December 2007/January 2008
Update: Xuan Trang, our heart kid from March, 2007, has been adopted by a French family and is now living in France.
We paid for heart surgery for two children on this trip, both with ventricular septal defect. Although their diagnosis was not as serious as some of our other children, both of them had some post surgical difficulties.
Ahn Thu with her mom after surgery
Chung Thi Anh Thu is a two year old girl from Soc Trang. Following surgery on January 5
th she spent two days in ICU and then went to a regular room. About a week later she was back in ICU for two more days with a fever. She then had a good recovery and is doing well at home.
Quang with Miss Yen after surgery
We met Ngo Duy Quang, a six month old boy, in an orphanage in Vung Tau where he had been abandoned. He had a skin infection and they were trying to clear it up before surgery. It was not clearing up at the orphanage, where it is common, so he was put in the hospital to get it cleared up. Surgery was January 5
th and his recovery was even more difficult than Anh Thu’s. He spent three days in ICU and then went to a regular room. A few days later he developed chest congestion and difficulty breathing and went back to ICU. His weight had gone from seven kilos down to four kilos. He slowly recovered and was returned to the orphanage on January 25
th. A woman from France is now completing documents to adopt him and it is expected that he will go to France with his new family in May.
Quang at the orphanage before surgery
March/April 2007
Janie visits Xuan Trang in hospital after surgery.
There is mixed news this time about our “heart kids.” First, here’s the good news. Born August 18th, 2005, Xuan Trang was only 19 months old when she had surgery in March. She lives in an orphanage in Vung Tau as her parents abandoned her when they found out that she had heart disease. She was diagnosed with ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect, tricuspid regurgitation and pulmonary arterial hypertension. Board members Janie, Phuong and Marv visited her in hospital about a week after her surgery. She was doing very well and was released a few days later.
On a more distressing note, we were unable to help Minh Luan, the eight year old boy we met last year. By the time we arrived in Vietnam, Dr. Phan had determined that Luan’s condition,\ (APSO Type IV) was so bad that his chances for survival after surgery were not good. Luan’s family, especially his mom, persisted and Dr. Phan agreed to reconsider. We paid $400 for an angiogram to give Dr. Phan the additional information he needed, but unfortunately his conclusion was that Luan was unlikely to survive the surgery.
July/August 2006
Thanh Nhi with her mother before surgery
Our “heart kid” for this trip is four year old Huynh Thi Thanh Nhi. Her dad is 25 and her mom is 23. They make a living catching fish and shrimp in a small river next to their house and selling them at market. Their average monthly income is about twenty five dollars.
When Thanh Nhi was about six months old, they noticed that her finger and toe nails were blue. She was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart disease that includes four specific anatomic defects. 40% of children with this condition die by age four, 70% by age 10 and 95% by age 40.
Thanh Nhi after successful surgery
Surgery was done in Saigon on August 5th, Thanh Nhi spent a couple of days in ICU, then recovered in hospital for almost two weeks until she was ready to go home. Our cost for this lifesaving surgery: Three thousand dollars.
A note about our surgeon, Dr. Phan.
In the mid-nineties, Dr. Alain Carpentier, a well known French cardiac surgeon, took ten Vietnamese surgeons to France to train them in heart surgery. He then sent French surgeons to Saigon to continue training. Only three of the ten made it as heart surgeons and Dr. Phan was the top student. He is now Chief of Surgery at the Ho Chi Minh Heart Institute and operates a couple of days a week at the private Trieu An Hospital, where he operates on our “heart kids.”
January/February 2006
Loc at home with his parents
Our “heart kid” for this trip is five year old Pham Tan Loc. His parents, Dat and Thanh, are both 27. They live in Binh Dai, a remote part of Ben Tre province. The land is not suitable for growing anything and Dat does whatever work is available for about $1.25 per day. Because of their location, Phuong and I were not able to get out to their house, but we met them on February 11
th when they were on the way to hospital. The parents were scared, happy and very grateful for our help, and Loc seemed to take it all in stride, even knowing that he would have open heart surgery the next day.
Loc after surgery
Loc had mitral valve insufficiency. Surgery was done on February 12th at Trieu An Hospital in Saigon. The mitral valve was repaired and a supporting ring was placed in it. The cost of this surgery was $3,600 ($600 for the ring) but they agreed to do it for the $3000 that we had budgeted for it. He has had a good recovery and was discharged home on February 22nd.
Phuong had a chance to visit all three of our heart kids from last year. Minh Thu and Phuong Ly are doing well. Thuy Duong reports that she is chronically weak, but it is not believed directly related to the heart surgery.
January/February 2005
Dear friends and supporters of The Vietnam Project,
Last July we were presented with an opportunity and a challenge: provide life-saving heart surgery for children in Vietnam. Phuong and I were approached by a physician that we know in a rural area of Ben Tre province in the Mekong Delta and asked if we could pay for heart surgery for three young girls. Another had already died waiting for surgery. We answered that we didn’t know if we could help or not because money that had been contributed to The Vietnam Project was to be used for other purposes.
Minh Thu with Board member Phuong before surgery
On return to the U.S. we discussed this with the other board members. It was different from what we had done up to this point, but once we were aware of it we couldn’t turn away. Through generous contributions by board members and a few friends, we raised $4,950 specifically for this project.
Minh Thu with her grandmother after surgery
On return to Vietnam in January, 2005, we began researching heart surgery facilities in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The Ho Chi Minh City Heart Institute can do up to six surgeries per day, and does about 1300 – 1400 each year. There are about 600 scheduled at any time and currently about 7000 on the waiting list. Some patients die waiting for surgery.
Phuong Ly at home before surgery
A four year old private hospital, Trieu An, is somewhat more expensive but urgent cases can be scheduled immediately and all cases can be done fairly quickly. The total cost for open heart surgery, including hospitalization, is $3000.00. Parts such as rings and valves are extra. Dr Phan, who is head of cardiac surgery at both hospitals, was trained in France by world famous heart surgeon Alain Carpentier, who also founded the Heart Institute.
Phuong Ly after surgery
On February 11th and 12th, Minh Thu, age 4, Phuong Ly, age 12 and Thuy Duong, age 14 were operated on. All are now home and doing well. East Meets West Foundation helped us with the funding of these surgeries.
Thuy Duong before surgery
We have decided to add heart surgery for children to our work, and plan to fund surgery for one or more children per year as long as we have adequate funding for our core projects - business start-up assistance, education and vocational training. We welcome your comments and opinions about this addition to our work in Vietnam.
Sincerely,
Marv
