[Summary: this article entails letters written by patients to LRS. All three of these kids received aid from LRS to treat congenital heart disease. They wrote to express gratitude and share stories about their lives. For more information about Little Red Scarf, a grassroot nonprofit that funds medical treatment for rural children with congenital heart disease, please viist:  http://www.tfishfund.org/little-red-scarf.html ]

Letter from Xia Xia

Teacher Yun, Teacher Chung:
How are you? How are all the teachers at LRS?

Thank you for calling me every once in awhile. I am very touched. Because I have been staying at home, I thought LRS would forget about me. But you all remember me. I am not going to school right now. Same as before, my leg starts to hurt when I walk for long periods of time. Dad is still working at the factory that breaks rocks, trying to save money for my club foot surgery. Teacher, do you think I can ever walk like normal people do? When I go get my surgery, can I come visit you at the cardiology department?

I have been very bored at home. Mom and dad would not let me work; they are very careful with me. It will have been a year by May. They said that I could start working after a year. Sometimes I make my mom mad at home, but I really don’t do it on purpose. At school, my classmates laugh at me for being a cripple. I cannot participate in school-organized activities. So I don’t like going to school anymore. But it’s scary to not know anything. If my club foot surgery succeeds, I still want to go back to school. Do you think I can do it?

When I’m bored, can I write to you or text you? Are there still a lot of kids in LRS?

Hope your work goes well and take care! (Teacher, when you receive the letter, please call me and let me know, so I wouldn’t worry)

Sincerely yours
Salutations.

Cong Xia

03/27/2012

Note: XiaXia is a patient who received aid from LRS in 2011. She found out that she had congenital heart disease when she was being treated for club foot (congenital talipes equinovarus, a congenital deformity involving one foot or both. The affected foot appears rotated internally at the ankle). The parents got XiaXia to have surgery on her heart immediately. After the surgery, XiaXia recovered well. The LRS office has been in touch with her, encouraging her to feel confident again. Due to her club foot, which makes XiaXia look severely crippled while walking, she cannot take part in school activities. Low self-esteem led her to give up on school. But we send XiaXia our best wishes and hope that she can successfully receive club foot surgery. Then she would be able to go back to school, to an environment that fosters her growth.

Letter from Qi Ming

Dear Aunties and Uncles at LRS, Dear Teacher Yun:
How are you?

I am Qi Ming. It’s been a year and a month since I finished my surgery. I am attending school now, the fifth grade. Everyone says I got taller. My family is farming now; and I can help my dad work. Are all the teachers at LRS doing well? Our teachers at school are not as nice as you. They are scary, which is why I am afraid of them when I couldn’t finish my homework. Right now, I rank number 15 in the class. My dad said that if I don’t study hard, he will make me go get a job. It’s just me and my dad. Sometimes I get jealous of other kids. My health is great right now, so I have a lot of energy to play. But sometimes dad scolds me, so I wouldn’t dare play anymore.

Now, a lot of people in our village knows about LRS. They envy dad and me. Dad and I are very happy as well. We are lucky to have met LRS. Dad always tells other people that its LRS that save my life. He says I have to always remember LRS and thank LRS. He says that if I do well in school, LRS would be glad. Is that true? I will study hard.

Sincerely Yours.
Salutations
Qi Ming
03/25/2012

Note: This is a letter that Qi Ming wrote on March 25 to the LRS office. There are some misspellings which we corrected in parenthesis (excluded in the translation). Qi Ming is all grown up; he can write letters now. We have called Qi Ming and told him that we received the letter. We said that we hope to receive his letters periodically, which made the kid really happy. Let’s look forward to Qi Ming’s next letter!
Disclaimer: A standard mail requires 7 days for delivery. We received three letters today, from Qi Ming, Fun Di, and Cong Xia. We will share these as soon as we can. There are three more letters on their way. We hope to receive them next week.

Letter from Fun Di

Hi, Teahcer Yun. I am Fun Di. Do you remember you? My health is much more restored now. I will go back to school this semester. Mom and dad have been busy with work in the fields, but they wouldn’t let me do chores, scared that it might hurt my body. All the teachers at school try to accommodate me. I don’t have to do morning exercises right now. All my friends know that my backpack is a gift from LRS; they are all jealous. I am in the seventh grade. My coursework is not bad. After surgery, I have been studying at home, so I am not really struggling right now. I will always remember all the help you have given me. I will study hard and strive to become just like you, so I can help other kids just like me. Here, I just want to say “thank you” again. I know how much you will always care for me. I will work hard! :)

Original stories: http://www.toumingyu.org/vivian/story/8636/, http://www.toumingyu.org/vivian/story/8635/, http://www.toumingyu.org/guanying/story/8637/

Orginally posted by YuJie Zhen & Ying Guan. Translated and edited by EV intern Sarah Chang