A seven-month-old baby, whose tiny heart has four holes and is leaking blood, desperately needs surgery or this Christmas could be her last one.
Zee Makuwaza was born a perfectly healthy baby until she suddenly fell ill and fainted at five months old.
The hospital’s waiting list is too long, so Zee’s parents are now desperately trying to raise money for her op
Later she was diagnosed with multiple heart conditions, including heart failure, four holes in her heart and one valve instead of two. Besides, the girl is prone to infections and currently put on oxygen support full time because of low oxygen level.
Baby Zee Makuwaza has holes in her heart which are leaking blood
Zee’s parents, her mother, Lorraine Muchapa, 31, and father, Inocent Makuwaza, 32, were told their baby urgently needs an open heart operation to close her holes or they will have to watch her die.
She was only a few months old when she fainted and was rushed to hospital
Mrs Muchapa, a teacher, said: “Zee’s smile will just melt your heart – everyone who looks at her falls in love. But now she is in so much pain. We are very desperate. She is our only child. I had three miscarriages before her in 2012, 2013 and 2014. This is our miracle baby, but she has all these problems. It’s very hard.
Her parents fear she will die before it gets to her turn on the waiting list
If she gets pulmonary hypertension we will just have to sit and watch her die. It’s too sad. It would mean the world to me to be able to raise the funds needed for her operation in the next couple of months. There’s nothing more I want. I would do anything. We are trying to raise funds so Zee can get her operation done in a private hospital but we have such a short period of time left.”
Baby Zee has an atrioventricular septal defect, meaning she has three holes in her heart and one valve instead of two
Doctors have predicted that Zee will have only two months before she becomes inoperable and will likely die. The family say the hospital waiting list is too long and their only option is to go private, which will cost £13,406 ($20,000), but until now they have only managed to save £2,681 ($4,000).
