Bunkek Song and Peter Chhun thank surgeon Dr. Cynthia Harrington after she reported that little Bunlak Song's surgery went well at Children's Hospital Los Angeles on October 7, 2011. Bunlek was brought to the United States from Cambodia by Hearts Without Boundaries for surgery that he could not get in his homeland. Chhun is the founder of Hearts Without Boundaries. (Jeff Gritchen / Long Beach Press-Telegram)

LOS ANGELES — It took 214 days of setbacks and drama before Bunlak Song received the heart surgery Friday that will extend his life. So maybe it was only fitting that the operation was delayed one last time for a couple of hours.

As Bunlak squirmed around in his "tired little tiger" pajamas after being given a sedative, a nurse from the operating room said an emergency had forced the delay.

"Oh, well, two hours is nothing after this long," said Peter Chhun, who is sponsoring the boy.

"We've been waiting four years and finally the day is here," said Bunlak's sister, Bunkek Song.

Thankfully it was the last of the delays, and 214 days and a couple hours after arriving in the United States, the 3-year-old Cambodian orphan emerged from surgery and began on the road to recovery. Read the full article at Long Beach's Press-Telegram.