We met Tien and his mom, Mai, a year ago.
He is the little boy with Agent Orange-related Lymphangioma whose face is distorted by malformations in his lymph system and who looked in the mirror and asked his mom "Mommy, why am I not handsome?" (see earlier blog below) For months we have worked with Mai looking for a effective treatment for Tien. We have taken him to Ho Chi Minh City, first for CT scans, then, when those were inadequate, back for MRIs of his head. We started with wonderful NGOs like Operation Smile. Although they did not deal with problems like Tiens, they were very cooperative in directing us to other groups and individuals who might get involved. After dozens of leads in 5 countries and hundreds of emails, I have to admit I was starting to doubt whether we were really getting anywhere or just going through the motions and making OURSELVES feel better. Then about a month ago, Facing the World, a UK-based NGO working with kids in several countries on cranio-facial problems of all kinds told me they would be bringing a medical mission to Vietnam in August, and although they couldnt deal with Tiens problem there, they would be willing to have their team examine Tien if we could get him to DaNang. We bought Tien and Mai train tickets and sent them on their way.
We heard nothing for a couple weeks and then this morning I got an email announcing that Facing the World would like to bring Tien and his mom to the UK early next year, where he will be treated by a team of specialists in various fields relating to his problem. Facing the World will cover transportation costs, medical costs, an apartment for the family, attendance at a school at the hospital, etc. We just have to get them ready for the trip.
Our joy and relief is indescribable. For the last year we have put Tien and his mom through so much; building hope thorugh 3 or 4 long train trips to Saigon, countless requests to come over to our house so we could take more pictures to send out, etc., all the time worried that their patience and trust in Orangehelpers might lead nowhere. And we have suffered through our own frustration, wanting so much to change this little boys life but lacking the knowledge and resources to do it on our own. So today we made a lot of noise along with all the other people who were involved along the way.
We are so grateful to Facing the World (FTW) and Children of Vietnam (an NGO that partners with FTW in addition to other wonderful work in Vietnam). Its nice to know there are such caring and effective people in the world and humbling to be able to work with them.
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