CAPE TOWN - Since the start of her life, eight-month old Liané Roux from Secunda, Mpumalanga, has faced a number of serious health issues as a result of being born with three congenital heart defects.
Concerned that their daughter, who was four-months-old at the time, was showing signs of a fever, had difficulty breathing, and was tired all the time, doting parents Ashley, 26, and Quintin Roux, 36, took her to their local hospital, where she was initially diagnosed with a Grade 5 Cardiac Systolic Murmur.
A week later, after seeing a heart specialist at Steve Biko hospital, the family learned that Liané’s condition was much greater than anticipated, discovering that she was born with three congenital heart defects: VSD, DORV and TGA.
Ventricular septal defect (VSD), a hole in the heart, is a common heart defect that’s present at birth. The hole (defect) occurs in the wall (septum) that separates the heart’s lower chambers (ventricles) and allows blood to pass from the left to the right side of the heart. The oxygen-rich blood then gets pumped back to the lungs instead of out to the body, causing the heart to work harder.
Double-outlet right ventricle (DORV), occurs when two large blood vessels don’t connect to the heart normally. In infants born with this condition, the main artery that carries blood from the heart to the body (aorta) and the artery that directs blood from the heart to the lungs (pulmonary artery) connect partially or completely to the right lower heart chamber (ventricle). Sometimes these blood vessels are also reversed from their normal positions.
Transposition of the great arteries (TGA), is a serious, rare heart problem in which the two main arteries leaving the heart are reversed (transposed).
As a result of her condition, Liané is at high risk of getting respiratory infections, and ultimately, suffering heart failure.
After meeting with the Maboneng Heart and Lung Institute in Johannesburg, the only hospital willing to perform Liané’s surgery, the Roux family were distraught, realising that between R800 000 to R1 Million rand is needed to save their daughter’s life.
Reaching out to the public for support, the family has launched a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy, to make up the cost of the surgery, as they don’t have medical aid.
Grateful for the supporters who have shared their appeal and made generous donations to the sum of R94 000, the Roux family are ‘counting the days’ until Liané can put her difficult first chapter behind her.
“Words cannot describe the level of fear and heartbreak we felt hearing the words ‘heart failure’, knowing we have a financial mountain to climb and a race against time, to save the life of our little angel. We couldn’t be more thankful for the community that has formed around us to help fix Liané’s heart,” said Quintin.
Support Liané by making a donation on BackaBuddy:
https://www.backabuddy.co.za/liane-roux
Alternatively, make a donation via Snapscan:
https://pos.snapscan.io/qr/LianeRoux
Cape Times