Baby Aylah gets Angel help to mend her heart
At only three months old, baby Aylah Botha has been hospitalised with Meningitis, COVID-19, and breathing difficulty, and, recently, her parents received the diagnosis that their baby has two life-threatening holes in her heart.
Baby Aylah Botha from Pretoria is three months old today. She is her mom Jua-Rike and dad JJ’s first little bundle of joy. Like most new parents, they counted the weeks to her birth with love and excitement.
Everything went so well, although she had some infant jaundice, which is very common in newborns, and then she got ill.
At three weeks of age, she was in hospital with Meningitis, COVID-19, and breathing difficulties.
She constantly struggles with her immune system and oxygen levels, and then her parents got the diagnosis that her heart had two holes, causing her little body to work harder to perform normal functions.
Initially, it was hoped that the holes would close, but now, they have become life-threatening and baby Aylah will have to undergo heart surgery within the next month, as soon as her weight picks up a little more than the four kilograms she currently weighs.
Mom Jua-Rike has been by her side all along and cannot return to work as a hairdresser. Dad JJ works to keep the family going and to afford their medical aid.
Even though they have medical cover, they have to pay 25% of the bill before she is operated on. With their medical aid already depleted and their co-payment projected to be over R100,000, friends and family have rallied around this young family and reached out to Good Morning Angels for assistance.
REQUEST FOR: Baby Aylah, mom Jua-Rike, and dad JJ Botha
REQUEST FROM: Various listeners including Johannes Prinsloo
ANGEL 1: Sumarie Greybe, co-founder of Naked Insurance www.naked.insure
SPONSORING: Naked Insurance will donate R50,000 towards baby Aylah Botha's medical needs and operations - as part of the Naked Difference. The Naked Difference programme ensures that in years when claims are lower than expected, Naked Insurance donates leftover premiums to good causes instead of taking it as profit.
ANGEL 2: The Good Morning Angels Fund NPC
SPONSORING: The Good Morning Angels Fund will match the donation, with another R50,000 towards Baby Aylah's medical treatment and needs.
ORIGINAL REQUEST:
Good morning to the "Good Morning Angels" team,
I'm writing this request on behalf of my cousin and husband (Jua-Rike and JJ Botha) for their baby girl Aylah Botha who is in need of financial aid for little Aylah due to medical reasons.
Aylah was born on 3 January 2024 (not 3 months old yet) with a heart defect which is now threatening little Aylah's life. The defect to her heart is due to small holes, which the Doctors hoped would heal itself and close as she gets older. The Doctors monitored her closely and these holes never closed and healed.
Due to the defect, Aylah is struggling with her immune system and oxygen levels due to her body needing to work additional to compensate for the heart defect. Due to her immune system being vulnerable, she cannot be in contact with outside people as her body cannot fight any sickness. Further she is not gaining any weight due to her body utilising additional energy for normal functions such as eating and breathing. She has been in and out of hospital from her birth.
Last week little Aylah was hospitalised again. She has COVID, not gaining weight and trouble with oxygen levels. The Doctors originally hoped that no operation would be necessary, and if needed, would only be at 4 months old. The cardiologist has indicated on Monday that the operation is now urgent and that she will need the operation as soon as she turns three months and hopefully gained weight to 4kg. She is currently on a feeding and oxygen tube to assist her life functions as her body is struggling with these functions. Aylah and her mother, Jua-Rike, are currently in isolation in the Zuid-Afrikaans Hospital in Pretoria where Aylah is treated.
The operation is estimated at a cost of R400,000, which will include Aylah being in hospital for 6 days post-operation. The cost could be more, if she had to be in hospital longer than 6 days post-operation. The medical aid will pay for 75% of the costs, but Aylah's parents must pay 25% of the amount before little Aylah can be admitted for the needed operation. The amount needed currently is around R100 000 for the operation. The operation is currently planned for April 2024 after Aylah turns 3 months on 3 April 2024 and if she gains proper weight.
In addition, Jua-Rike and JJ are under additional financial strain, as Jua-Rike cannot work at the moment as she is staying with Aylah in hospital, and she has her own hair salon, and she cannot be in contact with people from outside for the fear of germs and diseases close to Aylah.
I know that the "Good Morning Angels" team is overrun with requests from people in need, but if possible, could consider changing little Aylah's life and health? Aylah is Jua-Rike and JJ's first child and I know that they would only want the best life for little Aylah, as any parent would.
Thank you for "Good Morning Angels" for spreading hope and joy in difficult times. Thank you for the opportunity on behalf of Aylah's parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, family and friends.
Yours sincerely,
Johannes Prinsloo
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