LRS: Cun Hua’s Transformation After Surgery

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.

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Picture 3

Picture 2

Picture 4

August 2nd - Cun Hua needed postoperative fluid therapy. The doctors performed some punctures on Cun Hua, which really hurt. Cun Hua cried many times throughout, but she is now sound asleep. When awake, she often smiles at me, and tells me that she needs to be strong to pull through and that she can see the victory right in front of her.

Right now, Cun Hua’s body is still hooked to many tubes. But once the pain subsides, she still shows us her natural cheerful charm. In her pictures, she never forgets to show off her healed fingers, lips, and tongue. Cun Hua can now dream big for her future. Clutching onto her newly donated backpack, which she loves so much that she is never able to put it down, she tells me how much she desires to go to school after rehabilitation. Understandably, she does have much to catch up on; she is already 13 years old but only in 1st grade. She feels ashamed to be in the same class with kids six years younger. But, after Cun Hua thinks about the opportunity to even go to school, the excitement makes her forget the big age gap. Cun Hua, jia you~!

Look at her complexion and the color of her fingers. There is definitely no happier thing for her than this!

After viewing these photos, you will probably understand Cun Hua’s happiness.

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Original article was written by Yun and translated by U.S. intern Janna Wang.