At one month old, he developed epileptic spasms, which caused stiffness in his left upper and lower limbs.
And although he is now three, he is neither able to speak nor respond to external stimuli, unlike normal children. He is also unable to fully close his eyes when he sleeps.
Between the ages of one and two, Alexander had to make frequent trips to the hospital. He was still able to eat porridge at the time, but in January he began coughing out the food and water that was fed to him.
The doctors eventually discovered that, due to a problem with his respiratory system, food would enter his lungs instead of his stomach.
Therefore, Alexander has to consume fortified milk powder through a nasogastric tube, which carries food and medicine through the nose to the stomach.
To exacerbate matters, he came down with Covid-19 last month, and the condition of his lungs became critical as he was not vaccinated.
While the child has since recovered from Covid-19, complications have led to further infections in his lungs, requiring him to be hospitalised.
‘Shocked’
When Alexander’s mother, Eritika, first heard of the EIEE diagnosis, she was shocked as no one in their family had a similar disorder.
Her husband, Alfred, is the sole breadwinner of the family who makes a meagre income as an air-conditioning maintenance worker.
His job often requires him to travel long-distance, leaving Eritika to look after their children, even though she is due to give birth to their third child any day now.
Besides Alexander, the couple have an eight-year-old son.
The family has reached out to Persatuan Kebajikan Amal Da Ai Malaysia, a non-governmental organisation that helps the disabled and special-needs individuals through crowdfunding and other means.
Jessica Tan, the family’s case worker at Da Ai, told FMT: “We hope to crowdfund RM44,876, which will be used over the next two years to purchase PediaSure milk formula, nasogastric tubes, a suction pump, and an oxygen machine, as well as to pay for Alexander’s medical bills.”
If you’d like to contribute to help Alexander and his family, contact Jessica at 016-9238005 or email [email protected].