LRS: Rehabilitation after Surgery

Little Red Scarf is in Lanzhou, Gansu and Yunnan 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.

I have been thinking a lot on how to start this email. There’s too much, so I did not know how to start. Finally, I decided to start with gratitude. So far, I still remember the day I heard the good news from Little Red Scarf. I was relaxing and slept well that night in hospital.

I was sent to operation room on September 5, 2014. I fell asleep when the anesthesia began to work. I thought I could not know how anxiety my family members were when they were waiting outside. Luckily, I passed a major test. We were all relaxed.

It’s December 26, 2014, and I am sitting in front of a PC and reviewing days passed in a few months. The happiest thing is the change of my health and the transformation of my mentality. I completely knew the situation of my health.

Xiao Qin after surgery

A month after surgery

The first change is walking. I was afraid of walking when I was quite young. I felt exhausted to walk a short distance. During the growing up, I kept this kind of feeling. In last summer, I was scared because my heart was too weak to walk. I tried not to walk. In this spring, I walked even less. I seldom got out of the door. On 121st day of operation, I felt very relaxing and walked easily for a distance without any sign of breath problem. I was so happy and kept telling my parents every day the change of my body. We were all expecting the scene I am completely recovery. 

The second change I found is I became thinner. When I was in hospital, I noticed my roommates were thin and weak, but I looked stronger than them. I have more fat in the body. Actually, I ate not much, why I looked different from the other patients. I asked doctor and checked from internet, but found no clear answer. I often threw out after I ate something. I might be the digestive system problem. I was looked swelling. During the period of the operation, the swelling decreased. I became thinner and healthier. When my friends and neighbors came to see me, they would say I became slim and the skinner became brighter. I thought it’s another witness for the change of my body. 

The other change I found is diet. During the past few years, I ate and drink regularly. I never ate meat or food which is difficult to digest. I could not drink beverage or soda water. I just drink plain water and simple food, but it was still a burden for my stomach. The water in my body could not be drained, so my legs and hands looked swelling. I felt difficult in walking and taking things. After the operation, the food I ate could be digested soon and the water could be drained in time. The whole person seemed relaxing. I have not felt swelling or stomach distention. 

The feelings of out-of-breath or fatigue have not appeared since the operation. I expect more changes in my body in the future months. 

Thank Little Red Scarf for the help. I would put my gratitude into action. I will try my best to return when I recovery. 

Sincerely thank you!

Original Article Written by Xiao Qin, translated by Maggie Li, edited by Yanyan Zhang