Happy to be home again

BATU PAHAT: Her face alive with laughter, double heart transplant miracle girl Tee Hui Yi was clearly excited to be home to celebrate Chinese New Year with her family.

“I have asked my mother to make my favourite dish. She is going to make spicy chicken with lemon grass and ginger.

“I have also asked for steamboat. Nowadays, I want to eat everything,” she said grinning, when met at her home in Jalan Parit Besar.

Hui Yi’s appetite was not the only thing to have returned, her face has also regained colour and the sparkle in her eyes was back.

“I am really happy to be home again. Last year, I celebrated Chinese New Year in the hospital and even tossed yee sang there, but celebrating at home is special,” she said.

Hui Yi underwent her second transplant on Oct 15 after her body rejected the first heart from a donor in Perak.

Her second heart came from a 20-year-old mechanic who was declared brain dead after a road accident in Johor Baru.

Hui Yi, 14, said she had also gone shopping, and bought new clothes and shoes to celebrate her homecoming, including pink coloured tops, her favourite colour.

However, decorating her home was not usually a priority for her family, she confessed.

“My father always said that as long as the food is good and the house is clean, that is enough. I am just waiting to collect all my ang pow,” she said cheekily.

Her mother Dina Bato Sam Bua, 46, said it was a dream come true to have her daughter home with her to celebrate Chinese New Year with the entire family.

“I prayed so hard that she would be home this year and I am so grateful that my prayers were answered,” she said.

She also expressed her heartfelt gratitude to all Malaysians who supported Hui Yi and the entire family through her daughter’s illness.

“Everyone, irrespective of race, prayed for Hui Yi. Thank you so much,” she said, adding that she was also grateful to MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting who had assured her that he would help her family out in every way.

Also at home and eager to share the joyous atmosphere was Hui Yi’s paternal grandfather Tee Ah Tung, 77, who was ecstatic to have her home although he could no longer see her due to his failing eyesight.

“I have not celebrated Chinese New Year with her in two whole years. It feels great, really great. I am so happy she is home again,” he said joyfully.