We've Had Successful Heart Surgeries!

Little Girl in Nanchang Received Heart Surgery

"HFP" from the Nanchang Orphanage was born in January of 1993 with a congenital heart defect known as tetralogy of fallot.  

Update 6/7/03 - With the pledge of funds to come, we sent the money needed and a successful surgery was completed before the SARS epidemic began in China.   This surgery was largely funded by the Jeff Mladenik Memorial Fund.  We'd like to extend our thanks to the Mladenik family for making this possible.

Little Boy in Nanchang to be Adopted After a Successful Heart Surgery!

"HZQ" from the Nanchang Orphanage was brought to the the NYU Medical Center in the United States for heart surgery on February 7, 2002.  Dr. Stephen B. Colvin performed a rastelli procedure, which was not available in Nanchang.

By March, he was doing so well that he was able to be placed with a foster family in China.  Now, he is waiting for a wonderful family from the Netherlands to travel to China, complete the adoption and become his "forever family".

Thanks to all of you who helped make this possible!

UPDATE:

In March 2010 we received this e-mail from his adoptive family in the
Netherlands:  "He has been in our family in the Netherlands since 2003 and
is doing very well. As I e-mailed you a few years ago he had his second
Heart surgery in 2003. Now at this time he is recovering from his third
surgery which he had last week and maybe it will be the last one. Shan, as
we call him now, is already back home.  He got a new valve and a piece of
new blood vessel. The doctor told us he prepared the boy for the future so
the planned surgery when he is grown up is perhaps not necessary anymore. I
would like you to know this and we thank everyone very much who made his
first surgery possible. Without it our son would not have survived."

Young Man Raised in the Xinyu Orphanage Needs Heart Surgery

"ZZG", who grew up as an orphaned boy living in the Xinyu orphanage needs to receive heart surgery for a congenital heart disease (a ventricular septal defect).

Cost for this surgery is currently estimated at $3,886.

Update 11/25/02 -  We have a sponsor for this surgery!  Thanks!

Update 2/5/04 - "ZZG" has had a successful heart surgery and is recovering very well.  He's even been helping out at the orphanage, where he continues to live.

A Child From The Ganzhou Orphanage Had a Successful Surgery

"HXM", an orphaned  ten-year-old boy recently received heart surgery for a congenital heart disease (a ventricular septal defect).  He is doing very well and can walk now.  He is currently receiving school tuition and foster care sponsorship through us.

Alice Lengers, a kind woman from here in the United States raised the funds needed for the surgery in memory of a girl whom she befriended in China who later succumbed to heart disease.

Note: During the course of medical treatment, it was discovered that HXM was actually a little boy with undescended testicles.   He is doing fine now.

To find out more about this project click here...

A Boy from the Orphanage in Nanchang Received His Heart Surgery

"HDZ", an orphaned  toddler boy born in May, 2001 received heart surgery for a congenital heart disease this summer.  The surgery was funded by donations through Altrusa.  He's shown above left on March 30, 2002 before surgery and above right following his surgery.  Obviously, he's now a much happier, healthier little guy.  His July, 2002 report says "The child likes to play with toys.  He has been improving in body and mind."

2003 Update: HDZ now has a foster family of his very own and our latest report tells us that he is doing great!  Though he still needs help with feeding, he can stand by himself and call to his new dad.

A Boy from the Orphanage in Yingtan Received His Heart Surgery

"Tommy", shown above with his Amity Foundation sponsored foster family in Yingtan, suffered from a congenital heart disease known as a tetralogy of fallot from birth.  Tommy was born in June of 1992 and when he was nine years old, doctors determined that he needed surgery.  His foster family loved him very much, but couldn't afford to pay for his surgery.

Update May 9, 2001:  Wonderful news!  Thanks to Altrusa contributors, Tommy had his heart surgery and it was a success!   We may need additional funding for follow-up medical care for this little boy.

HTH Came to America for Heart Surgery!

"HTH" (pictured above) needed to come to America for surgery...

HTH was one of the original four children brought into the Shanghai Children's Medical Center for surgery in 2000.  However, it was discovered that more extensive surgery was needed and so it was decided that a medical team in the United States take on this case.

HTH had a successful surgery in the United States and is healthy and happy!  She has since been adopted and is living happily in the United States.  HTH is shown in the photo on the right below with her new sister.  HTH is on the left.

Emmie's Heart Surgery was Successful!

A sweet little girl from the orphanage in Nanchang received a successful heart surgery for congenital heart disease. 

