Soksamnang Vy, 3 1/2, now healthy two years after heart surgery, plays with cousins Sopheun Vuth, left, and Sophea Vuth in the Phnom Penh apartment they share. (Jeff Gritchen, Staff Photographer)
Photo Gallery: Soksamnang & Socheat
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/27/2011
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Soksamnang Vy kneels on the floor of his apartment wheeling around two toy Matchbox-style cars that he received as gifts during his stay in the United States.
Soksamnang and his mother, Ratha Pang, share a two-bedroom, one-bath, top-floor unit in downtown Phnom Penh with two other families and a household of 10 when all are present.
At 3 1/2 years old, Soksamnang is a tall, thin and healthy boy. Now more than two years removed from life-extending heart surgery, the only reminder of his trip to the United States is a thin scar that snakes down his chest.
As an 11-month-old, Soksamnang was brought to the United States to have a hole in his heart, known as a ventricular septal defect, repaired.
Soksamnang, the second of four children that Long Beach nonprofit Hearts Without Boundaries has sponsored, became a poster child for the way the group had hoped to handle children with heart cases.
In less than five months, the boy arrived in the U.S., had surgery and returned home. The trip was quick, efficient, relatively inexpensive and went almost without incident. His doctors later said that on a scale of one to 10 in difficulty, Soksamnang's surgery was a three.
Soksamnang's name translates as Lucky Friday. Since his surgery, the patients of Hearts Without Boundaries have had more complicated
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cases and lengthy stays.
After returning to Cambodia, Ratha moved with her son from a village to Phnom Penh so the mother could find regular work at a garment manufacturing plant. Her hope is to save some money so Soksamnang can attend a decent school.
She makes about $60 per month and her husband, Bunnro Meas, makes $30 as a border guard.
Like the other parents who have brought their children to the U.S. with Hearts Without Boundaries, Ratha said she wanted desperately to stay, but she also missed her husband and parents.
"I understand (the trip to the U.S.) was just to find a cure," Ratha said, as tears welled in her eyes. "After staying, I asked my aunt to sponsor me so I could find a job and send (Soksamnang) to school."
Ratha said she learned that it couldn't be done, but she adds, "at least I asked."
Ratha says she hopes one day to return to the U.S. to visit the place she says is so clean and well-lit.
The memories of the boy, who learned to walk in the United States, are blurred now.
He remembers Hearts Without Boundaries founder Peter Chhun, whom he calls his uncle, but probably more from Chhun's semiregular check-up calls.
"He says, 'I remember you; send some new clothes,'" Ratha says with a laugh.
For Soksamnang, the main reminder of the U.S. is that scar.
The other lasting effect from his time in the U.S.?
According to his mother: "He really doesn't want Khmer food anymore. He probably got American blood in his operation. He wants french fries."
greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291
Photo Gallery: Soksamnang & Socheat
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/27/2011
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Soksamnang Vy kneels on the floor of his apartment wheeling around two toy Matchbox-style cars that he received as gifts during his stay in the United States.
Soksamnang and his mother, Ratha Pang, share a two-bedroom, one-bath, top-floor unit in downtown Phnom Penh with two other families and a household of 10 when all are present.
At 3 1/2 years old, Soksamnang is a tall, thin and healthy boy. Now more than two years removed from life-extending heart surgery, the only reminder of his trip to the United States is a thin scar that snakes down his chest.
As an 11-month-old, Soksamnang was brought to the United States to have a hole in his heart, known as a ventricular septal defect, repaired.
Soksamnang, the second of four children that Long Beach nonprofit Hearts Without Boundaries has sponsored, became a poster child for the way the group had hoped to handle children with heart cases.
In less than five months, the boy arrived in the U.S., had surgery and returned home. The trip was quick, efficient, relatively inexpensive and went almost without incident. His doctors later said that on a scale of one to 10 in difficulty, Soksamnang's surgery was a three.
Soksamnang's name translates as Lucky Friday. Since his surgery, the patients of Hearts Without Boundaries have had more complicated
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cases and lengthy stays.
After returning to Cambodia, Ratha moved with her son from a village to Phnom Penh so the mother could find regular work at a garment manufacturing plant. Her hope is to save some money so Soksamnang can attend a decent school.
She makes about $60 per month and her husband, Bunnro Meas, makes $30 as a border guard.
Like the other parents who have brought their children to the U.S. with Hearts Without Boundaries, Ratha said she wanted desperately to stay, but she also missed her husband and parents.
"I understand (the trip to the U.S.) was just to find a cure," Ratha said, as tears welled in her eyes. "After staying, I asked my aunt to sponsor me so I could find a job and send (Soksamnang) to school."
Ratha said she learned that it couldn't be done, but she adds, "at least I asked."
Ratha says she hopes one day to return to the U.S. to visit the place she says is so clean and well-lit.
The memories of the boy, who learned to walk in the United States, are blurred now.
He remembers Hearts Without Boundaries founder Peter Chhun, whom he calls his uncle, but probably more from Chhun's semiregular check-up calls.
"He says, 'I remember you; send some new clothes,'" Ratha says with a laugh.
For Soksamnang, the main reminder of the U.S. is that scar.
The other lasting effect from his time in the U.S.?
According to his mother: "He really doesn't want Khmer food anymore. He probably got American blood in his operation. He wants french fries."
greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291
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