The Big Favour donates to Hope for Kyleigh to keep three-year-old's heart beating

Kyleigh Milan Kista has been diagnosed with a rare condition that is incredibly expensive to treat. 

Kyleigh currently struggles to get rich oxygenated blood to circulate throughout her body. As she was born with an absent pulmonary valve, underdeveloped arteries, and a large hole in her heart, this has prevented the normal flow of blood to pass through her lungs in order to feed the rest of her body. 

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This is obviously such a tragic way for anyone to live, more so a little three-year-old. The family reached out to The Big Favour sharing the story of the little girl as she has only three months to get better. 

Take a listen as Serina Kista shares the condition that the little girl is currently battling: 

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Local doctors have attempted nine surgical procedures on Kyleigh since birth. This includes three open heart surgeries in order to stimulate Kyleigh's arteries to grow. There has been no success to date.

In November 2021, the Kista family were notified by her doctors that nothing further could be done for Kyleigh in South Africa. Her only option was to wait for her organs to start failing. This is awfully tragic for any parent to hear and accept. 

The doctors shared that a heart and lung transplant would be considered with very limited donors and experience on the procedure. 

This is when they decided to reach out to Boston Children’s Hospital in the USA for a second opinion. They revised Kyleigh's case and restored all the hope in the family. They proposed to do an innovative technique to repair her heart, that they currently perform with great success at the hospital. They will perform this by using Kyleigh's current anatomy and reconstruct her blood vessels in order to flow effectively through her lungs, while also incorporating her collateral arteries as part of this procedure.

Take a listen as The Big Favour shares a huge donation hoping to start a ripple of help for the deserving girl's operation: 

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They need to raise R4 507 589.

If you wish to donate to Hope for Kyleigh, click here.

They are raising funds for the cost of surgery, hospital, and medication, as this is not covered by local insurance.

If you want to reach out to the mother, Serina Kista

Mobile: +27826598067

Email: [email protected]   

Main Image Courtesy: Supplied