Soksamnang Vy and his mother at their home in Cambodia (Photo: Long Beach Press Telegram)12/04/2008
By Greg Mellen, Staff writer
Contra Costa Times (California, USA)
Thanksgiving arrived in the first week of December for a young Cambodian boy and his family.
Soksamnang Vy, who turns 1 on Sunday, had life-altering open-heart surgery at Sunrise Children's Hospital in Las Vegas on Thursday.
The boy, from an impoverished village outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia, was brought to the United States by Long Beach nonprofit Hearts Without Boundaries for the procedure, which is not readily available in his home country.
"We are truly blessed and thankful," said David Kem, Vy's cousin, upon learning of the successful surgery. "Without the community effort, Soksamnang wouldn't have another chance at life. From the bottom of our hearts we want to thank everyone."
Vy suffered from a ventricular septal defect, a relatively common and easily repaired heart symptom in the United States, but a lingering death sentence in Cambodia where access to heart-lung machines and qualified physicians is nearly non-existent, particularly to the poor.
Vy is the second child brought to the United States by Hearts Without Boundaries, a fledgling nonprofit founded by NBC producer Peter Chhun.
The first child, 9-year-old Davik Teng, had successful surgery at Los Angeles Children's Hospital in March and has since returned to her home village near Battambang in northwest Cambodia where she is reportedly in good health.
Vy will likely spend the weekend in the hospital recovering and could spend another two weeks recuperating in Las Vegas before returning to Long Beach.
Soksamnang Vy, who turns 1 on Sunday, had life-altering open-heart surgery at Sunrise Children's Hospital in Las Vegas on Thursday.
The boy, from an impoverished village outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia, was brought to the United States by Long Beach nonprofit Hearts Without Boundaries for the procedure, which is not readily available in his home country.
"We are truly blessed and thankful," said David Kem, Vy's cousin, upon learning of the successful surgery. "Without the community effort, Soksamnang wouldn't have another chance at life. From the bottom of our hearts we want to thank everyone."
Vy suffered from a ventricular septal defect, a relatively common and easily repaired heart symptom in the United States, but a lingering death sentence in Cambodia where access to heart-lung machines and qualified physicians is nearly non-existent, particularly to the poor.
Vy is the second child brought to the United States by Hearts Without Boundaries, a fledgling nonprofit founded by NBC producer Peter Chhun.
The first child, 9-year-old Davik Teng, had successful surgery at Los Angeles Children's Hospital in March and has since returned to her home village near Battambang in northwest Cambodia where she is reportedly in good health.
Vy will likely spend the weekend in the hospital recovering and could spend another two weeks recuperating in Las Vegas before returning to Long Beach.
4 comments:
I am one of the KI readers would like to thank for the generosity of the American people and their perceptive toward this poor family in the life threatening event especially the little boy. May God Buddha bless Cambodia and her people.
Thank you Heart without Boundaries. Best wishes to the little on his recovery.
God bless him and the family!
Thank you all so much for your kindness and Wish Heart Without Boundary and other medical staffs in that hospital a great success.
Please continue this humanitarian acts to Cambodia to save hundreds of thousands other patients who has no means to afford/access such life-saving services.
The US killed millions Khmers but save only very few.
Vietnam does thousands of times better.
Post a Comment