News: Little Red Scarf Treats 1000 Children

Read below to celebrate Little Red Scarf's 1000th child, Hongyan, successful surgery!

Little Red Scarf Treats 1000 Children of Congenital Heart Disease

Thank you for helping LRS reach their goal of treating 1000 children that they had set six years ago. They saw clearly in the past month one miracle after another because of your commitment to love and care for Hongyan. We would now like to share with you the journey she has taken over the past couple of weeks and also thank you for the help and support you provided for this special girl!

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Hongyan was diagnosed with congenital heart disease 11 days after she was born. Since then she has been unable to walk because her heart is so weak. She can only stand up for 5 seconds at a time. Hongyan's father passed away two years ago from paralysis. Her brother had to drop out of school and start working to pay for his medical fees. Due to this hardship, Hongyan's family has hardly any money. Fortunately, with the surgery, she will be able to walk, attend school, and the lives of her family will be drastically improved.

Two months ago, Hongyan's aunt and her other brought her to the hospital to see the possibility for surgery. The hospital told the family the surgery would be high risk and have high surgery fees. Futhermore, the hospital could not loan the family enough money to cover the bill. However, the hospital did give them the contact for LRS staff to see if LRS can help them. Without the surgery, Hongyan can only live about another two years. They contacted LRS and LRS staff traveled to Hongyan's home to verify the povery conditions of the family. ​

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LRS staff returned with Hongyan to the hospital and met with Doctor Tang, the best child CHD surgeon in Lanzhou. Dr. Tang determined that while the surgery was very complicated and risky, he was willing to try. He warned the family that Hongyan would probably spend a long time in ICU after the surgery due to complications. The family then decided to go ahead with the surgery.

During this period TFISH began asking our supporters to contribute to the surgery fee. Chao Foundation also sponsored a two-day charity art show in Los Altos to raise money for Hongyan's surgery. Distinguished artist, He Yuanming, donated a total of eight paintings to help LRS sponsor their 1000th surgery for Hongyan. The charity art show was a great success and raised enough money for surgery.

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Dr. Tang performed the successful surgery on Hongyan and she was recuperating in the ICU last week. Dr. Tang told us that Hongyan's condition was much better than he envisioned, as her vitals were normal and stable. At noon the next day they were even able to take her off the ventilator and on the fourth day, she left the ICU.

Hongyan was able to walk for the first time in her life and will go home tomorrow. Her fingers, fingernails, and hands no longer show signs of cyanosis (blueness). Her family continues to be deeply amazed and touched by Hongyan's transformation, repeating with joy that they "could not believe that Hongyan's face is no longer blue and rosy, now it is like a normal child!" ​

We will continue to update you on Hongyan's condition through our Facebook. You can also see more pictures of Hongyan as well as a video of her taking her first steps on our Blog! We would also like to extend a thank you to the following donors and volunteers:

Our Volunteers
Jack & Ying Ying Wang
Jei-Shuan & Su-Chen Chang
Annie Cheng
Ping & Amy Chao
PC
June Wang
Daniel Nguyen
EV Interns

Our Donors
Yuanming He
En Yong Foundation
Huang Family
Wei-Jin Dai
Henry & Lisa Chang
Kris Wang
Charlie Bui
Chao Foundation

Click here to see more donors...

Thank You from Hongyan's Mother

"We never imagined that there would be a day to see Hongyan's face no longer blue and for such a huge transformation and new life. Thank you the Little Red Scarf, our donors, and supporters who prayed for us daily. You are all Hongyan's heroes. If it weren't for the Little Red Scarf, Hongyan would still be carried by her grandmother right now."

Read the World Journal's article about Hongyan's successful surgery (Chinese).

Donate $10

View the original e-newsletter.