Nong Tai Chiam is a Yao hill tribe child living in Laos, a neighboring country of Thailand. He has fair skin, is cheerful, smiles easily, and is thin because he doesn’t drink much milk and is always short of breath. His family is poor. His father works as a general laborer, earning 50-70 baht per day. He has to support his family of 6, including his grandparents, himself, his wife, his eldest daughter, and Nong Tai Chiam. His life is quite difficult. Nong Tai Chiam’s father said that he has 2 children. His eldest daughter is a normal child, while Nong Tai Chiam is his youngest son, who has a ventricular heart defect (VSD). When Nong was born, he was fine, but he noticed that he would tire easily and could not suck much milk, so he became thin. When Nong was about 5 months old, Nong had a cold and was short of breath, but he didn’t take him to the hospital because he didn’t have money, so he treated him with local medicine. When he saw that his condition was getting worse, he decided to take him to see a doctor at Chiang Saen Hospital, who treated his symptoms. He stayed in the hospital for about 1-2 weeks before the doctor let him go home and gave him medicine to take home. I thought that after finishing the medicine, my son would be fine. But after returning home for 2 days, my son got sicker, so we had to take him back to Chiang Saen Hospital again. They just treated him according to his symptoms. When Chiang Saen Hospital said they would send him to Chiang Rai for treatment, they asked if he was okay. I saw that my son’s condition was getting worse, but I didn’t have any money. But for the sake of my son, I would do anything. So Chiang Saen Hospital sent him to Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital for further treatment. When we arrived at Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital, they took my son to get a blood test and an echo. They found out that Nong Taijiam had heart disease. If he wanted to be completely cured, he would have to undergo surgery. He would also have to be transferred to another hospital, such as Chiang Mai or Bangkok. They asked if it would be convenient for him. The surgery cost was quite expensive. When I found out, I even thought about jumping off a building to kill myself because I couldn’t do anything. I had no money. I had nothing. I only had myself, my life, and my breath. I was at my wit’s end. I didn’t know how to solve this problem. I only had 2 children. My daughter grew up and got married. Only my son lived with his parents. But my son also got sick with this disease. What should I do to make him live with us? If I wanted him to live, I would have to have surgery. But I didn’t have the wisdom, I didn’t know what to do.

But Dr. Yaowalak in Chiang Rai tried to find a way to help in every way, helping to contact the foundation to support heart surgery for children. When the foundation accepted my son as a patient, I felt very happy. It was like a miracle came to help my son, helping us get through this great problem.

Before traveling to have the surgery this time, we had a lot of difficulties because our family was not very well off. We had to pay for passports. It took about 2 months to get it. Plus, the travel time was difficult because I’m a hill tribe person. I had to walk from my home to the main road for about 1-2 hours, then wait for a bus to the pier on the opposite side of Chiang Saen, and then wait to cross the river to Chiang Saen. From Chiang Saen, I took a bus to Chiang Rai, and then another bus to Bangkok. If I had traveled from my home to the hospital in Chiang Rai, it would have taken about 5-6 hours. But no matter how difficult it was for my son, I accepted it. And for this surgery, we sold the chickens and pigs we raised to pay for the expenses. I hope that when my son recovers and goes back, we will be able to start a new life happily.

Since my son had surgery at Kasemrad Prachachuen Hospital, Bangkok on Saturday, March 21, 2009, I feel very grateful and appreciative for the kindness of my Thai brothers and sisters and the foundation in helping to treat my son, even though my son is not Thai. I will remember this kindness until the day I die. I wish that the merit that the doctors, nurses, and donors of the foundation have made will help bring you happiness and prosperity forever.