Liané Roux, a 10-month old baby from Secunda, Mpumalanga has faced a number of serious health issues since the start of her life, as a result of being born with 3 congenital heart defects.
Concerned that their daughter (who was 4 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 3 congenital heart defects: VSD, DORV and TGA.
Liané’s condition in more detail:
- 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). Source
Mending Liané’s Heart
As a result of her condition, Liané was at high risk of getting respiratory infections and ultimately suffering heart failure, when her parents approached the Maboneng Heart and Lung Institute in Johannesburg, the only hospital willing to perform the life-saving surgery she needed.
Under tremendous stress, realising that almost R1 Million rand was needed to save their daughter’s life, the Roux family launched a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy, hoping to secure the astronomical cost of the surgery, as they don’t have medical aid.
“Words cannot describe the level of fear and heartbreak we felt hearing the words ‘heart failure’, knowing that we had a financial mountain to climb and a race against time, to save the life of our little angel.” – says Quintin
With generous support, the campaign raised almost R600 000, with contributions from 436 donors, that allowed the family to cover the first three invoices for Liané procedure.
By the grace of God, Liané successfully had her surgery on Friday, April 22 at the Sunninghill Hospital in Johannesburg.
After recovering from her surgery in the cardiothoracic intensive care unit, Liané underwent a second operation to have a pacemaker fitted, that will be able to control her heartbeat.
To support the family with Liané’s aftercare, monthly costs, and outstanding medical fees, donations are still welcome to the little one’s fundraiser, while she waits to be added to her medical aid.
“While we are not out of the woods in terms finances, we couldn’t be more thankful for the community that lovingly formed around us to help fix Liané’s heart. Without people sharing our story and shouting it loudly, we don’t what we would have done. Our little baby has a beautiful future ahead of her” – says Ashley
Update
We received news from BackaBuddy, that sadly Liané passed away on the 7th of May 2022 due to complications. We are devastated by the news and send our condolences to Ashley and Quinton as well as to her extended family.
Support Liané’s outstanding medical costs on BackaBuddy:
https://www.backabuddy.co.za/liane-roux
Alternatively, make a donation via Snapscan:
https://pos.snapscan.io/qr/LianeRoux
For updates, follow Liané’s Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/BabyLianeR/
@porkyspeople.com Successful Surgery | Born with 3 Congenital Heart Defects, Baby Liane receives life-saving operation (read more on porkyspeople.com) #baby #southafrica #secunda #backabuddy #crowdfunding #heart #heartsurgery #fyp #storytime #babymama #babylove #inspiration #love
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