An eight-month-old infant of Lomahasha needs urgent heart surgery in South Africa after being diagnosed with a congenital heart defect (hole in the heart), as her family struggles to settle her hospital bill and meet other medical costs.
Tiyandza Matsebula’s family said the young girl is currently hospitalised and has been dependent on oxygen for the past two months after her condition deteriorated, with her family now seeking assistance to ensure she receives the specialised treatment she needs.
Her father, Mbongeni Matsebula said Tiyandza showed no signs of illness until she was six months old, when she started coughing and turning purple around her mouth and hands.
Matsebula said the family initially believed she was suffering from a traditional illness known as umnyama, before taking her to Good Shepherd Hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with a congenital heart defect.
He said doctors advised the family that Tiyandza required specialised treatment at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in South Africa.
Matsebula said the baby had been taken to several health facilities, including a clinic in Mbabane and hospitals in Manzini, before a doctor at Good Shepherd helped arrange an appointment at Steve Biko.
He said Tiyandza’s condition has since worsened, with her experiencing difficulty breathing and requiring oxygen continuously.
“She has been on oxygen for two months now. We are really struggling because we do not know what else to do,” he said.
The family is also struggling to settle Tiyandza’s hospital bill of E5 167.
He said the family sold a goat and managed to pay E1 500, leaving an outstanding balance of E3 697. The financial strain has affected the family’s livelihoods, with Matsebula saying Tiyandza’s mother had to leave her job to remain with their daughter in hospital.
He said he was also forced to return from South Africa, where he had been working, because of his daughter’s condition.
“We are really struggling. We keep selling our stock just to survive and meet some of the expenses,” he said.
The family had initially appealed for help with an outstanding hospital bill of E3 697 and transport to take her to South Africa.
However, the transport challenge has since received a boost after the Phalala Medical Referral Fund offered an ambulance to take the infant to South Africa next Monday.
Phalala Fund official Simangele Qethuka said the fund had not been previously aware of Tiyandza’s case.
Qethuka explained that doctors are required to submit referral letters to Phalala before the fund can process cases requiring specialised treatment outside the country.
She said the fund’s operations may have slowed due to the financial challenges, but cases involving babies were prioritised.
While the ambulance will assist with Tiyandza’s transfer, the family still needs help to settle the outstanding hospital bill and meet other costs related to her treatment and surgery.
Matsebula expressed gratitude to Lomahasha Member of Parliament Zanele Mashaba, whom he said had been hands-on in assisting the family.
He appealed to members of the public to continue supporting Tiyandza as she awaits treatment.
“We are pleading with members of the public to help us save our daughter’s life. We want her to get the operation and return home healthy like other children,” he said.
