Little Red Scarf provides financial support and encouragement to children suffering from congenital heart disease. In addition, they provide families with post-operative care and help the children sustain a healthy lifestyle.

To welcome the coming of Mothers’  Day, TFish American Office held Mothers’ Day Fundraiser Campaign for poverty-stricken mothers suffering from congenital heart disease. The activity received attention from many people. Net friends from American conveyed their wishes for the mothers. By 0:00 of May 12th, 2013, 172 persons paid attention to the activity and donated total 172 dollars (1060 RMB) for the young mothers. Zhuanzhuan is still in her recovery phase from the surgery, so her husband accepted the donation for her.  

Original article written by Ying Guan, translated and edited by Yanyan Zhang

Little Red Scarf provides financial support and encouragement to children suffering from congenital heart disease. In addition, they provide families with post-operative care and help the children sustain a healthy lifestyle.

Zhuan Zhuan is only 21 years old. Most of girls at her age may be in universities and enjoy their wonderful youth time. But Zhuan Zhuan already got married at 19 and gave birth to her first kid at 20.

Zhuan Zhuan dropped off school at the fifth grade in elementary school as she has been in delicate health since she was born. Her families live in poverty so they can’t afford the health exam and tuition for Zhuan Zhuan.

After her pregnancy, Zhuan Zhuan felt very tired and breathless every day. Doctor found that she has heart disease and suggested her to go to a better hospital in the capital city- Lan Zhou. Zhuan Zhuan didn’t go there since her family can’t afford the trip to Lan Zhou. Zhuan Zhuan risked herself to give birth to her son by C-section.

In order to take care of the family and prepare enough money for her heart surgery, Zhuan Zhuan’s husband has to leave the family behind and go to city to work. With the money they earned and borrowed from feneration, they came to the hospital in Lanzhou. The doctor recommended the Little Red Scarf and their application was approved.

Jiayu is 4 with a big head and slim limbs. She suffers from congenital heart defects, so she looks short and thin then her contemporaries. Her parents divorced when she was 9 months old and her mother takes care of her. 

Each week, we select and highlight the best photos from our partners out on the field. Check out more detailed updates from each NGO by clicking on its name below "Category" on the right of this page. Enjoy these photos from the month of October!

On July 17, the LRS staff encountered Cun Hua and her family. The staff, despite having worked years in the field, was appalled by the extent to which the young gal's heart defect had affected her appearance, education, self-esteem, and family relationships. Cun Hua's story was detailed in this recent update. Although the doctors weren't too optimistic about the future of the 14-year-old, her family desperately sought to give Cun Hua a last chance at life. Below are the ensuing updates on Cun Hua, from the perspective of one of our staffs who cared for her since the beginning of her hospital stay.
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July 25 - Cun Hua’s surgery went very smoothly. The surgery began at noontime, and at around 5pm, she had been admitted into the intensive care unit. Cun Hua’s mother told me that the moment Cun Hua was brought out of the surgery room, she could already see that Cun Hua’s lips had turned rosy red. Was the transformation really this drastic? Well, after seeing these most recent pictures, you may answer that for yourself.

July 26 - While Cun Hua was in the ICU, we had the opportunity to take some pictures. Cun Hua has been successfully removed from the ventilator, but still not fully out of danger. Her lips are now a healthy color, and her fingers are the exact same color as mine! When I asked her if her incision still hurt, she said to me, “Sister, I have to be strong!”. As she was saying this, her eyes were getting glossy with tears. I showed her the pictures I took of her healthy complexion and lips, and it made her very happy. I hoped that doing so would raise her confidence and help her endure through her time in the ICU.

On July 28, Cun Hua returned to the general ward. The photos below were taken on the 30th, as her chest drainage tube was removed, and she could already walk. In picture 1, Cun Hua’s smile is very bright. She often hurries over to the bathroom to admire her improvement in the mirrors. She really likes how she looks now. Picture 2 shows Cun Hua, her mother, and me comparing the color tone of our hands. Cun Hua likes that her skin complexion is similar to ours. In Picture 3, Cun Hua shows me her calves. She said that before the operation, any scrapes on her would ooze out black colored blood. But now, she wants to show me her scars as she tells me proudly that her blood is now red. Picture 4 is Cun Hua happily showing the transformation in her toes.

Little Red Scarf is an NGO that sponsors congenital heart surgeries for diseased children. The following is an extremely touching story of Cun Hua, a girl from Wu Wei, Gansu, who had to endure through so much suffering because of her family's inability to afford surgery for her heart condition. 

At 14 years of age, a child's life is supposed to be full of energy and memorable adventures. As for Cun Hua, she has been having a monotonous 14 years; her adventures are limited to simple household chores. She sews insoles of shoes, helps her Grandma wash and cut the vegetables, and sweeps the floor. Cun Hua’s heart disease has inhibited her physical ability to play and have fun, draining her childhood of its wonder.
 
When Cun Hua was 3 months old, her parents received news that she had congenital heart disease. They were devastated. After all, she was their first child. As days passed, her parents began to feel a bit more comforted as Cun Hua seemed to be growing up just fine. Other than the fact that she caught the cold quite often, she wasn't much different from all the other children. At that time, the family's rough economic situation didn't even allow them to consider surgery as an option.

