Pretoria – After weeks of raising funds to perform a life saving operation on her heart, brave Kyleigh, who has missed death by centimetres several times, celebrated her fourth birthday after receiving R5 million from needed to save her life.
Kyleigh celebrated her birthday on Wednesday, a day after her parents had transferred R5 million to a hospital in the US so that they can perform a sophisticated surgery on her heart.
Sounding ecstatic while speaking to IOL, Serina Kista, the mother of Baby Kyleigh, said only now that she feels like she can finally breathe again.
“We can see a future for Kyleigh, it was our deep desire to see her grow up and live a full life ... We had so many supporters through this journey, so many friends, family and strangers who have become our family.”
Ever since she was born, Kyleigh has been in and out of hospital and has undergone several operations.
“At one week old she picked (up) CRV, a superbug with 50 percent mortality rate and resulted in her having to isolate from her own brother and sister for over a year.
“At two weeks old, she picked up respiratory syncytial virus, which is a severe lung infection and ended up in ICU for almost two months. At two and a half, she had a first open heart surgery and the next morning at 4am, the surgeon called to say her heart stopped but he managed to get her back. By the time we got to the hospital they said her kidneys stopped functioning and she was put in dialysis,” Kista said at the time.
During one of her hospital visits, the surgeon informed the family that at three, her major aortopulmonary collateral arteries would start closing and without the surgery, Kyleigh won’t make it.
That’s when Kyleigh’s parents learned about a hospital in Boston in the United States, which charged R5m to perform the procedure.
Kyleigh will fly to the US with her parents in March, where the first procedure will be performed on March 22, followed by the open heart surgery on March 24.
However, this does not mean the fight is over for Kyleigh, “she will need medication after surgery”.
“We are not sure what medication will be needed, they will advise us after the surgery is done,” her mother said.
“She will need annual check-ups and most likely a valve replacement when she is older.”
But for now, there is hope for Kyleigh, after the gift of R5m, from generous donors in South Africa and the world over.
IOL