Wonderful news received over the past two weeks from Karen Carrington, Executive Director (Volunteer) at Heart to Heart Shanghai – in total six children were benefited from the funds raised from the Annual Ball in May which enabled them to have their open-heart surgeries. These children are:
H2H Child #2034 – Liu Xiang is a 9-year-old boy.
- When Liu Xiang was 40 days old, he was taken to the hospital for a physical examination. The doctor found that he had congenital heart disease. After that initial visit, he was taken to Hefei Children’s Hospital for a detailed cardiac examination and was diagnosed with VSD. Surgery was recommended, but the family couldn’t afford it. Liu Xiang is not a strong child; he is quite weak when it comes to exercise and other activities. His resistance to other illnesses is low. Surgery is needed before serious complications occur.
- There are six people in the family – grandmother, parents, a 9-year old brother, an 8-year old sister and Liu Xiang. The grandmother is a farmer. The mother takes care of the children at home. The father does doing odd jobs around the community and earns around RMB 30,000 a year. At present, the family has a debt of 30,000 yuan. They couldn’t put together enough money for the surgery Liu Xiang needed.
H2H Child #2035 – Liu Yuxuan is a 5-year-old girl.
- When Liu Yuxuan was a few months old, she was hospitalised with pneumonia. During that stay in the hospital, it was found that she had congenital heart disease. She subsequently had a number of reviews which resulted in a diagnosis of VSD and PDA. Liu Yuxuan is a thin child and is often ill. Surgery is needed to correct the situation, but her family couldn’t afford it.
- There are five people in the family – parents, two elder sisters (ages 17 and 13) and Liu Yuxuan. The family has three mu of land where they cultivate rice. The mother takes care of the children and manages the home. The father is supplementing his rice cultivation income by helping others build houses. He earns around 20,000 yuan/annum. Currently, the family has a debt of 50,000 yuan. They couldn’t get a loan to pay for the surgery.
H2H Child #2038 – Gao Ziqing is a 2-year-old girl from Shandong province.
- Gao Ziqing was diagnosed with heart disease before she was born (in tests during her mother’s pregnancy.) After birth, her family took her to Jinan Children’s Hospital for examination. Tests there confirmed she had congenital heart disease – both VSD and PDA. (Later tests have shown that the situation was more complex than that even.) Two surgeries would be needed when she got a little older. Her first surgery was completed in 2019 when she was 1-year old. She was H2H child #1499.
- Now at 3-years of age, she needs to have her second operation, but her family still can’t afford it. There are five people in the family – parents, two older brothers (12 & 8) and Gao Ziqing. The eldest brother was premature and suffers from cerebral palsy. The mother normally takes care of the children at home, but occasionally she must do odd jobs in local factories to supplement the family’s income. Her father does migrant work as a manual labourer. Between them, they earn an annual income of approximately 30,000 yuan. The family has a debt exceeding 30,000 yuan. They were not able to get a loan to complete this second surgery.
H2H Child #2039 – Wang Yuxin is an 8-year-old girl from Anhui province.
- When Wang Yuxin was 3 months old, she was taken to the county hospital for treatment of intestinal problems that were causing flatulence. The doctor at the county hospital found that she had congenital heart disease. She was referred to Nanjing Children’s Hospital and was diagnosed with PDA. Surgery, when she got older, was recommended to avoid serious complications. The family hasn’t been able to afford this surgery through all of these years.
- There are five people in the family – grandfather, parents, a 3-year-old sister and Wang Yuxin. The grandfather is 70 and no longer works. The mother looks after the family and also does odd-job work in a local factory. The father is a migrant construction worker and sends as much money home as possible. The family’s annual income is around 30,000 yuan/annum. They are in debt for 10,000 yuan. They couldn’t get enough money together for the surgery.
H2H Child #2040 – Deji Bayong is 9-year-old girl from Tibet.
- Deji Bayong is a thin child who suffers from congenital blindness. In 2020, she went to the hospital for eye surgery. During that hospital visit, the doctors found that she was also suffering from congenital heart disease and gave her a detailed heart examination. She had CHD-PDA and required surgery on that as well.
- There are seven people in the family – grandmother, parents and three sisters and Deji Bayong. The grandmother and mother are run the household and take care of the children. The father digs and harvests caterpillar fungus (Cordyceps) which grows near their home. His work gives the family an annual income of approximately 30,000 yuan/annum. At present, the family has a debt of 70,000 yuan. They couldn’t get another loan for this surgery that Deji Bayong needed. Fortunately, she was chosen to come to Shanghai with a group of 20 Tibetan children who all needed heart surgery and are being sponsored through H2H.
H2H Child #2041 – Tang Yulu is a 2-year-old girl from Guizhou province.
- Tang Yulu has Downs Syndrome. When she was 3 months old, she suffered from a fever and was taken to the county hospital for an examination and treatment. During that examination, the doctor found that she had a heart murmur. After a more detailed examination, she was diagnosed with congenital heart disease. Tang Yulu was then taken to the City Maternal and Child Health Hospital for reexamination and was diagnosed with PDA. Surgery was recommended when she got a little older.
- There are four people in the family – grandfather, parents and Tang Yulu. Her family is of the Miao minority, The grandfather, who is 81, has only basic self-care abilities. The mother takes care of both Tang Yulu and the elderly grandfather. The father does odd jobs and has an annual income of around RMB 20,000. The family’s current debt is 130,000 yuan. They had no way to get Tang Yulu the surgery she needed.
We would like to thank our guests at the Annual Ball for your generous contribution again!
If you would like to learn more about Heart to Heart Shanghai’s work, please visit: www.h2hsh.com
