Physical Health China Project #10838

Curing kids with heart disease in southwest China

by China California Heart Watch

Curing kids with heart disease in southwest China

Project Report | Mar 13, 2014
March 2014 Update

By Sean Love | Project Leader, Vice President

Zhou Li Sha posing at the Great Wall

Dear China Cal donors,

We would like to thank you for your continued support of our efforts to help children suffering from congenital heart disease in rural Yunnan Province, China. Below are some updates and a summary of our recent activities. Please feel free to share this mailing--as well as our project homepage on GlobalGiving--with your colleagues, friends and family.

China Cal Winter Fundraising Drive. China Cal’s winter fundraising drive exceeded its goal, having raised $51,000 of the needed $50,000 by New Year’s Day, 2014. A significant portion of our funds were raised through GlobalGiving. One behalf of China Cal, I would like to thank our generous donors for their kindness and compassion. We promise to make 2014 even more fruitful for saving the lives of impoverished children suffering from heart disease in Yunnan Province.

Marc Yu Raises $11,000 for China Cal. On January 19, prodigy pianist Marc Yu gave a benefit concert on behalf of China Cal at the Nueva School in Hillsborough, CA. The concert was well-attended and raised approximately $11,000 for China Cal to support its activities in 2014. Before playing, Marc spoke to an audience of about 60 people of his experience in Yunnan in June 2013, where he assisted the China Cal team in its rural heart disease screening program for school children.

China Cal Helped 185 Children in 2013. In 2013, China Cal assisted a total of 185 impoverished children with free diagnostic, referral and financial support in order to cure their congenital heart defects. Together with our donors, our partner organizations have made it possible for all of these children to be treated at little or no cost to their impoverished families.

China Cal to Hold Volunteership in Yunnan in July 2014. China Cal will hold one volunteership this year in Yunnan, which will be an excellent opportunity to learn about our activities and to help China Cal fulfill its missions. The volunteership will take place from July 10 – 28, 2014 and will start in Dali and will involve travel to Hong He Prefecture, where volunteers will shadow and assist Dr. Robert Detrano, Founder and Director of China Cal, in the examination of children with heart disease. For details, see here.

China Cal Appoints Dr. Robert Detrano as China Cal Director for 2014-2015. The China Cal Board of Directors has asked Dr. Robert Detrano, a professor in the medical school at the University of California at Irvine, to take on the position as director of all activities for a term of two years. Dr. Detrano has, for seven years, directed China Cal activities as a volunteer clinical director. Dr. Detrano has accepted this position, and his major focus will be on establishing and directing a school for rural doctors in Yunnan Province.

China Cal to Launch a Pediatric Heart Training School for Rural Doctors. Congenital heart diseases (CHD) are the most common congenital anomalies. During five years of work in rural Yunnan province, China Cal has found that rural medical personnel are not sufficiently trained or motivated to detect CHD in newborns. The result is that children with heart defects go undetected and exhibit their first symptoms between 5 and 15 years of age, when it is too late for corrective surgery. These children die in adolescence or young adulthood. Newborn screening can prevent this tragic scenario. Screening would require adequate examination with a standard stethoscope and pulse oximetry at birth followed by a thorough stethoscopic examination at three to six months of age. China Cal, together with Kunming Medical University and the Yunnan Province Department of Health, will create a school to train all rural doctors responsible for the care of newborns and infants to do proper examinations at birth and at six months of age.

Check Out Our Chinese Blog. China Cal volunteer Fei Shu has been keeping up our Chinese blog, with several new posts. Feel free to check it out here.

Thank you again for your continued support. We hope that you will continue to be an advocate for the children that we serve by following our progress in 2014 and spreading the word to your co-workers, friends, and family.

*Pictured in this mailing is Zhou Li Sha, a child China Cal helped cure of her congenital heart disease in 2013. She is also featured in the video on our Project Entry page on GlobalGiving.

