Pretoria - The mother of brave Kyleigh who has missed death by centimetres several times, is desperate for donations to help save her baby whose heart condition requires sophisticated surgery.
Serina Kista, the mother of Baby Kyleigh, has detailed how her daughter has been wrestling with death from the day she was born and diagnosed with a fatal heart condition.
“At one week old she picked CRV, a superbug with 50% 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 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 explained.
As if that wasn’t enough, the heart surgery failed and led the then 8-months-old Kyleigh to undergo yet another surgery which opened a door for more complications.
“A week after she was discharged, she picked up pneumonia and was in ICU for two weeks and when we got home a week later she picked up Bocavirus and went into heart failure, but she still survived.”
Just when they thought she was recovering, when she was one and a half, Kyleigh’s family was told the surgery had failed and a third surgery had to be done.
“The obstacles have been many but she is still here, fighting to live,” her mother said sounding hopeful.
Speaking to IOL on Tuesday, 37-year-old Kista from Benoni explained that her daughter has faced many obstacles throughout her young life.
“She is on blood thinners to ensure this conduit does not get blocked, and she needs to eat as much as possible since she struggles to gain weight, we even feed with a syringe so as not to strain her.”
The surgeon informed the family that at three, her Major aortopulmonary collateral arteries would start closing which is what is happening now, without the surgery, Kyleigh won’t make it.
Kyleigh’s parents contacted the hospital in Boston in the United States via email asking for a price reduction on the near R4.5m medical bill, but they were told the operation had already been costed at cost price and could not be reduced any further.
Currently, Kyleigh doesn’t go to creche due to the risks.
“She can’t run, she gets out of breath quickly. She also can’t fall on her chest, that’s why we don’t send her to school, someone could hurt her mistakenly,” her mother explained.
If everything goes well, Kyleigh can only go to creche when she is five.
Kista said she has two older children, a 14-year-old boy and 7-year-old girl and it would mean a lot to them to get the funds for Kyleigh’s surgery.
“It would mean Kyleigh gets the opportunity to live a happy, normal and long life without pain and suffering, without constant hospital visit.”
To keep hope alive for Kyleigh, donate here: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/kyleigh-kista
IOL