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Hanoi Updates

August 2004

Find Annetta's August 2004 updates here. Click on the date to go to that weeks update.

August 1, 2004

August 22, 2004

August 1, 2004

Thang's Heart

My week was mainly devoted to one, Thang. I spent three days at three different hospitals speaking with three different teams of doctors and surgeons. The first stop was the NIP, this is the hospital where he received his initial testing (EKG, Ultra-sound, and x-ray). After reviewing the results the doctors referred us to Viet Duc Hospital (the German Hospital). While the NIP performs surgeries they are limited to simple surgeries.

Thang suffers from five separate defects in his heart, including VSD, ASD as well as a rupture, all five are located in the same area of the heart. Despite the severity of his situation and the surgery need, the case is not uncommon, giving the doctors confidence.
The doctors at Viet Duc reviewed the tests from the NIP. They are willing to perform the surgery, giving Thang not a full recovery but a recovery of 80%. The recovery would take two weeks. The cost of the surgery at Viet Duc would be between $1530usd and $2000usd.

On Friday I was taken to the Hanoi Heart Center. This Center is only one year old and staffed by the most qualified surgeons in Hanoi. The center would not accept the ultrasound from the NIP, and insisted they take their own. Two ultrasounds were taken by two separate doctors. After which the previous diagnoses were confirmed. The board of doctors still must review the case before a complete diagnosis can be given. I’m hoping this will happen in the next week or two. The cost at the Center is higher, between $1,850usd and $2,650usd. I was highly impressed by the staff at the Hanoi Heart Center, and would personally have little reservations if I had to lie on a table there.

August 22, 2004

Knock Things Over

The past two weeks I’ve began to see several of my short-term goals begin to come into fruition. However, if there is one thing I have learned, it’s not to get my hopes up about anything in this Country… anything.

I’ve finally been able to pin down a Vietnamese partner for HSCV. This partner will allow us to work legally in Hanoi Province. All of our activities must be approved by them, in turn we at HSCV insist that we full control over our activities. Our partner’s responsibility lies in introducing us to poor families, assisting us when necessary, and assuring the government our activities are within the ever changing legal guidelines. Our main partner in Hanoi is the Vietnamese Youth Association. We met the Director Mrs. Huong over a year ago and she has proven to be a valuable contact and go-to person in Hanoi. We hope this partnership is long and fruitful one.

President Chuck De Vet is back in Hanoi, as of August 18th. He’s here to approve of our work of the past four months. This means that some vital decisions can finally be made; the money from the Sister School Program can be distributed, Thang and his sister Van Anh’s surgeries can be approved, the Food Program can be started, and hospitals can be visited. My work has gone into overdrive. It feels good to be busy.
On Sunday the 20 students on scholarship at Vinh Quynh were all invited to on a field trip to the city to go bowling and then to the zoo. Fifteen of the students were able to make it, while five of them had to stay behind to work. Two teachers, one with his son, accompanied the children and HSCV had a total of 5 people, making a group total of 23.

The planning of the event was not without excitement. Six days before the field trip the bus company called to inform us the air-conditioned bus we reserved had gotten into an accident and was not longer available. It was impossible for us to locate another bus with air-conditioning in such a short time, so we settled for the non-air-conditioned bus for 400,000 VND ($25 US). Two days before the trip the bus company called to inform us that the price was no longer 400,000, but now 550,000 (an extra $10 US). In Vietnam things are never simple and rarely go smoothly. We ended up paying them 500,000 VND ($32 US). Thankfully this was the last of the drama for this trip.

None of the children had ever been to a bowling ally and I’m not even sure if they knew what one was. When they arrived their eyes opened widely as they walked towards the bright lights of the lanes. But first they had to put on their bowling shoes. Most of the children were wearing sandals and none of them had socks on their feet. Thankfully this is an issue I knew I was going to face; I came equipped with a bag of new socks. Everyone including the teachers received a pair of new socks. The day was starting off on the right foot for everyone. Once the laces were all tied it was time to get our fingers in the balls and start bowling. I picked up a few balls and handed them to some of the children. I placed their little fingers in the holes and showed them the correct way to hold the ball. They were a bit shy at first, but once the first ball made its way towards the pins, more quickly followed. On this day the pins won the battle, but that didn’t matter in the least. For the first time, I myself finally had the high score, 117.

After bowling the 23 of us piled onto the bus and headed to the Hanoi Zoo. The entrance fee for children was 1,500 VND ($0.10 US) and 2,000 VND ($0.13) for adults. Most of the children had never been to the Zoo. The zoo had a variety of animals, but mostly monkeys. The children were excited to the animals up close and in real life, however I don’t think the chicken exhibit was all that interesting considering the children are from the country and see chickens every day. After eating lunch and walking around for an hour or so the children all wanted to ride on the paddle boats. Two to three children piled on to the swan shaped boats and paddled around the small lake. Corey’s boat (#4) was a constant pain in the manager’s side. However, Corey was unaware that the man was yelling at him over the megaphone. “#4 with the white guy, stay away from #10…. #4 can’t you read the sign, it says you can’t go to that part of the lake!” It was great entertainment for those of us who stayed on shore to watch.

After the boating adventure it was time to call it a day. The children all piled on to the bus and waved good bye as the bus drove them back to Vinh Quynh. For the most part the children were quite and reserved, but they all had a great time. One of the girls bought Nha Trang and I a clay rose.

It was a nice way for Chuck to spend his first weekend back in Hanoi. We hope we can take the children out again sometime