He's only 10, but Peck Ern Wei can solve a Rubik's Cube puzzle faster than his two brothers who are 12 and eight-years-old.

What's more, the ace badminton player from Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) is also a member of the Singapore Badminton Association Junior Squad.

He also enjoys painting and likes playing the piano.

Those are accomplishments that any 10-year-old would be proud of. So it's hard to believe that the bright and active boy was born with a serious heart condition, has overcome three major operations and fought off multiple infections that at times left him too weak to breathe.

His parents' fighting spirit was the key that guided them through the first three stressful years of Ern Wei's life. His dad, Mr Peck Thian Guan, 45, works in the department of safety at the National University of Singapore, while mum Keng Seong, 43, is a housewife.

When Mrs Peck was seven months pregnant, an ultrasound indicated possible heart defects in the foetus. But the images did not yield more information.

First operation
When Ern Wei was born, doctors told his parents their little boy had a very narrow blood vessel and two holes in his heart. The medical name for this condition is Ventricular Septal Defect. The baby needed immediate surgery and follow-up care.

When he was four days old , Ern Wei was operated on by specialists at the National University Hospital. The procedure, called 'pulmonary artery (PA) banding', aimed to keep blood out of the baby's lungs.

His parents recall seeing Ern Wei in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with multiple tubes attached to him. 'It was so traumatic that I just couldn't hold back my tears,' MrsPeck said.

Ern Wei survived the operation and went home in two weeks. But this was just the start. He needed medication between feeds. He sometimes did not have the strength to ingest and would get breathless.

The Pecks kept a constant vigil but despaired when their frail baby failed to put on weight.

Second operation
At eight months, Ern Wei still weighed only 5kg when he should have been at least 7kg or 8kg.

So doctors suggested a second PA banding procedure to relieve the pressure building up in his lungs.

The challenges were immense. For example, the baby needed to be kept off food before the procedure.

Mrs Peck gave Ern Wei his last feed at midnight and denied him a feed when he woke up at around 3am. 'I had to carry him to comfort him,' she remembered.

After the procedure, the Pecks had to be very careful about how much water the boy should take as his kidneys were not up to the task. He had to be fed water in 5ml syringes. 'He would get so thirsty that he would put a finger up to his lips to show he wanted water,' MrPeck said, demonstrating his son's gestures.

Again, Ern Wei recovered from this second operation and finally began to put on weight. His mother remembers him as being very expressive - he would communicate any discomfort by gesturing to where the pain was.

Meanwhile, his immune system was still weak and this meant frequent colds and infections that made him wheeze. He had to have a nebuliser strapped to his face so that he could sit up and play.

There were also frequent runs to the hospital.

Third operation
When Ern Wei was 20 months old, he was scheduled for the biggest and final operation. This would be the one to close up the two holes in his heart. It was an operation that would take at least five to six hours.

Once again, the Pecks made the trip to the paediatric ICU with their little fighter in tow. And once again, Ern Wei withstood a long and complex operation to recover well enough to be transferred out of the ICU into the wards.

But Mrs Peck decided to wait before taking him home. 'Ern Wei was very quiet and not his usual self. I told the doctors I wanted him to be under observation,' she said.

Her maternal intuition was proven right when two days later, his heart stopped beating. He was quickly ushered from the wards to the ICU where he was resuscitated. The doctors discovered that he had a lot of phlegm accumulation too, from which he needed relief.

Recovery from this ordeal took two months.

Full recovery

Ern Wei (middle) with his two brothers.

Since then, Ern Wei has gone from strength to strength. He is now an active boy in Class Five of his school and has little or no memory of his operations.

'I remember having ECGs (electrocardiograms),' he said. He goes for six-monthly check-ups and said he is 'used to these'.

When he started taking an interest in badminton, his parents worried that it might put too much stress on his heart. However, tests showed that it was safe for him to play.

'At first, we went to every match, ready to do CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) in case he collapsed. But we found he was able to cope with that level of play,' MrPeck said.

Ern Wei's favourite subject is mathematics and when he is not busy studying or playing, he likes to read. 'I like adventure and mystery books, and playing chess with my brothers,' he said.

One precaution he has to take is to keep his teeth clean. This is because bacteria from the teeth can affect his heart.

Do his parents still worry, as Ern Wei grows up? 'We've done the best we can. Who knows what the future holds? The rest is up to God,' said Mr Peck with a smile.

E-mail: sshefali@sph.com.sg

This story was first published in the Mind Your Body supplement on Feb 13, 2008.

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