Angelica Li Perera This webpage is dedicated to our beloved daughter Angelica Li Perera who has left us prematurely to be with Jesus, leaving Mummy and Daddy alone.

For it was only 49 days that left such a big impression on the both of us for the rest of our lives. Angelica Li Perera was born at 1.23 pm on the 31 st October 2002 in Assunta hospital, PJ. She was suspected of having Trisomy-13 due to her physical appearances - she had cleft lip and palette and she was under weight only 2 kg at birth. She had a heart murmur - possibly a hole in the heart and the way she gripped her fist all suggested to Trisomy-13.People wondered and asked whether we would have gone for an abortion if we had known our baby was suffering from Trisomy-13, the answer from both Li Li and me is certainly NO! To be deprived of knowing her and loving her, would have been a greater loss for the both of us.

Angelica is guilty of one crime and one crime only: She stole our hearts.

Nicknames: Little human being.

Bumble bee

Angie

Angle


30 Oct 2002	1.30 pm	Took Li Li to Assunta Hospital, at about 1.30 pm. Her water bag was leaking. My colleagues were all so excited and happy for the both of us. Nothing happened the whole night. Spend the night in the labor ward with Li Li and the baby.
31 Oct 2002	8.50 am	Sister Joan Philip came in to the labour ward and said some prayers for Li Li and the baby. Made us feel really nice.
	9.00 am	Dr Goh (our Gyne) came and induced labor. Labor pain was initially bearable but became more and more unbearable. Stayed with Li Li through out.
	1.23 pm	Angelica was born. First reaction when I saw her for the first time : She has such big eyes, she has cleft lip and she is so dirty. Since she is so small, her eyes seems too big for her face and her eyes are not coordinated. Followed Li Li to the general ward, helped her settle in.
	2.30 pm	The pediatrician, Dr ST Lim wanted to see me. That was when she told me that my little Angel has only about 6 months to live. I was in-fact calm through out the whole episode and gave special instruction that none of this news should leak out to Li Li, let her recuperate from her child birth first.
4 Nov 2002	11.30 am	Dr ST Lim broke the news to Li Li. She was in-fact calm through out the entire time. We took some photos of our little baby. Dr ST Lim said that she would like to refer Angelica to Prof CT Lim in UMSC.
6 Nov 2002	10.30 am	Got her baptized by Fr Simon from Assumption church, with the help of Sister Joan Philip.
7 Nov 2002	2.30 pm	Registered her birth in the National registration department.
7 Nov 2002	5.00 pm	Took our Angelica to UM medical center to meet up with Prof CT Lim. Prof CT Lim is a nice man who took time to really examine our baby. He suggested to get her admitted so that more tests can be done.
	7.30 pm	Finished with Prof CT Lim, brought her back to Assunta hospital. It was raining... The funny thing is that Dr ST Lim allowed us to take Angelica out from the hospital (without even paying a cent) to meet up with Prof CT Lim. She trusted that we will bring her back to Assunta.
	9.30 pm	Dr ST Lim called and told Li Li that the blood test is out. The blood test shows that Angelica is normal, she is not suffering from Trisomy-13. Dr ST Lim was surprised... ( she said that this is the first time she is experiencing a case like this) could it be a work of a miracle? With all our family and friends praying for us.......
8 Nov 2002	11.30 am	Visited Angelica in the hospital. She was taken off the oxygen mask and she is now breathing normally on her own. Talked to Dr ST Lim about the test results.... could that be a mistake or a mixed up in the blood?? Dr ST Lim said that it is very unlikely.
9 Nov 2002	2.00 pm	Discharged Angelica from the hospital. We were taught how to bathe and tube feed her. We were also taught how to change her feeding tube.
	10.00 pm	Brought Angelica home from the hospital. Her eyes were so big looking around, as though she was looking at her HOME and getting herself familiarized to her new surroundings. Glad we brought her home....
11 Nov 2002	2.00 pm	Did the ECHO cardiogram. This was when Prof Asma Omar confirmed that our bumble bee has 3 holes in her little heart. From the tone of her voice, we knew that it was not good.Did another blood test to confirm trisomy-13.They also did a brain scan, and the test shows that her brains are normal, except for a small cyst, according to Prof CT Lim, it is not a major concern. They also did a chest X-ray.