"Emmie" (shown above) is the adorable 2-year-old girl shown above.  Emmie had congenital heart disease and needed surgery for a ventricular septal defect.

On July 15, 2001 we got some wonderful news!  Gloria's Place of Hope, a non-profit organization specializing in providing heart surgeries for children around the world, offered to help us with Emmie's surgery.  

Update - July 20, 2001:  Emmie had her surgery yesterday and came through it just fine!  She did have the ventricular septal defect, but it was also associated with pulmonary stenosis and blockage of the right outflow tract, which together is called tetralogy of fallot.  Shirley from Gloria's Place of Hope reported that Emmie (HJH)  was in good condition and that doctors were going to disconnect her from the ventilator if everything went well.

Update - June 26, 2002: We received a new photo of Emmie (above right) with her new foster mom!

Here is a photo of Emmie in the Shanghai Children's Medical Center awaiting surgery - surrounded by toys, balloons and lots of love.

We're also happy to report that another child from Emmie's orphanage, HTH, had his Tetralogy of Fallot repaired on the same day as Emmie.

"Julie" From Xinyu Received a Successful Heart Surgery!

Julie (shown above) lives in the XinYu orphanage.  She is eight years old and in primary school.  She likes singing and is a shy girl.  She told Dr. Hong from the Amity Foundation that she likes stuffed animals.  Julie likes playing soccer, too.  In her mid-term exam, she got 100 in mathematics.  She suffered from congenital heart disease known as a tetralogy of fallot.  After her medical exam, it was determined that she needed heart surgery.  

Julie wasn't feeling up to surgery earlier, but the doctors were able to schedule her for surgery in September at the Shanghai Children's Medical Center.

Update September 17, 2001: Julie had a successful surgery, sponsored by Gloria's Place of Hope!  Surgery was performed in the Shanghai Children's Medical Center during the first week of September, 2001.  As you can see in the photo (above right) Julie is recovering nicely and getting her energy back!  She was released from the hospital this week and has returned to Xinyu. 

As you can see in the photo to the left, Julie is doing fantastic now!  It's really exciting to see her looking so healthy and full of energy.

Julie has been adopted!

We're so happy to pass along the news from her adoptive parents in the United States that "Julie" is doing great and has a sister roughly the same age from the Xinyu orphanage.  Congrats to this wonderful family! 

"Andrew" from Nanchang Has Received Heart Surgery!

Andrew - HFG (shown above) is a happy little 2 year old boy.  Andrew also needed surgery, so that he could play soccer with the other guys some day.  He had a tetralogy of fallot congenital heart condition.  Andrew is from the orphanage in NanChang.  

Update October 19, 2001:  Andrew has now had a successful surgery at the Shanghai Children's Medical Center and has returned back to the orphanage in good health and good spirits.

"HZY" from Nanchang Has Also Received Heart Surgery!

HZY (shown above) was born in April of 2000.  Our partnership last year with Gloria's Place of Hope freed up funds that allowed this beautiful little toddler to receive the heart surgery that she so badly needed.  She has now been adopted and lives in the United States! 

With your help we can raise funds for more life-saving surgeries...

Again, we already know of other children who won't make it without these life-saving surgeries.  We need to raise funds now, so that we can be ready when the doctors determine that the need for the surgeries is imminent.

The approximate cost for a Tetralogy of Fallot surgery at the Shanghai Children's Medical Center is about $6000.  Costs vary, depending upon the type of surgery and care needed.

Altrusa Foundation would like to help by providing needed badly needed exams, surgeries and post operative care for the children.   And for those children that need to come to the U.S. for their surgeries we'd like to pay for the transportation costs for the child and their nanny.   If you'd like to make a donation for this project, please make your check out to the Altrusa International of Longview-Kelso Foundation and specify that your donation should be directed toward "Heart Surgery Fund".

Donations can be sent to:

Altrusa International of Longview-Kelso Foundation, Inc.
c/o Dr. Peggy Gurrad
P.O. Box 1354
Longview, WA  98632

You can also use your credit card to make a donation online through PayPal (a 1.9% fee will be charged).  If you'd like to do so, just go to www.PayPal.com and send donation to the Altrusa Foundation using the e-mail address of peggy@gurrad.com.

We're all very hopeful that we can get these kids the medical attention they need.  We'll keep you posted on this site, as to our progress.  Any additional funds received will be held as emergency funds in our general medical fund.

Thanks Very Much,

Dr. Peggy Gurrad
Altrusa International of Longview-Kelso Foundation, Inc.
peggy@gurrad.com 

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