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Son’s Story:
Since his arrival in Canada in June 2007, young Hoang Son Pham, the 11-year old boy with a life-threatening facial deformity, has touched the hearts of hundreds of thousands of Canadians.
Son was living in an orphanage in Hai Duong, Vietnam, when he was spotted by Kate Maslen, Program Manager of the Children’s Bridge Foundation. She heard from the orphanage staff about their desperate attempts to get treatment for Son before it was too late. Kate received a letter from Son, written in Vietnamese, “Aunt Kate,” it said. “Please help me.”
Last summer, the Children’s Bridge Foundation was able to bring Son to Ottawa just in time for him to celebrate his first Canada Day. He immediately began an extensive medical assessment at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children. On November 1st, 2007, the Hospital advised the Children’s Bridge Foundation that they were not able to treat Son.
As the sad news was made public, the Foundation received a flood of calls and e-mails from Canadians and Americans telling us to not give up hope and to pursue treatment options in the United States. In less than a month, we were considering proposals from two of the leading centers in the world, Boston and New York, for the treatment of vascular anomalies. These proposals were based on the detailed medical records created during Son’s stay in Canada.
The decision was a very difficult one, as both U.S. centers and both teams of doctors are the best in the world. Because of travel logistics and the close relationship between Children’s Hospital Boston and the IWK Children’s Hospital in Halifax, the Foundation chose Boston.
Son’s treatment is expected to take about a year, and includes a tracheostomy, and several difficult sclerotherapy treatments followed by surgeries. It is a long and agonizing process.
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ive Media Inc