A baby who was born prematurely in Singapore after just six months in the womb must now be monitored in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for the first three months of his life.
Unfortunately, this has caused his medical bills to pile up, reported the China Press.
Source: China Press
His family, who are Malaysians, now needs about S$460,000 for his hospitalisation.
On 21 Aug, the pregnant wife of a Malaysian working in Singapore named Jiang Yipeng (transliterated from Mandarin) came here to visit him with their five-year-old son.
Unexpectedly, she developed pregnancy-induced hypertension and was forced to undergo an emergency caesarean section while in Singapore.
The baby, Junxuan, was born three months early and weighed 705g.
This meant he had to be warded in the neonatal ICU at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH).
Source: Google Maps
Speaking to members of the media at a press conference in Padang Lembu, a village in Kedah state, Junxuan’s grandfather Jiang Tingfeng (transliterated from Mandarin) said his grandson was on life support at KKH.
He needs the help of a ventilator to breathe, and it was “heartbreaking” to see him surrounded by tubes and machines, he said.
While the boy is still in critical condition, he also faces certain complications due to his extremely premature birth.
This includes the inability to drink milk normally as his oesophagus was not fully developed yet.
Compounding the family’s worries are the prohibitive medical bills they have to foot.
As of 28 Aug, the amount had exceeded S$40,000 — and this was just the cost of the mother’s surgery and hospitalisation, Mr Jiang said.
Because Junxuan will have to be monitored in the ICU for 120 days, this will cost them another S$460,000, he added.
Calling it an “insurmountable financial challenge”, the grandfather said the family has already exhausted their savings to pay for the initial expenses.
The chairman of a charity organisation in Padang Lembu said the Jiangs turned to them for help as they were at their wits’ end.
The group has already donated RM50,000 (S$15,000). Combined with the efforts of the villagers, they can raise only RM150,000 (S$45,100) at most.
Additionally, social workers at KKH have managed to raise RM300,000 (S$90,000) — well short of the S$460,000 needed.
Thus, the charity decided to appeal for help from the public.
Those who’re interested in helping or who have questions may call the chairman Chen Shunfa (+60 019-442 5313), or Datuk Lim (+60 019-282 1199) and Mr Huang (+60 019-414 8544) from the organisation.
Also read: Premature Baby Born With Breathing Difficulties In S’pore, Parents Seek Donations For Medical Bills
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Featured image adapted from China Press.
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