Dad needs K70,000 for ops overseas

By YVONNE HAIP
A FATHER’S love for his job has left him bedridden for months with a bill of more than K70,000 that he needs to pay in order to get back on his feet.
Last year, Joe Yapai, 45, from Wapenamanda in Enga, visited the Pacific International Hospital in Port Moresby after feeling chest pains and was diagnosed with stress.
Doctors there said Yapai’s condition had been caused by work pressure and would lead to heart disease.
Yapai, who had been an employee of Newcrest’s Lihir gold mine in New Ireland since 1996 as a storeman leading hand, was told only urgent treatment overseas would help him.
The doctors said the risks caused by stress were high and they recommended that Yapai seek treatment at the Raffles Hospital in Singapore.
Yapai will have to undergo a bypass surgery at the hospital but needs K70,000 for hospital fees.
He will then need to find airfares for two people, the patient and a guardian, plus other necessary costs.
Yapai and his family would not be able to raise that amount and were really worried.
They are now appealing to the public, friends and especially his employer Newcrest Mining – Lihir Operations, to help meet the medical fees.
Additional information can be obtained by contacting Pr Albert Kiap Sopyale on 7158 4867 or 7613 7121, or Yapai 7147 1645.