Newborn needs heart surgery

Though she was born on February 27, Orias Grant has never held his daughter, Maheila Grant, in his arms.

Grant said the newborn has been hospitalised since birth with a heart condition, and urgently needs a pacemaker which costs approximately $1.1 million. With time against her, Grant said he and Maheila's mother Tameka Headley have been trying to raise the money but have only managed to gather $110,000. They are seeking the public's assistance.

"I have never held her before because she has tubes all over her body. She is breathing fine but her heart cannot manage on its own. The pain weh mi feel to know say mi daughter deh right deh so and I cannot take her up is almost unbearable. I am crying inside but the tears are not showing, that's how difficult it is. I am appealing to the general public to please offer us some assistance if possible. We are appreciative of every kind word, prayer and best wishes too," he said.

A pacemaker is a small device used to treat some arrhythmias, which are conditions caused by abnormal heart rhythms. Pacemakers send electrical pulses to help the heart beat at a normal rate and rhythm. A regular heartbeat for a child her age ranges between 70 to 190 beats per minute. When Maheila was born, her tiny heart was beating at 43 beats per minute, so she was rushed to the Bustamante Hospital for Children where she remains hospitalised. She has only managed a little more than 50 beats per minute since then.

Grant, who resides in Orange Bay, Hanover, said Headley was under immense stress during a period of her pregnancy and he believed this may have contributed to their daughter's medical condition.

"She started having a lot of complications and had to go to a high-risk clinic after her fifth month of pregnancy. We went through a very difficult period in our lives which resulted in us losing our business among other issues. The doctors said our baby's heartbeat in the womb was not normal and eventually she had to go in and they took the baby from her. Our daughter was born at 38 weeks as she was dying inside of her," he said.

Grant has only seen Maheila once as it is quite expensive for both parents to travel to Kingston weekly.

"We have to be budgeting right now because our business place had to be closed recently and we still have our two sons to take care of. Only one of us can go to Kingston at a time and when my wife does, she will stay for two or three days. We have spent almost a $100,000 by just the baby being there," Grant said. He said that without the pacemaker, Maheila could become a vegetable.

"The doctors are afraid that over time, her body may shut down on one area and she become a vegetable where that part of the body don't work any more," the distressed father said.

Grant said he has many plans for Maheila's future but right now some of them seem far-fetched.

"My dream is to make sure that my kids have a firm education background by attending university. I may never know the talent that Maheila may have because of this condition. She could be an athlete but that may be taken away from her. She is going to wear a pacemaker for the rest of her life and every 10 years it is going to need a new battery and I don't even know how expensive that is," he said.

"It is very tough and I have never been in this situation. It is a battle that we are facing here and we are just asking for some assistance to get our baby this pacemaker," he added.

Persons wishing to assist Maheila may contact Orias Grant at 876-837-8317.