesarean Delivery
    • Behaviour
    • Secondary School
    • Formula Feeding
  • Ages & Stages
    • Latching & Concerns
    • Festivals & Holidays
    • Education
    • Pre-teen & Teen
  • More
    • TAP Community
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contact Us
    • Become a Contributor


  • Singapore flag Singapore
  • Thailand flag Thailand
  • Indonesia flag Indonesia
  • Philippines flag Philippines
  • Malaysia flag Malaysia
  • Sri-Lanka flag Sri Lanka
  • India flag India
  • Vietnam flag Vietnam
  • Australia flag Australia
  • Japan flag Japan
  • Nigeria flag Nigeria
  • Kenya flag Kenya
© Copyright theAsianparent 2023. All rights reserved
About Us|Team|Privacy Policy|Terms of Use |Sitemap HTML
  • Tools
  • Articles
  • Feed
  • Poll

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Learn MoreOk, Got it

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Learn MoreOk, Got it

theAsianparent heart icon
We’d like to send you notifications for the latest news and updates on baby care and health.