ABC International School supports the surgery cost for children with congenital heart defects

On the afternoon of March 22, the Heartbeat Vietnam team (HBVN), along with teachers and students from ABC International School, paid a visit to two children, Huu Khang, and Nhu Y, after their successful heart surgeries at Tam Duc Heart Hospital. During this visit, students from ABC International School and two children spent time drawing and playing together.

Huu Khang is a twelve-year-old Khmer ethnic minority boy who lives in a rural area of Kien Giang province. Khang’s health was poor throughout his childhood, with frequent bouts of pneumonia and fever. In the middle of 2022, when Khang’s health began to deteriorate unexpectedly, he was rushed to Tam Duc Heart Hospital for a cardiac ultrasound. He was diagnosed with congenital heart defects and was indicated to undergo catheterization, a noninvasive cardiac procedure that would cost more than fifty million Vietnam dong. His family situation is extremely difficult. His mother used to work, but she was forced to leave her job to engage as a full-time caregiver to her ailing son. All of the family’s burdens piled up on his father, who made a living by fishing only 10 days a month for a meager wage.

Nhu Y, born in 2015, lives in Tien Giang province with her parents and 10-year-old brother in an old downgrade house made of corrugated metal sheets. The family’s income is based on a hectare of cultivated rice fields that they rent out. During her early years, the sickly child suffered from malnourishment and was subjected to a battery of medical tests. Nhu Y was also discovered to have congenital heart defects, however, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, she had to discontinue her routine checkups for two years. In late November 2022, Nhu Y received a free cardiac screening in her hometown through the VinaCapital Foundation (VCF)’s Rural Outreach Clinics program. She was diagnosed with Ventricular Septal Defect and Tricuspid Regurgitation and was prescribed congenital heart surgery to prolong her life. When hearing the news, her parents were full of panic-stricken responses because the surgical cost was so astronomical, even with health insurance coverage.

ABC International School’s assistance provided Huu Khang and Nhu Y with healthier hearts, similar to many of their peers, and assisted in reducing their families’ financial burdens. Previously, at the end of 2022, ABC International School donated 54,685,000 VND raised by teachers, parents, and students to fund timely surgery for 02 children with congenital heart defects via the HBVN program.

HBVN gratefully acknowledges ABC International School for making a life-saving difference in the lives of children with congenital heart defects like Huu Khang and Nhu Y. We hope that with the help and generosity of partners and sponsors such as ABC International School, more children will grow up with strong hearts and better lives.