Meet Qirong

Qirong’s childhood moved at a slower pace than that of his peers. He was small in stature, overwhelmed by perpetual fatigue, and couldn’t run or play. Instead, he preferred to sit still and save his energy.

Days after his 6th birthday, Qirong’s mother took him to the doctor for a routine physical. The exam revealed a congenital Atrial Septal Defect – a 13-millimeter hole in his heart that required corrective surgery.

The diagnosis caused months of dismay for the Chen family. They began saving money, but they feared it would take years to save enough for the surgery – years their son didn’t have.

Around this same time, Children’s HeartLink was preparing for its first cardiac training visit to the First Hospital of Lanzhou University (FHLU) in Lanzhou, China. A Children’s HeartLink medical volunteer team was invited by FHLU to provide opportunities for advanced training on pediatric cardiac surgical procedures for the local cardiac team.

 Just before Qirong turned 7 years old, he was selected as one of the patients to receive surgery under the knowledgeable hands of Dr. Demetre Nicoloff, a pioneering heart surgeon and Children’s HeartLink medical volunteer from St. Jude’s Hospital. His family took a two-hour bus ride, and Qirong’s life was changed forever.

Today, Qirong is a healthy, ambitious and active college graduate with a rich, full life.

“I never imagined that I would one day go away to university and then go on to graduate school in materials chemistry and mineralogy in German,” he says.

Nearly a decade after Qirong’s life-saving surgery, Children’s HeartLink was excited to welcome Qirong as an honored guest to share his extraordinary story at our Global Gathering in 2013.