Life-Changing Heart Surgeries for Kids in Vietnam

Thanks to your generosity and support, MEDRIX has been able to sponsor 9 children and young adults for life-saving heart surgery in 2016! You have given an incredible gift of life and hope to the people who have undergone surgery so far, and the long-term effects will be exponential. On our recent trip to meet with some of the potential patients in February, MEDRIX staff was reminded that it is not just a sponsorship that is provided through your donation: it is truly a gift of a new chance at life. Every person has a story, but we got to hear and experience the story of one young boy, now called “Hùng the Hero”. 

The following is taken directly from a report by Robert Catherman, co-founder of MEDRIX:

"Our first interview was with a mother and her 10 year old son. You can see them in the attached photos Mrs LaRelle reviewed the usual questions with the mom: 1) what do you know about your son’s diagnosis and proposed surgery?, 2) what is your occupation? (farmer), 3) how much can the family contribute toward the surgery? (have no money to offer), 4) will you promise that your son will stay in school after the surgery? (yes), etc, etc – the standard questions we ask all families before we say “Yes, MEDRIX will support the surgery.”

But this case had an unusual twist that we had been alerted to beforehand by the hospital staff. There was a big problem with the boy’s name. It seems that at the time of the boy’s birth there was a major conflict in the family and the family relationships had been badly damage and have not healed to this day. And at that time the father gave the boy a name reflecting this problem. Mrs LaRelle explored this topic with the mother to learn more. At this point the mother began to cry when she talked about the boy’s given name. Mrs Ha, who was translating for LaRelle, could not translate the Vietnamese name into English in a way that expressed the full meaning – she said the boy’s given name meant something like “conflict/war/hate”. And this was the name the boy was called at school and in his family. It was a embarrassment to the boy and a constant reminder of the broken relationships within the family. The mother was in tears the entire time that she talked about this sad, sad situation.

A lot of chatter when on in English and Vietnamese while we were trying to think about what to do. Finally, the idea was proposed that MEDRIX give the boy a new name. Since MEDRIX is having a big influence on the boy’s future life by sponsoring his heart surgery, why not try to influence the family to change his name from “conflict/war/hate”. What to change his name to??? More chatter – until the answer became clear – from now on, he would be named “Hùng” in Vietnamese which means “Hero” in English.

Mom has now stopped crying and is smiling. LaRelle asks if it is possible to change his name and the mom says “Yes, they can”. And our interview was concluded. “Conflict/war/hate” came into the room for the interview and left the room as Hùng the Hero.

Surgery to fix a malformed heart is relatively easy – Hùng’s surgery is scheduled for later this week. Healing a broken heart is not so easy – but it must be attempted. We think we helped both situations today."

Hung recovered quickly from his heart surgery, and was released from the hospital less than 2 weeks later! He now has a healthy and very happy life to look forward to, thanks to the generosity of supporters like you. Every person has a story like this, and the surgery they receive can change that story for the better. Please take a look at some of the other people who have benefited from life-saving heart surgery this year. We sincerely thank you for your support. 

Links:

• MEDRIX Heart Surgeries