Desperate Parents
In 1989, Heart to Heart's founders received hundreds of
letters like the one below, from parents seeking medical attention for their critically ill
children.
{Below is the complete, unedited text from the letter
in the photograph at right.}
DEAR DOCTOR Neylas Young
This is the Muhin's family who is addressing to You from the USSR. We have a son.His name is Alexey. He is seven years old.From the birth he has an inborn heart disease - united ventricle and high pulmanory hypertension (blood pressure) with tramsposition all of the vessels. He has a poor health. He is very weak, suffocates and quickly gets tired from the motions of every kind Not long ago our son was inspected in the cardiocenter of the Moscow institute named after Baculev. It was ascertained that the operation is needed. But the operation can't be realized in the Soviet Union because of the absence of the necessary equipment for it. So we addressing to You,asking for the help. Rescue,save our son,please. Taking into account your popularity all over the world and the greatest experience that YOu and your assistants have in the realization of the operations of that kind we ask You to examine the opportunity for your son to be inspected or to be operated in You clinic. Will You, please, let us know everything conserning the operation (if it is possible): the prices,the order of it, the date and so on.
This is the Muhin's family who is addressing to You from the USSR. We have a son.His name is Alexey. He is seven years old.From the birth he has an inborn heart disease - united ventricle and high pulmanory hypertension (blood pressure) with tramsposition all of the vessels. He has a poor health. He is very weak, suffocates and quickly gets tired from the motions of every kind Not long ago our son was inspected in the cardiocenter of the Moscow institute named after Baculev. It was ascertained that the operation is needed. But the operation can't be realized in the Soviet Union because of the absence of the necessary equipment for it. So we addressing to You,asking for the help. Rescue,save our son,please. Taking into account your popularity all over the world and the greatest experience that YOu and your assistants have in the realization of the operations of that kind we ask You to examine the opportunity for your son to be inspected or to be operated in You clinic. Will You, please, let us know everything conserning the operation (if it is possible): the prices,the order of it, the date and so on.
Please, do not refuse, save our son. With the best wishes and the greatest respect
Muhin's family
Why do we exist?
Heart to Heart was founded in 1989 to save babies and children in the
USSR from dying of congenital heart defects. The education-based program model developed
by our founders led to great success, resulting in an excellent self-sustaining children's
heart center in Leningrad. Their accomplishment inspired the Board of Directors to expand
the mission by developing more centers and saving thousands more children.
Today, Heart to Heart's pediatric cardiac specialists continue to teach
teams of doctors abroad the art and science of pediatric open heart surgery. Our
Into the Heartland Campaign {2002-2022} is a strategic effort to give
every child in Russia access to modern heart care by training teams of specialists throughout
the nation's heartland.
More and more doctors across this vast country have reached a high
level of proficiency. As this campaign nears its mid-point, a critical mass of pediatric
cardiac specialists is emerging to help set a national agenda that ensures timely treatment
for every child born with a congenital heart defect.
Soviet Union, 1989: One of hundreds of letters addressed to
Heart to Heart's founders from desperate parents seeking help for their
critically-ill children. Such letters fueled the Heart to Heart team's resolve
to create a self-sustaining children's heart center in the Soviet Union. {Read
the entire text of this letter at left.}
