Nearly 15,000 donors around the world have raised RM1.2 million to save a premature Malaysian baby born in Singapore, just a day after an urgent fundraising exercise was launched to aid her hefty medical expenses.
Earlier on, Penang-based One Hope Charity & Welfare shared on its website about the baby girl, named Eloise Ang Xuan Rui, who was born at only 670 grams.
Initially, Eloise’s parents, Ang Theam Seah, 32, and Koh Pei Ying, 29, both working in Singapore, had planned to deliver their first child in Sungai Petani in Kedah, but the mother developed sudden abdominal pain on 19 Feb.
Koh felt the pain in her abdomen again on 21 Feb, where she was rushed to the hospital for a medical checkup and was found to be dilating.
One Hope Charity stated that Koh was injected with gesterol in the hopes that her child will remain in her womb until the right time comes for delivery. She ended up giving birth to Eloise on 22 Feb at 3 am.
“As she only lived inside the fetus for only 24 weeks, the doctors immediately put her in NICU for incubation for around 160 days. She can only leave the incubator on her expected date of delivery and when her condition becomes stable,” it added.
Noting that Eloise was born in less than 28 weeks, the non-profit organisation said it makes her a “micro-preemie”.
The doctor advised that she must stay inside the incubator, but the parents would need to pay for the medical expenses, estimated to be around S$400,000, which is equivalent to approximately RM1.25 million.
It noted that the couple can only bear around RM50,000 worth of medical expenses and they hope that One Hope Charity could bear the rest of the expenses.
“One Hope Charity will be in contact with the hospital in Singapore. We believe that we will cooperate with the hospital and, for the sake of little Eloise, would consider lowering the medical fee,” it added.
To help them cover Eloise’s medical expenses, the charity organisation launched a fundraising exercise on Sunday (28 Feb).
On Tuesday (2 March), BERNAMA reported that One Hope Charity achieved its goal to raise RM1.2 million within 29 hours after launching the donation campaign.
“Not only the donations were received from benevolent donors in Malaysia, but contributions could also be traced all the way from Singapore, Brunei, Taiwan, United States and many other countries, giving the blessings to the strong-willed micro preemie,” it said.
One Hope Charity’s founder and chairman Chua Sui Hau told Malay Mail that they are in the midst of transferring the sum to the hospital in Singapore.
“We will liaise directly with the hospital to make payment and ensure the child receives the necessary treatment,” said Mr Chua.
Netizens pray for Eloise’s health, say that her story shows there are “kind-hearted humans everywhere”
Over on social media, netizens penned their good wishes under the comment section of TODAY’s Facebook post, praying for Eloise’s health.
Some netizens pointed out that Eloise’s story showed that there are “kind-hearted humans everywhere”.
