DUBAI // A one-year-old baby who is in desperate need of a life-saving liver transplant will have to be moved to Taiwan for her operation.
Aleeyah Carungay has a potentially fatal congenital liver disease and is in and out of intensive care on a weekly basis at a hospital in Manila, in the Philippines.
Her mother Grace, who works as a receptionist in Abu Dhabi, said her hopes of getting an operation for her daughter in the Philippines in the next few weeks had been dashed after the latest in several setbacks.
“Unfortunately, the doctors at the hospital told us that the soonest they could do an operation for Aleeyah was at the end of June,” she said.
The delay was caused because a liver operation on another child, originally scheduled for April 7, had to be postponed until May.
“That is far too late for Aleeyah because the doctors treating her don’t think she’ll survive that long,” said Mrs Carungay.
Aleeyah became so ill last month that she was admitted to hospital with internal bleeding and had to stay in intensive care for two weeks.
“We were really worried because at one point her lips turned white and her blood pressure dropped,” she said.
“It was so bad that her doctor came in at 4am to see her, even though she was off-duty, and we were advised to call a priest.”
More bad news came when Mrs Carungay was told that her sister, who was to be the liver donor, could not do so after developing a problem with her thyroid gland. “Fortunately, I am a matching donor so I will now take my sister’s place in the operation,” said Aleeyah’s mother.
Last month, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, stepped in with a donation of Dh160,000 to help pay for the operation and subsequently agreed to pay for all related costs.
Mrs Carungay has decided to take her daughter to Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei, which has one of the highest liver transplant success rates in Asia.
Aleeyah, her mother and aunt will all fly out to Taiwan and they will have to stay for about three months for the post-op recovery.
“I am so thankful to the UAE and Sheikh Mohammed for what he has done for us, not just once but twice,” said Mrs Carungay.
They are now waiting for visas to allow them to travel but Aleeyah is so unwell that she needs to be escorted by a medical team of two doctors and equipment.
Mrs Carungay is now contacting International SOS to find two doctors who could accompany them.
Aleeyah will now hopefully get her operation during the second week of May.
The little girl had biliary atresia diagnosed after her mother noticed she was jaundiced when she was two-months-old.
The disease causes inflammation in the bile ducts, leading to duct damage that reduces the flow of bile and scars the liver.
Bile carries toxins and waste out of the body and helps it to digest fats and absorb vitamins.
Mrs Carungay flies back to the Philippines on Sunday to continue to make arrangements for travel to Taiwan.
nhanif@thenational.ae
