Healing "One heart at a time"

Davik wins hearts as her own mends
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 05/26/2008 09:42:53 PM PDT
LONG BEACH - Call it the Davik Teng victory tour.

Davik, the 9-year-old Cambodian girl brought to the United States for
life-altering open-heart surgery, is making the rounds in Southern
California before returning to her home in a small village in
Battambang Province.

Doctors have cleared Davik to travel and she is scheduled to return on
July 9. At that time, she will be accompanied by her mother, Sin
Chhon, and Peter Chhun, the founder of Long Beach nonprofit Hearts
Without Boundaries, which sponsored Davik's journey to the United
States.

Two months after surgery to repair what doctors described as a quarter-
sized hole in her heart, also known as a ventricular septal defect,
Davik has shown remarkable progress and is fit to return to her home
country.

Although she will remain on heart medication for the duration of her
stay here, there are no plans for her to see doctors again until after
she returns home.

Dr. Mark Sklansky, Davik's cardiologist in the United States, says the
girl's heart function is still "mildly depressed" but that there has
been consistent improvement since her March surgery.

"I think she'll have a full recovery," he said.

Sklansky, who helped broker the deal with Childrens Hospital to bring
Davik here, said although there were some minor setbacks and obstacles
along the way, he is happy with the results.

At the end of Davik's final visit, Sklansky said, "I raced her down
the hall and she beat me. As I waddled back to my office, she was
laughing."
On Thursday, Davik, her mother, Chhun and family friend Chantha Bob
visited the Press-Telegram, where Davik munched on pizza and was given
a tour of the paper's downtown office.

On Saturday, she was feted by the Cambodian Jewelry Association of
California.

Trips to Disneyland and other Southern California attractions are also
planned. Davik and crew will also visit Portland, Ore., where she will
meet members of the Cambodian-American Community of Oregon. That
group, led by Chantha Bob's younger brother, Chanly, organized the aid
mission that led to the discovery of Davik and her ailment.

When he returns to Cambodia with Davik, Chhun hopes to find another
child in need of a miracle. Childrens Hospital Los Angeles donated its
facilities and cardiac team for Davik's procedure and UCLA has offered
similar services for Chhun's next patient.

"We are going to bring back one more," Chhun said of Davik's
successor. "One heart at a time."

greg.mellen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, 562-499-1291
.