A heartbroken young couple, whose seven-month-old daughter is in urgent need of a liver transplant, is begging Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar for help.
Since Saturday baby Neoma Urquhart has been languishing at the San Fernando General Hospital breathing with difficulty and unable to move.
Her stomach has swollen to the size of a football and her weight has dropped from 12 pounds to six pounds, according to her parents.
Her laboured breathing has tugged at the hearts of the hospital nurses who are begging the authorities to move swiftly to take her to Argentina where a team of doctors are waiting to do the liver surgery.
However, even though the couple has qualified to access TT$1 million from the Children’s Life Fund (CLF) they are still in need of US$90,000 to pay for an air ambulance to transport the baby.
In an interview yesterday, Neoma’s parents—Bianca Urquhart, 40 and Marc Urquhart, 34, of 261 Bonne Aventure Road, Gasparillo—said each day is like a nightmare. Bianca said Neoma’s condition had worsened over the past two weeks.
“I can’t sleep or eat. Every time the phone rings, I fear the worst,” Bianca cried. She said her pregnancy was normal but when Neoma was born they noticed signs of jaundice from two weeks.