Little Red Scarf: Doudou—Post Operation Visit

1.5 years ago, Doudou was waiting for surgery

Little Red Scarf is in Lanzhou, Gansu province and 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.

The name of Doudou reminded me of a round and lovely face, but our Doudou was thin and small due to congenital heart disease. She was 2 with short hair. 3 months after the operation, her mother brought her for re-examination. Her hair was still short, but each index showed normal. Her mother relieved. 

When we met Doudou again at her home 1.5 years later, she became shy. Her mother said she was extremely timid and seldom speaks to strangers. We stayed for about 1 hour and she did not speak a word. Children living in remote areas seldom saw strangers, so most of them are shy. 

Doudou’s younger brother was 10 months. He was chubby and lovely. He got hydrocephalus a few months after birth. The family spent about 20000RMB for the treatment. Doudou’s grandmother was very sad.

Her grandmother got cataract and had a bad vision. To save money for the operation for Doudou, her grandmother gave up the treatment. When Doudou was treated, her brother got hydrocephalus. The grandparents could not do manual work. Only the father supported the family, but he could not go out to find a job due to the family situation. 

The weather affected the harvest of the peasants. If the weather promises, they can earn some money for the medical expanses of the child. Because of bad weather last year, the harvest was poor. We found Doudou’s father concerned a lot when we chatted with the family.

It was not easy for the family. Though the situation is not optimistic, they believe that they are still young and tomorrow would be better. We said goodbye to the family and will pray for the family. 

Original article written by Aiju Chang, translated by Maggie Li, and edited by Yanyan Zhang

---