On Tuesday, January 29th Austen Morris Associates visited Heart to Heart Shanghai’s Yodak Hospital located in Shanghai Puxi to meet the six sponsored children from the funds raised from Chi Fan for Charity last November 17th. All six of the children sponsored were at the hospital and in recovery. We were able to meet each of the children, hear their tragic stories and meet their parents and grandparents. Each of the children were selected by doctors who examined hundreds of children in rural China who suffer from Congenital Heart Defect (CHD). They were selected based on the neediest cases and traveled to Shanghai to receive their surgeries. Each of their surgeries were successful and they have returned to their home towns with the opportunity to grow up healthy.
Stories of Survival
Bai Shu Ting was diagnosed with CHD when she was only one month old. The local doctors advised the family that there was a chance that the child might heal when older. At 6 months, Shu Ting was hospitalized at regular intervals and the treatments drained the family’s savings. In addition to baby Shu Ting, the family also had to care for the grandfather and the grandmother, who had lung cancer and stomach cancer. The annual family household income is roughly 5,000 RMB and have had to borrow money and are now in debt for RMB 30,000. The family could not have afforded the operation for their only child.
Cheng Yu Qian was born premature in the province An Hui. While she was treated for pneumonia at the local hospital, she was also diagnosed with CHD when she was only 6 months old. The father tries to work part time, but with medial education there are not many opportunities for him in the village. They have also recently lost their house and are currently living with an uncle. Additional traumas and health with grandparents have caused Yu Qian mother to spiral into depression and she is currently being treated with chronic medication. Hopefully the surgery for little Yu Qian helped relieve some of the stresses that her mother endures.
