Nguyen Thi Hong Thao and Nguyen Thi Hong Hieu are twin girls in a family of three children. Their older sister is just four years old. They live in their grandmother’s house of about 40 m2. The main source of income for the whole family comes from the father working as a farmer while their mother stays at home to take care of the three children. In the harvest off season, the father has to work as a hired laborer to earn a bit of extra money to support the family.

The family first recognized the symptoms of their little girls when they were 15 months old at an outreach clinic in the district hospital. The family then had to take the long and costly trip to Da Nanang hospital to check up on their condition. While there, the hospital found that Hong Hieu had Ventricular Septal Defect, for which the surgery costs 46,000,000 VND (roughly $2,245 USD) while Hong Thao had Ventricular Septal Defect (a large hole) and Double Outlet Right Ventricle for which the surgery costs 35,000,000 VND (roughly $1,710). Since their visit, the family has not returned to the hospital for any check-up or treatment because of the family’s financial situation. Hong Thao and Hong Hieu are now two and a half years old but they are constantly sick and tired because of their heart disease. The conditions produce a debilitating impact on their lives that is evident when their lips, hands and feet often become purple.

Although the doctors advised Hong Thao and Hong Hieu to have surgery soon, they cannot afford the cost of surgery for these two precious little girls. Covering the cost for one child’s surgery, let alone two, is impossible. The only hope for this family and these children is to find enough money to support two surgeries to save their little daughters so that the twins can live normal lives. There was some money available for part of Hong Thao’s surgery, but we had to find more funding to cover the rest of her and Hong Hieu’s surgeries.

When we told longtime Heartbeat Vietnam donor and cheerleader, Jeannie Mai from the Style Network’s “How Do I Look” makeover show, about Hong Thao and Hong Hieu’s plight, Jeannie immediately sprang into action. She put out a call to action to all of her friends and fans on her blog (click to view video) and Facebook page, and within just a couple of weeks we raised enough for both girls’ surgeries! The girls were admitted to the hospital in Da Nang (central Vietnam) in September.

Hong Thao received her surgery on Sept. 26, and Hong Hieu on Sept. 28; both girls were discharged one week later. The latest post-op check-up was on Oct. 11, and the doctors said that both girls are recovering nicely. They still have some pain in the new scars on their chests, but their mother said that they are already very active and playful; sometimes she can’t control both of them!

Thank you to Jeannie and all of the supporters who responded so quickly and generously to help give these adorable girls a second chance at life!