By Sean Love | Project Leader, China Cal Board Member
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.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
