By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer05/26/2008
LONG BEACH - Call it the Davik Teng victory tour.
Davik, the 9-year-old Cambodian girl brought to the United States for life-altering open-heart surgery, is making the rounds in Southern California before returning to her home in a small village in Battambang Province.
Doctors have cleared Davik to travel and she is scheduled to return on July 9. At that time, she will be accompanied by her mother, Sin Chhon, and Peter Chhun, the founder of Long Beach nonprofit Hearts Without Boundaries, which sponsored Davik's journey to the United States.
Two months after surgery to repair what doctors described as a quarter-sized hole in her heart, also known as a ventricular septal defect, Davik has shown remarkable progress and is fit to return to her home country.
Although she will remain on heart medication for the duration of her stay here, there are no plans for her to see doctors again until after she returns home.
Dr. Mark Sklansky, Davik's cardiologist in the United States, says the girl's heart function is still "mildly depressed" but that there has been consistent improvement since her March surgery.
"I think she'll have a full recovery," he said.
Sklansky, who helped broker the deal with Childrens Hospital to bring Davik here, said although there were some minor setbacks and obstacles along the way, he is happy with the results.
At the end of Davik's final visit, Sklansky said, "I raced her down the hall and she beat me. As I waddled back to my office, she was laughing."
On Thursday, Davik, her mother, Chhun and family friend Chantha Bob visited the Press-Telegram, where Davik munched on pizza and was given a tour of the paper's downtown office.
On Saturday, she was feted by the Cambodian Jewelry Association of California.
Trips to Disneyland and other Southern California attractions are also planned. Davik and crew will also visit Portland, Ore., where she will meet members of the Cambodian-American Community of Oregon. That group, led by Chantha Bob's younger brother, Chanly, organized the aid mission that led to the discovery of Davik and her ailment.
When he returns to Cambodia with Davik, Chhun hopes to find another child in need of a miracle.
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles donated its facilities and cardiac team for Davik's procedure and UCLA has offered similar services for Chhun's next patient.
"We are going to bring back one more," Chhun said of Davik's successor. "One heart at a time."
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