Living With A Broken Heart

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Meet our 2nd Nguyen. Nguyen “2” was born with a heart condition, commonly referred to as a “hole in the heart”. In developed countries, this would be detected at an early age and fixed by a fairly simple procedure. But living in Vietnam, Nguyen’s condition was not diagnosed until recently. She needs a complete heart and lung transplant, which at this stage is close to impossible, even if performed in a Western country. At 21 years old, Nguyen has been given a maximum of 2 years to live. She must also be very cautious. We're told that if she catches any kind of infection or virus, she wouldn’t make it past a few days.

Nguyen suffers from constant fatigue, nausea, dizziness and poor vision. Yet despite her physical suffering, I have never seen her without a smile. She is a ray of light...pleasant, cheerful, and very funny. When we met her, she was working at an internet cafe, 12 hours a day/7 days a week struggling to pay bills, the long hours surely adding to the decline of her health. But Karen/Lifestart now cover her expenses so she could leave work and have ample time to rest. Lifestart also covers the money for a consistent nutritious diet in order to build up her strength and immune system.

No, we can’t “save” everyone. But what does “save” mean anyway? We can’t add years to her life, but how about helping to add life to her years (I think that’s already a saying but I like it). We asked Nguyen what dreams she has for herself - “to study”. Within the week, Nguyen began taking private English lessons with Lifestart volunteer Robin and is also a most welcomed addition to my daily arts/crafts workshop. I am growing even more attached, as is everyone, to Nguyen.

Although I’m being realistic, I still believe in miracles. Stephen Wante (El-Shadai Foster Home in Uganda) once told me that every time you smile you add another month to your life. If this is the case, then Nguyen will be with us for quite some time.

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Friends and family, for those of you who have enquired, YES! You may make a monetary donation through the website: www.lifestartfoundation.org.au (select general donation). Please send me a private message through this website indicating the amount and who/what specifically you would like your funding to go towards. 100%!o(MISSING)f your donation goes directly to the people in these photos. Thank you, thank you!

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Photos

Nguyen
"Oh very beautiful!" One of Nguyen's few phrases in English. She uses it for everything and it's great. Nguyen, how about a photo by these flowers? "Oh very beautiful!"

Meticulous Nguyen
Nguyen embroidering at our workshop

Comments

[leslie jane]

a BEAUTIFUL smile which no doubt adds one facet of life to her years, along with everyone else's!!! Such an important thing to keep in mind!!! Thanks to Stephen Wante for reminding us!

[Shannah]

The saying is perfect
Your blog makes me think of the quality of one's life. It is not how long you live on this earth that defines your life. It is what you do in your life your life that does. We should all live our lives being okay saying "If I were to die tomorrow, I would have lived a good life."

[Kristen]

bruised, not broken
From Nguyen's pictures, it is nearly impossible to tell that she is teetering on the edge of life. Thank you for sharing her story as a reminder of our own, as Shannah said, quality of life and how we live each day!