A happy Ratha Pang carries her son, Soksamnang Vy, out of Rady Children s Hospital in San Diego, where Dr. Paul Grossfeld, left, just gave the young Cambodian a clean bill of health. (Jeff Gritchen/Staff Photographer)Press-Telegram Long Beach
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/31/2009
SAN DIEGO - Her hands were pressed together in the classic Cambodian gesture of respect. Her head bowed up and down, up and down, and the tears streamed.
Ratha Pang had just been told by a cardiologist that open-heart surgery less than two months ago on her 1-year-old son, Soksamnang Vy, had been a "100-percent success."
"He should have a normal life," said Dr. Paul Grossfeld, a cardiologist at Children's Specialists of San Diego. "He just has a scar to show off to his girlfriends when he gets older."
Vy had a dime-sized hole in his heart, known as a ventricular septal defect, repaired at Sunrise Children's Hospital in Las Vegas in December.
Vy, whose first name translates to "Lucky Friday," comes from an impoverished village on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
He was diagnosed with the ailment in Cambodia and brought to the United States by Long Beach nonprofit Hearts Without Boundaries, which arranged and paid for his travel and lodging. He is the second Cambodian child the nonprofit has rescued from a slow death.
The first child, Davik Teng, is back in her home village in Cambodia and doing well.
Grossfeld said Vy's heart function was great, there was no fluid or leakage around the hole and only a trace of seepage in the heart valve.
"Everything looks perfect, spectacular," Grossfeld said.
Pang, proclaimed it a "special day" in Khmer as she thanked the doctor and exchanged hugs.
Susan Grossfeld, who brokered the deal in Las Vegas after her husband's home hospital declined, was also on hand.
"Next year, we want to see Lucky running around and happy," she said to Pang.
The Grossfelds are among a group from University of California, San Diego that annually visits Angkor Hospital for Children in Cambodia to perform simple heart procedures.
However, more serious heart defects, such as the one that Vy had, require use of a heart-lung machine in treatments not readily available in Cambodia.
In the case of Vy, some Cambodian doctors had suggested valve replacement, a far riskier and in his case needless procedure that would have required multiple operations and the use of blood thinners for life.
Luckily for Lucky, Dr. Lyda Luy, a cardiologist in Siem Reap, recommended the more conservative choice and Grossfeld concurred.
Although Vy has been pronounced healthy and fit to travel, he will likely remain in the United States until March before returning to Cambodia.
While traveling to the appointment with Grossfeld, Pang playfully poked at her son's cheeks and pantomimed how they have filled out since he has been in the U.S.
Peter Chhun, the founder of Hearts Without Boundaries, explained that Vy has grown particularly fond of milk, which is hard to find and expensive in Cambodia.
Pang works as a cleaner in Cambodia for $60 per month.
The boy and his mom have also been introduced to a variety of Western foods.
Pang says she and her son are partial to pizza, hamburger, fried chicken and french fries.
Pang said Lucky is noticeably healthier since the surgery.
"He's much stronger. He's more playful and he moves faster than he used to," Pang says through translation as she pantomimes her son's movement.
"It's tougher for me to run after him," she adds with a smile.
greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/31/2009
SAN DIEGO - Her hands were pressed together in the classic Cambodian gesture of respect. Her head bowed up and down, up and down, and the tears streamed.
Ratha Pang had just been told by a cardiologist that open-heart surgery less than two months ago on her 1-year-old son, Soksamnang Vy, had been a "100-percent success."
"He should have a normal life," said Dr. Paul Grossfeld, a cardiologist at Children's Specialists of San Diego. "He just has a scar to show off to his girlfriends when he gets older."
Vy had a dime-sized hole in his heart, known as a ventricular septal defect, repaired at Sunrise Children's Hospital in Las Vegas in December.
Vy, whose first name translates to "Lucky Friday," comes from an impoverished village on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
He was diagnosed with the ailment in Cambodia and brought to the United States by Long Beach nonprofit Hearts Without Boundaries, which arranged and paid for his travel and lodging. He is the second Cambodian child the nonprofit has rescued from a slow death.
The first child, Davik Teng, is back in her home village in Cambodia and doing well.
Grossfeld said Vy's heart function was great, there was no fluid or leakage around the hole and only a trace of seepage in the heart valve.
"Everything looks perfect, spectacular," Grossfeld said.
Pang, proclaimed it a "special day" in Khmer as she thanked the doctor and exchanged hugs.
Susan Grossfeld, who brokered the deal in Las Vegas after her husband's home hospital declined, was also on hand.
"Next year, we want to see Lucky running around and happy," she said to Pang.
The Grossfelds are among a group from University of California, San Diego that annually visits Angkor Hospital for Children in Cambodia to perform simple heart procedures.
However, more serious heart defects, such as the one that Vy had, require use of a heart-lung machine in treatments not readily available in Cambodia.
In the case of Vy, some Cambodian doctors had suggested valve replacement, a far riskier and in his case needless procedure that would have required multiple operations and the use of blood thinners for life.
Luckily for Lucky, Dr. Lyda Luy, a cardiologist in Siem Reap, recommended the more conservative choice and Grossfeld concurred.
Although Vy has been pronounced healthy and fit to travel, he will likely remain in the United States until March before returning to Cambodia.
While traveling to the appointment with Grossfeld, Pang playfully poked at her son's cheeks and pantomimed how they have filled out since he has been in the U.S.
Peter Chhun, the founder of Hearts Without Boundaries, explained that Vy has grown particularly fond of milk, which is hard to find and expensive in Cambodia.
Pang works as a cleaner in Cambodia for $60 per month.
The boy and his mom have also been introduced to a variety of Western foods.
Pang says she and her son are partial to pizza, hamburger, fried chicken and french fries.
Pang said Lucky is noticeably healthier since the surgery.
"He's much stronger. He's more playful and he moves faster than he used to," Pang says through translation as she pantomimes her son's movement.
"It's tougher for me to run after him," she adds with a smile.
YOU CAN HELP
Write: Hearts Without Boundaries
744 Redondo Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90804
Call: 818-640-6191
E-mail: PeterChhun@
heartswithoutboundaries.org
On the Web: www.heartswithoutboundaries.org
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