MELAKA: The parents of a baby girl, Ainul Mardhiah, suffering from Germ Cell Tumour, a rare type of cancer are finalising her travel documents.
This is to enable the 8-month-old to seek treatment in London, United Kingdom.
They are likely to receive their daughter's passport the latest by tomorrow, said Ainul Mardhiah’s father Ahmad Safiuddin Ahmad Razak.
He said officers from the Immigration Department had met him over his daughter’s international passport application to sort out the details.
The Immigration Department itself will hand over the passport to him once all the formalities are concluded.
Ahmad Saifuddin said he is extremely grateful to the Immigration Department for their assistance in sorting out the travel documents.
“The date to London has yet to be fixed, however Dr Amalina (Dr Nur Amalina Che Bakri) told us to be ready with the necessary travel documentation and other necessities.
“On the treatment cost, I believe that the contribution from members of the public is sufficient, though the actual cost is not known yet,” Saifuddin said.
The Melaka state government had also come forward to help the family and will bear the transportation costs to the United Kingdom.
Its Chief Minister Adly Zahari said the state government has agreed, in principle, to lighten the burden of the baby's family to seek treatment overseas.
“The surgery is costly and for the time being, we will assist the child and her family for her treatment overseas with regard to their flight and transportation costs,” he told reporters last Friday.
The total cost for Ainul Mardhiah’s treatment is expected to cost over RM1 million.
The infant’s plight had also caught the attention of UK-based, Malaysian-born trainee surgeon Dr Nur Amalina Che Bakri, who had expressed her intention to seek the advice of her network of acquaintances in the UK medical fraternity on how the child can best be treated.
Ainul Mardhiah was born prematurely at seven months old and was diagnosed with the cancer at her birth.
At 10 days old, the infant was initially treated at the Melaka General Hospital before being transferred to Kuala Lumpur Hospital where her cancerous growth was removed.
After the surgery, Saifuddin said his daughter was just like any other child her age, full of life.
However, last October, the couple were informed by doctors that they detected new tumour growth in Ainul Mardhiah, this time in her mouth.
Saifuddin said although his daughter had undergone chemotherapy twice, there was no change and the tumours in her mouth continued to grow.