Hospital Visit to Nga

I just had the most amazing afternoon.

First... to backtrack... Elizabeth, Sarah, and I are the Student Council advisors at the middle school and we've been working with the students to give back to the community in various ways.

One major outreach activity we've been involved with is Grace's Cookies... a non-for-profit that a woman from the United States began a few years ago. She has been living in Ho Chi Minh City while her husband works here and wanted to be able to do something to keep herself busy and give back to the local community. She decided to do something that she knew how to do... bake cookies... sell them (and have others sell them for her -- such as us!)... and then donate the money raised to a large organization which collects money to pay for life-saving heart surgeries needed by Vietnamese children whose families cannot afford it.

We have had a few Grace's Cookies days at the middle school and recently raised enough money to sponsor a child's heart surgery!

Today... we were able to go to the hospital to meet the 4-year old boy who received the heart surgery with our money.

Amazing.

Nguyen Van Nga is from the Mekong Delta (further south than HCMC) and has Ventricular Septal Defect. His father is a fisherman and his mother stays at home to take care of him and his sister. Nga's grandparents live with the family as well... so there are 6 family members who depend on the father's income alone. Nga has needed this heart surgery for some time but the family could not afford it. Last week, Nga and his mother traveled to HCMC for the heart surgery and are supposed to be able to return home tomorrow.

Elizabeth and I took two of the Student Council members and a bunch of toys, books, etc. with us to meet little Nga. He was quite shy at first but reached right for the stuffed teddy bear that Teena brought!

He did begin to play with the new toys and soon, he opened up and had a huge grin on his face. We laughed, played, ...and didn't want to leave. He was a little chatterbox by the end of our visit.   :)

Not only did we quite literally save a child's life... but this child is incredibly sweet and deserving to be saved (isn't every child, though?!).

I had the man from Heartbeat Vietnam talk to Nga's mother about possibly visiting them at their home in the Mekong Delta. We have a long weekend coming up and Sarah and I were planning to take a day trip down there anyway. I'd really love to see Nga again -- see where he lives -- and be able to bring them more toys and food.

Nga has never held a crayon, marker, or any kind of writing utensil before. He loved the crayons and markers that Elizabeth brought.

He also loved the stickers!!

So many people (random people whose children were also post-surgery) came into the room to see all of the commotion and happenings with the Westerners in the room.

Teena, Tony, and Annie made a beautiful card to bring with us as well. The man from Heartbeat Vietnam explained the card to Nga's mother, since she cannot read.

The front of the card says, More than 1,000 cookies. 200 students. 1 heart.


Have I mentioned how amazing our students are?!

Thank goodness Teena and Tony (students) were with us today! Teena was speaking with Nga's mom and asked how they would get back home to the Mekong Delta. The mom was planning on driving Nga on her motorbike!! Apparently Heartbeat Vietnam sets up a ride TO the hospital before surgery but the family is on their own for returning afterwards. ...We set up for them to have a proper ride back home.

Today's experience will stay with me forever. ...Like Sarah said, what a difference a few cookies can make.

Now that I feel settled in Vietnam and have an understanding of this land and its culture (somewhat)... I want to begin giving and making a (small) difference. I've volunteered before... but nothing like what I am doing here... I'm in a place that can really benefit from what I'm able to give. I love that.

The middle school's Student Council is also volunteering at a local orphanage, Thi Nghe Orphanage in the Binh Thanh District. It has also been quite the amazing experience.