Little Zouxi’s Big Transformation

Zouxi was always bullied because of his size. “They called me ‘The Dwarf,’” Zouxi explained. “It hurt my feelings.”

He had been sick on and off since he was born, which kept him from developing. Doctors in the Wang’s small village didn’t know what was wrong. “We thought he just had a weak immune system and was malnourished,” Mrs. Wang shared.

Mr. Wang added, “We didn’t have much money, but we tried to give him one egg a day. Sometimes we saved to get him meat. But mostly, he just got the vegetables and potatoes I farmed.”

Zouxi tried to help in the fields. “He saw his brother helping me. So, he tried to dig for a while,” Mr. Wang remembered. “Then, he started gasping on the ground. He was white as paper.”

“My heart beat really fast and I felt dizzy,” said Zouxi. “I didn’t have any strength.”

He continued to get weaker and began to withdraw. “I didn’t like myself,” he explained. “I just wanted to be alone.”

Zouxi’s brother said, “I stayed home with my brother a lot, but he was never happy, and I never saw him smile.”

His mother admitted, “I started having a bad feeling that he had an incurable disease.”

When Zouxi got pneumonia, the Wangs had to borrow money to take him to the city hospital. Doctors there discovered that he had a hole in his heart that had been growing for seven years and was pressing on an artery. 

“They suggested we get him surgery right away, or his pulmonary hypertension would be worse,” Mr. Wang reported. “In less than two years, there would be irreversible damage to his organs, and he would eventually die of heart failure.”

At times, Zouxi could barely get out of bed.

“When I looked at his pale face and purple lips. I was scared,” Mr. Wang confessed. “I couldn’t save up the money for surgery, even if I tried.”

The doctors at the Wang’s village clinic told the couple about Operation Blessing.

“It didn't take long for Operation Blessing to contact us,” says Mrs. Wang. “When they told us they would pay for the surgery, my husband and I were really happy.”

“Operation Blessing helped him a lot. His surgery went well,” Mr. Wang proclaimed. “As soon as he came home from the hospital, he started eating more, he grew taller and gained weight. Now he’s powerful and strong and is able to help me in the fields.”

Zouxi exclaimed, “I finally have friends that I can play with, and I climb trees with my brother.”

His brother added, “He has become much stronger since the surgery. I can't even keep up with him.”

“Thank you to the Operation Blessing donors for helping Zouxi,” concluded Mrs. Wang. “If it wasn't for you, he wouldn’t be here. Now he can grow up happy and healthy!”