GEORGE TOWN, Dec 16 — Four-year-old Joshua Thian from Sarawak, who was suffering from a congenital heart defect, is now healthy and active just like any other child.
He can now carry on with life after successfully undergoing a heart correction surgery on December 4.
Joshua got a new lease on life thanks to generous donors, notably a Penang-based non-governmental organisation, Gift of Life (GOL), and Rotarians from his hometown of Kuching as well as Penang.
Joshua, who suffered from tetralogy of fallot (TOF), looked cheerful at a press conference held recently at the Penang Adventist Hospital (PAH).
Joshua’s mother, 30-year-old Indonesian Yosepa Eva, expressed gratitude to the generous sponsors who funded her son’s surgery.
“I could not be happier to see him cured of his illness. I don’t have the capacity to return the favour to all of them, but I hope God can do it on my behalf,” said the grateful mother.
Also present were GOL chairman Ranjit Singh, Rotary Club Penang president William Wee, Rotary Club Tanjung Bungah president John Loh Geok Hoo and PAH chief executive officer Dr Wesley Toh See Wei.
When they learnt that their son’s surgery would cost RM50,000, Yosepa and her husband, lorry driver Thian Paw Poh, 35, were devastated.
Fears of losing their only child crept in as they could not raise the money for the surgery on their own with a monthly household income of RM1,800.
His parents could not get him free medical treatment at public hospitals in Sarawak because he did not have a birth certificate as his parents’ marriage was not registered in the state.
But the couple were able to breathe a huge sigh of relief when the Kuching Central Rotary Club approached them and offered to get help from other NGOs to help bear the cost of the surgery for their son.
GOL donated RM19,000 while the Kuching Central Rotary Club contributed RM 13,000.
The Rotary club branches of Penang and Tanjung Bungah donated RM2,000 and RM 1,900 respectively, while the family also received public donations amounting to RM15,300.
On November 30, the Immigration Department issued a special travel document to allow Joshua to travel to Penang for the surgery, thanks to assistance from the Kuching Central Rotary Club.
The family arrived in Penang on December 1 and Joshua underwent a five-hour procedure at the Gleneagles Medical Centre.
He was discharged from hospital four days later, and will go for regular medical check-ups at a public hospital in Kuching until fully recovered.
“I brought him out to the beach in Penang after he was discharged and he enjoyed himself. He was running here and there for quite a long time, something that he was not able to do when he was sick,” said an elated Yosepa.
Yosepa Eva is a relieved mother as son Joshua has been cured of his heart defect. — Picture by Mohamed Basyir
Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com/stateless-boy-gets-lease-life-233000434.html