Nong Patcharadech Da Kaew, 1 year and 5 months old, is the son of father Panyawuth Da Kaew and mother Saranaya Saengmuang. His father is originally from Phuket Province and his mother is from Phang Nga. When Nong was born at Phang Nga Hospital, she was born normally. But when Nong fell ill, she had a fever, coughed and had a runny nose. So, her parents took her to a clinic near their house. The doctor informed them that when they listened to Nong’s heartbeat, they heard an abnormal sound like a heart leak. They were not sure if it was a leak in the upper or lower chambers and how much. The doctor recommended that they go to the hospital to check for sure. When their parents found out, they were very worried. The next day, they rushed Nong to Phang Nga Hospital where Nong was born. There were 2-3 doctors to listen to her and the doctor informed them that Nong might have a hole in the left lower chamber of his heart. When they heard this, their parents were shocked and worried about what to do. However, the doctor advised them not to worry. There are many specialists at present. The doctor will refer them to Vachira Phuket Hospital for further treatment. Since Phang Nga Hospital does not have a pediatric cardiologist and no equipment or tools to diagnose and treat congenital heart defects to determine what is wrong with her, her parents took her to Vachira Phuket Hospital. The doctor performed an X-Ray and Echo to make sure where the hole in her heart was and how big it was, and if there were any other abnormalities. From the results, the doctor said that the hole in her heart was quite large and there was a low chance that it would close on its own. However, there is a treatment method, which is surgery. When the parents found out that she had to have surgery, they became even more worried. They were also worried about the cost of surgery, travel, and living expenses because the parents have 3 children, 2 of whom are studying. The father is the only breadwinner, while the mother is not working because she has to take care of all 3 children. The doctor said that he would help contact and coordinate with the foundation to support children’s heart surgery, but they had to take the child to Rajavithi Hospital in Bangkok for the surgery. However, because the parents were still worried about the cost, they had not yet agreed to let the child have the surgery. The doctor gave her medicine and told her to go home and rest first, and made an appointment for a follow-up.

When she took her son to the doctor for the second appointment, her mother agreed to let him have surgery. The doctor coordinated and sent information about her son’s condition to the foundation and asked her to wait for the foundation to contact her again to inform her of the surgery schedule. She had been waiting for a long time, until about 6-7 months later the foundation contacted her to inform her of the surgery schedule. She had to stay at Rajavithi Hospital for 2 days to prepare for the surgery. On the 3rd day, she had to go in the surgery room for about 3-4 hours before coming out to recover in the ICU for only 2 nights. She was then able to be transferred to the cardiac surgery ward. In total, she was in the hospital for about 1 week before she could go home. The doctor informed her that after the surgery, she would recover normally and be able to run and grow like other children.