Nha and Linh are identical twins, and have just turned three years old. Earlier this year, we were able to meet these sisters and learn about the support their family have received from Healing Hearts.
Their father met us at the entrance to their village. He escorted us through a narrow, crowded neighbourhood street to their house, which is home to three generations of their family. While the twins played outside with their cousins, we asked their father about Nha’s illness. Primarily, they first knew that Nha was unwell as they were able to compare her with her healthy identical twin sister. He told us that the differences between Nha and Linh were initially small; mainly, that Nha was sick more often and tired more easily than her sister. Perhaps the most worrying symptom, however, was that Nha was developmentally behind her sister Linh.
One day, when Nha was suffering from a bad fever, her parents took her to the hospital. A scan showed that Nha was suffering from a membranous ventricular septal defect (membranous VSD). This means that she had a hole the wall between the lower chambers of her heart. Nha’s parents were extremely worried when they heard this news. Their overwhelming concern for their daughter was heightened by financial worries surrounding the cost of her surgery. Although they asked everyone they could for support, they were still unable to cover the cost.
Faced with this difficultly, thanks to support from our donors, the hospital was able to refer the family to Healing Hearts to completely cover the cost. The surgery was long – it took almost five hours – but Nha was able to return home after three days and fully recovered in just one month. The team loved meeting Nha and seeing just how far she’s come. In fact, we found it difficult to tell the twins apart – Nha is now no less energetic, happy and healthy than her sister!
Huynh Ngoc Nhâ Dan (patient, pictured above) with twin, Huynh Ngoc Linh Dan (pictured below).