When she was 4 years old, Cun Hua’s lips began to show symptoms of cyanosis (bluish discoloration of the skin, due to lack of oxygen). Whenever she ran around and played, the color of her lips and face would deepen in color as the cyanosis become more serious. Her parents could obviously notice that Cun Hua no longer had the stamina to keep up with her friends' energy. Two years later, her cyanosis had become even more pronounced. At first glance, everyone would notice that she had black lips and a dark face. Her conditions worried the parents. While other kids were getting ready for school, Cun Hua had to stay home since no school would enroll her due to her illness.

First encounter was on July 17th, 2012

15-year-old Cun Hua’s congenital heart disease is very severe. Her appearance shows the severity, as not only are her lips deep purple, her fingers and toes have become severely deformed.

Cun Hua was 3 months old when doctors diagnosed her serious congenital heart disease, but because of her family’s economic hardship, she has not recieved care until now. Cun Hua’s parents work away year-round. At the beginning of every year, her parents have just enough money to deposit and set aside for Cun Hua’s medical needs and also for her two elderly grandparents. Because Cun Hua’s immune system is very weak, she catches a cold an average of twice of month. Common flu medicines have little effect on her. 

Little Red Scarf is an NGO that sponsors congenital heart surgeries for diseased children. The following is a touching story of a child, Jiajia, who lapsed into unconsciousness after her heart surgery. To read the original story, click here.

One day in May, a couple brought their child to the hospital. Even after traveling two hours through narrow passes and an additional four hours on mountainous roads, they did not appear tired when they finally arrived at the hospital. The mother held her baby, Jiajia, in her arms. 

Four months ago, Jiajia had been diagnosed with congenital heart disease at the same hospital. She returned an additional four times because of pneumonia, and the doctor concluded that the child needed an operation at once. 

Her father came to us at Little Red Scarf to seek help. Two weeks later, they went to the hospital and awaited an operation for their baby, which filled them with hope.

We thought the operation had gone well, until we heard the unexpected news from the ICU: Jiajia’s heart had suddenly stopped. After the hospital brought in its emergency rescue team, her heart began to beat again. However, she later lapsed into a light unconsciousness, where she has remained for seventeen days.
 
In an attempt to help Jiajia wake up sooner, her mother has been allowed to visit her everyday. Each day, her mother would take Jiajia’s hand in hers and whisper,  “Mommy and Daddy have come to see you, so baby, please wake up.
Please wake up, many relatives are waiting for you.”

 Jiajia, please wake up, baby. Don’t make your parents and the LRS staff wait too long. You have filled your parents’ lives with so much joy.Please wake up, dear baby.

Original article by Guan Ying, translated by Shishi Ma, edited by US intern Ally Nguyen, Lauren Kam, and Janna Wang.

23 patients applied for help (16 in Lanzhou hospital and 7 in General hospital).
21 patients were admitted to a hospital (15 in Lanzhou hospital and 6 in General hospital).
20 patients were cured and left the hospital (13 in Lanzhou hospital and 7 in General hospital).
1 patient died (1 in Lanzhou first hospital and none in General hospital).
11 patients were reexamined in April.

26 patients are waiting to be cured, of which 7 have accepted operations in other cities. 19 patients are still waiting according to the following plan:
1. To continue the work in Lanzhou First Hospital and General Hospital.
2. To learn about the congenital heart disease procedures in other hospitals.
3. To promote the Little Red Scarf.

Original article written by Ai Ju Chang, translated by Shishi Ma, and edted by US intern Emily Cheng.

Little Red Scarf Care serves to provide financial means and encouragement to children suffering from congenital heart disease. In addition, they provide the family with post-operative care and help their child sustain a healthy lifestyle. In this story, we are introduced to a unique child, Xiao wen, and hear how she overcame her operation and smiled at the end. Read the original article here. 
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We would always see many children in the hospital. Each of them was so lovely and unique.
Xiao wen was my little heroine. She was the one of those special children. Although she was only five, she touched each of us through her own special way. Even in her unfortunate predicament, her smiles and actions showed us she was so happy and lovely. Just a hug, a smile, a naughty tap on her forehead or a “V” gesture could make her happy.
Her grandmother took Xiao wen to see doctor in the provincial capital, Lanzhou, nearly 600 miles away from her hometown. Moreover, her old grandmother was illiterate, making this an even tougher trip. Though there were lots of difficulties, her grandmother never gave up the hope to cure her granddaughter. Xiao wen’s father had severe depression. Her mother grew confused and scared by her father’s self-abuse. Xiao wen’s grandfather was 60 and had grey hair. In order to make money to pay for Xiao wen’s treatment, he would like do any job he could to support his granddaughter, even if it offered just a miniscule amount of money. Xiao wen’s grandfather was disabled and his lumbar was seriously deformed. Heavy physical work could worsen, even palsy, his injury.
Xiao wen’s operation went well, but she had been in danger. When we saw Xiao wen in the ICU, she took my hand and asked me to stay. At that moment tears dropped from her eyes, and I knew she needed someone’s support. Xiao wen was removed to the common ward six days after the operation. It never occurred to us that Xiao wen made ”V” gestures to us and smiled while recovering. It was so amazing that Xiao wen was still herself. I couldn’t help kissing and hugging her for her happiness.
Xiao wen, so excellent you are! What a lovely and unique girl you are.

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Original article by Yun Jie, translated by Shishi Ma, edited by US intern Ally Nguyen.