Davik Teng waiting for her surgery (Photo: Long Beach Press Telegram)03/28/2008
By Greg Mellen
Staff writer
Long Beach Press Telegram (California, USA)
LOS ANGELES - Davik Teng had a big grin as she was wheeled out of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles just four days after receiving open heart surgery.
The 9-year-old Cambodian girl was brought to the United States for life-altering surgery she was unable to get in her home country. Today, she looked healthy and was happy to be on her way back to the Long Beach home where she is staying.
Davik has suffered since birth from a large hole in her heart known as a ventricular septal defect. Although a somewhat common ailment that is usually fixed in the U.S. in the first year or two of a child's life, Davik's ailment went untreated until she was discovered by workers at a Long Beach nonprofit.
On Monday, Davik when through the open heart procedure performed by a world class cardiology team headed by Dr. Vaughn Starnes.
By Friday, she was eating heartily, looking healthy and cleared to return to Long Beach to recuperate. But for the long scar running most of the length of her torso, Davik showed no ill-effects.
At 2 p.m., she was trundled with her mother into the car of Peter Chhun, founder of Hearts Without Boundaries, the nonprofit that sponsored Davik's journey.
Childrens Hospital donated the cardiac team and its facilities for the surgery.
Davik will remain in Long Beach until she is healthy enough to return to Cambodia. No date for that has been set.
greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291
The 9-year-old Cambodian girl was brought to the United States for life-altering surgery she was unable to get in her home country. Today, she looked healthy and was happy to be on her way back to the Long Beach home where she is staying.
Davik has suffered since birth from a large hole in her heart known as a ventricular septal defect. Although a somewhat common ailment that is usually fixed in the U.S. in the first year or two of a child's life, Davik's ailment went untreated until she was discovered by workers at a Long Beach nonprofit.
On Monday, Davik when through the open heart procedure performed by a world class cardiology team headed by Dr. Vaughn Starnes.
By Friday, she was eating heartily, looking healthy and cleared to return to Long Beach to recuperate. But for the long scar running most of the length of her torso, Davik showed no ill-effects.
At 2 p.m., she was trundled with her mother into the car of Peter Chhun, founder of Hearts Without Boundaries, the nonprofit that sponsored Davik's journey.
Childrens Hospital donated the cardiac team and its facilities for the surgery.
Davik will remain in Long Beach until she is healthy enough to return to Cambodia. No date for that has been set.
greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291
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