28 Nov 2002		Bought X'mas tree. Wanted to put up the Christmas tree and Christmas lights so that our little Angie can see the twinkling lights.
25 Nov 2002		Went for the second checkup in UMSC. The blood test was not out yet.
9 Dec 2002	11.30 am	Assunta check up with Dr ST Lim. She was surprised to see out little baby putting on weight. Normally babies with this condition will not put on weight. She said that the baby is showing positive sign. Gave her BCG booster dose. I had to hold her legs tightly. She cried.
18 Dec 02	6.30 pm	Met Prof CT Lim in UMSC. Arranged to have her cleft lip corrected by Dr Elaine Foong. The date was set to be 20 March 2003 - coincidentally it is Li Li birthday. Dr Elaine Foong told us that our Angel will have to undergo a series of operation from 3 months old till when she is 18 years old.... I was thinking : Oh my goodness.....this is only to correct her cleft lip and pallet, a minor problem compared to her heart problem, which is more critical!!! I personally felt devastated and lost.....I questioned WHY LORD? WHY? WHY? I knew Li Li was devastated too.
19 Dec 02	6.40 am	Fed Angie milk. She was crying the whole night. Uncomfortable I guess due to colic pain.
	7.00 am	As I was leaving for work Angelica cried out and I carried her for a while but immediately she stopped crying and went back to sleep. I guess she was saying good bye. Little did I know that it would be the last time I would be carrying her for the last time....
	11.45 am	My office called and said that Li Li is trying to contact me. I froze, could there be something wrong...... I called Li Li's hand phone and this was what Li Li said in between sobs... "Fraser....our baby died". It seems so unreal....like a dream, only the other day Dr Lim said that she is doing well.....showing good progress and now this??? My heart skipped a beat when I heard that. I rushed to Assunta and there I found Li Li and Li Li's mum. Li Li was cuddling Angelica. She passed Angelica to me immediately. I carried her and cried and cried. She seemed so peaceful now. Sister Mary and Sister Janet from the pediatric ward help to say a few prayers and help comfort us. Brought Angelica back home. Both Li Li and I gave her a bath for the last time. She likes water and she is very particular about cleanliness, so we decided to send her off on her journey as clean as possible...dressed her up in a new dress.
20 Dec 02	9.00 am	Had the funeral service in Assumption church PJ. Fr Simon conducted the service. We were very sad.
	9.40 am	Went to the crematorium, to cremate our Angelica's body. Sister Mary helped say some prayers.
	8.30 pm	Came back home. It is a very sad feeling coming back to an 'empty' home, seeing Angelica's play things, feeding bottles.. that had been left behind. It is very sad moment in both our lives.
21 Dec 02	9.00 am	Went back to the crematorium to claim her ashes.
	10.30 am	Went back to Assunta hospital to thank Sister Mary and Sister Janet. Donated Angelica's diapers to Sister Joan.

Characteristic

Angelica is very particular about cleanliness. She likes bathing in fact she enjoys it very much. She likes being carried in a particular way, she cries when she is not carried in that position. She likes to sleep in a cool environment - likes to sleep in air-conditioning or under the fan. She hates it when we wrap her up tightly. Li Li's mum would sneak up at night to wrap her up, well babies should wrapped up - that is what people normally do. During the last few days, we had to feed Angelica every one and the half hours. Li Li and I used to disagree about her feeding pattern. Feeding Angelica was difficult because we had to feed her using a tube and at times when she cries, we have to base on our instinct - is she crying because she is hungry or because of something else.

Thank you to all of you who have contributed in some way or another.

With the Grace of God, Li Li was again pregnant 6 months later, after the passing of our beloved daughter, Angelica. We are now the proud parents of a healthy baby girl, Andrea Li-Anne Perera, who was born on the 13 February 2004.