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Jan 2, 2014
January 2014 Update

By Sean Love | Project Leader, China Cal Board Member

Xi Zin before his operation

On behalf of the China California Heart Watch and our "save lives of Chinese children with heart disease" project, I wanted to be among the first to wish you a happy New Year!

Thanks to our new supporters and the continuing support of past donors, this giving season, we were able to raise over $6,200 through our listing on GlobalGiving. This was more than enough to pay for the surgery of one of the children we have been following, and I would to share his story with you.

On August 2, 2013, Xi Zin, a nine-year old boy, was brought by his parents to our clinic in Dali, Yunnan Province, China. He was cyanotic, meaning that his body appeared blue due to the low oxygen content in his blood. He was also suffering from recurrent fevers and a persistent cough. Although he was first diagnosed with congenital heart problems at the age of 18 months, his parents, who are farmers and live on an annual income of less than $15,000, had been unable to afford his surgery. As a result, Xi Zin suffered for years; he was prone to getting sick, limited in his ability to engage in physical activity, and he was usually unable to keep up with his peers. Xi Zin was examined by our staff, who confirmed that he had pulmonary valve atresia, underdeveloped pulmonary arteries, a ventricular septal defect, and patent ductus arteriosis.

Owing directly to your generous donations, a short time later, Xi Zin underwent corrective surgery at the Guangzhou Military Hospital. Attached are his pictures before and after his surgery. Just by looking at the color of his lips, you can tell that his cyanosis is gone. Xi Zin can now lead a fully healthy life. This is an example of why your donation matters and why we, and especially Xi Zin and his family, are deeply thankful for your support.

Because of the strong support that we received over the holidays, we have decided to increase our target by $10,000, to $25,000 total.

We wish all good things to you in the New Year, and we hope that you will continue to be an advocate for the children that we serve by following our progress in 2014 and spreading the word to your co-workers, friends, and family.

Xi Zin after his operation

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Nov 11, 2013
November 2013 Update

By Sean Love | Project Leader and Board Member

A volunteer screens a child for heart disease

Dear China Cal donors,

On Our Internship Programs and Finances. Though we will be accepting long-term volunteers and some short-term volunteers in July and August 2014, new Chinese laws will not allow us to continue our internship programs after December 2013. China Cal has in part depended on income from donations from families of interns to support our pediatric screening programs. In order to make up for the loss caused by the scaling down of our internship program, your support of China Cal on Global Giving is more important than ever. So far, China Cal has raised $7,110 from our Global Giving campaign, but we are still $7,890 short of our goal. Your continued support is invaluable, especially as we transition toward ending our internship programs.

China Cal Has Helped 116 Children in 2013. With two months still to go in 2013, China Cal has assisted 116 impoverished children this year with free diagnostic, referral and financial support in order to cure their congenital heart defects. Our partner organizations have made it possible for all of these children to be treated at little or no cost to their impoverished families. We plan on helping at least 20 more kids before the year is over. Donations of $400 will be matched by five times that amount by our partners in China. In other words, your donation of $400 will save a child’s life.

Donate Today and Receive Our Photo Book. Your donation of $150 or more will earn a China Cal photo book, sent to you free of charge. The book is hardcover, 60 pages and contains our favorite 133 photos. The photos were taken by China Cal doctors, interns, and volunteers between 2006 and 2012 and are arranged by geographical region in Yunnan. They reflect the striking beauty of the landscape, the cultural diversity of the communities that we serve, and the unfailing dedication of China Cal’s volunteers and collaborators. Volunteers Cameron Jean Shaw and Zephyr Detrano edited the book. After submitting your donation, a member of our staff will be in touch with you to get your mailing address.

China Cal Chinese Blog Now Going Strong. China Cal volunteer Fei Shu has created and started posting on our new Chinese blog. Check it out here.

Thank you for your continued interest in China Cal and for your commitment to the children of Yunnan. If you haven't seen it yet, check out the attached video--a 6:45 documentary on our work made by Daniel Anderson and published through the University of California at Irvine School of Public Health.

Links:

UCI GHREAT Initiative documentary on China Cal

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