The following is a personal letter from Little Na, a child who recovered from congenital heart disease after receiving help from Little Red Scarf. To support LRS, which provides heart surgeries to underprivileged children struggling with congenital heart disease, please go to here. Find further updates on Little Na here. 

Dear Little Red Scarf aunts and uncles:

Hello!

When I was sick, you made me feel warm; you gave me a new heart; you gave me confidence; and you made my dream come true. I am very thankful for all your help. While I was overwhelmed by illness and on the verge of losing my health, your warm words encouraged me and helped me find confidence to face my disease with bravery. After my surgery, you sent me a lot of nutritious supplements; it made me feel that you really care about me, and I am very happy. While I was in the hospital, you sent me text messages showing your concerns about my health, for which I am really deeply grateful. When I was discharged from the hospital, you sent me a bag that I wanted for a long time, and also pens, notebooks, and a pretty pencil case.

Whenever I see these things, I feel determined to study hard, work hard, grow up strong, and honor my community and country. I will also promote Little Red Scarf and help spread the Little Red Scarf spirit. Finally, allow me to scream out: thank you, aunts and uncles from Little Red Scarf!

A child rescued by you, 
Little Na
Happy New Year! Best Wishes.
2012-1-20 

Little Red Scarf reached 602 surgeries in October! And, we received this encouraging letter from an LRS child family member:

Dear Mr. Yun,

I am Li Zimeng’s father. My child is all right now. Initially, we had planned to return to Lanzhou for a checkup, but now because my wife is ill, we have decided not to. We had a Color Doppler ultrasound for Zimeng at the local hospital and the doctor said that she is healthy now. We are very appreciative of Little Red Scarf. I will tell Zimeng when she is older that Little Red Scarf helped her overcome the disease when she was young. You have very kind hearts to help us and our entire family is grateful to you. Happy National Day!


Hearing news from families is so encouraging and we continue to wish Zimeng all the best in her recovery!

We were invited by our former partner, Seanan Fong, to attend this year's Community Health Symposium at Stanford. Seanan had taken a brief hiatus from his undergraduate studies late last year and during his time off, traveled extensively through China to document our work with Little Red Scarf. Last Thursday evening, he had the opportunity to present some of that work to his peers through a poster at the conference, as well as through his brief talk. In his 7-minute presentation, he took the audience through the story of Little Jiao, who he followed from pre-op to post-op. He also shared his experience interacting with people from rural areas of China and introduced the Chao Foundation's Service Scholar program. We hope that Seanan's experience will inspire other college students to get involved with work in less industrialized areas. We are grateful to Seanan for the effort he put into raising awareness for Little Red Scarf's work and congratulate him on his success at the symposium!

Does anyone remember Haoyang, one of our Little Red Scarf children featured in our August Newsletter?
It was last Thursday , the week before National Day (October 1), when I saw Hao Yang again.  Actually this was the third time that I saw him during his treatment, which lasted a long five months.  Between April and September, Hao Yang had come to Beijing hoping for his first treatment, been forced to go back home and wait, make a second trip to Beijing for the surgery, and battled postoperative respiratory problems. In that time span, Hao Yang experienced more medical battles than some people do in a lifetime. 

We all feared that Hao Yang would not be able to recover from his post-op complications; even I felt little hope when I saw the video of him posted by the nurse in the ICU. However, despite his desperate situation, we watched a miracle unfold. We were especially moved by his parents' joy upon the news that he was beginning to take a turn for the better. Hao Yang was moved from the ICU to the med/surg ward for noncritical patients shortly thereafter. Although he was skinny, he was no longer in grave danger

When I saw Hao Yang this time, it was time for him to leave the hospital and return home. Now Hao Yang can walk by himself and can communicate with us, though he is still weak, which shows in his voice. Through Skype, he communicates with Director Ruan, who is very concerned about him, and he sings for her. He is very young and still does not understand the amazing grace that has been bestowed upon him, that his life in itself is miraculous. He is perhaps more aware that something changed in his family. His mother is finally emotionally ready to take him home and be the mother she couldn't be to him previously. However, he will some day come to realize the full weight of everything he has survived.

We take a photo for Hao Yang’s family, and his parents’ faces are beaming with happy smiles. After that we take turns getting photos with Hao Yang. Even though all the excitement is probably exhausting for his weak body, he is polite and doesn't complain. 

Before leaving , Hao Yang’s father gives us some walnuts, which he grew himself. I pat Hao Yang’s shoulder and tell him that he should take good care of his parents when he grows up. Hao Yang nods. We both agree to meet again in three months when Hao Yang comes to Beijing for a follow-up appointment. We hope that Hao Yang will recover quickly, that he will be stronger by then. Only time will tell, but in the interim, all we can do is be grateful for the changes we have already seen in his life, and hope for the best in the future.

The Little Red Scarf Project is growing by leaps and bounds. We were thrilled to report in this month's newsletter that we finished July with 533 completed heart surgeries, putting us at about 67% of our goal. And, even as our staff and medical teams work hard to care for the children already in the program, our volunteers have been working hard to raise program awareness in the community. This month, Little Red Scarf volunteers placed a publicity booth at Lanzhou Northwest Normal University to encourage students to help connect sick children in their hometowns with us. Thanks to their help, we are looking forward to finding and serving more children with CHD.

This month, we also bid farewell to a dedicated member of our team, Ms. Liu, who left for family reasons. "Mother Liu" has been a committed and wonderful part of Little Red Scarf over the last year and a half and will be missed by staff and Little Red Scarf families alike. We would have loved for our time together to have been longer, but are so grateful for her efforts and wish her all the best.