Phoenix Rising : How Americans Helped to Save a Life of a Baby Girl in Rural China

January 5, 2005

In Chinese mythology, the phoenix must burn before rising in strength. Six hours from The City of the Phoenix, in the town of Baojing, baby Shi Jia Jia was born into the ashes. Baojing is nestled in the mountains of an ethnic autonomous prefecture of China, but the poverty of its population and its stark urban pollution stand in sharp contrast to the beautiful countryside and distant rolling hills. Born to a poor farming family, a birth defect rendered Jia Jia's already reduced circumstances life threatening.

Nine-month-old Jia Jia had a hole in her heart. She has spent much of her short life in hospitals, where she was treated for chronic cough, multiple bouts of pneumonia, and finally diagnosed with a ventricular septal defect and left atrial enlargement. Her condition left her weak and listless between the bouts of lung infection that sent her parents running to the hospital. Jia Jia's doctors concluded that she needed immediate heart surgery in order to survive.

Jia Jia could have this surgery at Hunan Children's Hospital in the provincial capital of Changsha. Only a days-drive away, it is one of the best hospitals in the region. But to Jia Jia's parents, whose annual salary is $200 USD, the $6,000 cost of the procedure seemed an insurmountable obstacle.

Not all is ashes for baby Jia Jia, though. She has a family that loves her. So desperate were they to save their baby that they put aside their pride and sought out the help of American teachers from a local middle school. Teachers Peter Hsu of New Jersey and Nicole Rigg of Washington state heard their request for help and alerted volunteers throughout Hunan Province. They also appealed to the Education Advancement Fund International in Hawaii, and many government officials and reporters in their Chinese prefecture.

The call to action was enthusiastically answered. EAFI was able to immediately raise $1,200, which was enough to admit little Jia Jia to the hospital. The week before Thanksgiving, EAFI volunteers accompanied the little girl and her parents to the hospital in Changsha . At eight o'clock on a gray and drizzling morning in November, Jia Jia was admitted to a hospital. Once in the Hunan Children's Hospital, Jia Jia started getting stronger. But it wasn't enough.

Jia Jia had a lung infection that needed to be cured before the operation to fix her heart could take place. With the proper medicine, doctors were optimistic that the infection wouldn't pose a major problem. Unfortunately, while EAFI had been able to raise enough money to admit Jia Jia to the hospital, they still didn't have enough money for the surgery costs. The volunteers' only hope was to turn to the press for publicity. They spent the week taking interviews, writing press releases, and speaking out for the life of Jia Jia. Newspapers and TV stations from Changsha were intrigued by this unique cooperative effort between Americans and Chinese, and flooded the hospital room to interview the parents and American volunteers. When asked why the Americans were working so hard to save a Chinese baby, Nicole Rigg responded, "My father has the same condition. I'm not going to let this little girl die from something that can so easily be corrected. The disparities in China between the rich and poor are wide, but money shouldn't stand in the way of any child having a healthy life."

The response was incredible. People both in China and abroad answered this small child's cry for help. The involvement and generosity of the American teachers towards baby Jia Jia touched many local people. One person who answered their pleas was Ms. Gong Ruizheng, the director of the Women's Training Center and Human Resource Department in the nearby city of Jishou . Ms. Gong has been a public servant for 30 years working towards the betterment of women and children throughout Hunan Province. Ms. Gong was moved to donate 2000 yuan, well over her monthly salary, to Jia Jia's cause. Ms. Gong encouraged and inspired other government officials in Jishou to contribute another 500 yuan towards Jia Jia's health fees. Ms. Gong issued the following statement: "The Americans showed their care for the poor girl. As a Chinese mother, I can not sit doing nothing."

 

Dr. Kate Zhou, director of EAFI and professor of Political Science at University of Hawaii Manoa, appealed to her Chinese friends and students. Dr. Zhou, whose grandparents were from Baojing, is largely responsible for the presence of over 20 American teachers in Baojing and nearby Jishou and the founding of multiple charitable projects throughout Hunan . Inspired by her good works and the story of Jia Jia, donations and support began to come in. Contributors were Cynthia Fong (a retired Hawaii school teacher who taught in Baojing in 2003), Representative Barbara Marumoto, Mrs. And Dr. Wakai of Honolulu, Liu Chunli. (a Hawaii nurse at Maumalani nursing center), Cyndy Ning (an associate director at Center for Chinese Studies), Professors Jane Cell and Wally Wu at Texas A&M, Denny Roy at Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, and Jia Diqing (a graduate Chinese student at Brown University ). Mr. Jia wrote to Kate Zhou: "We Chinese students do not have much money. But, each of us would like to donate $20 to save the baby girl. My friends and I can contribute 60 dollars."

Even in Jia Jia's hometown, located in one of the poorest regions of China, people banded together to help their smallest daughter. The people of Baojing were able to raise nearly $400 USD to support her. Even the local middle school held a successful donation drive to encourage students and teachers to give money. Remarkably, not one person from the wealthy city of Changsha donated a dollar. While small amounts of dearly earned money came pouring in from peasants and students in the Hunan countryside, the people in Hunan 's most prosperous city remained silent.

Meanwhile, across the Pacific on a small island off the coast of Washington State, an American community was rallying to support Jia Jia. The Rigg and Kilpatrick families, parents of two EAFI volunteers, were able to raise almost $6,000 USD in a community wide effort, and plans are pending to get Microsoft to match these funds. Nicole Rigg, the volunteer who was instrumental in gathering efforts and bringing baby Jia Jia to the hospital, has had her efforts recognized both at home and abroad. Nicole's face and the story of her good works were published in newspapers all over Hunan Province . She has become both a celebrity and a sign of unity between America, the American teachers in Hunan, and the Hunanese people. "On the train a man walked over and hit me on the shoulder with a newspaper," Nicole told me, "He pointed to the newspaper and asked if that was me. He showed me a picture, and sure enough, in the provincial newspaper, there I was playing with the little baby. I could only read the title, Baojing Woman in Changsha to Help Baby . I amazed that they referred to me as "Baojing Woman" and not "foreigner." There is usually a definite distinction drawn between locals and foreigners, and it was moving to see that my efforts had truly made me part of the community."

In an example of international cooperation, Joe Chung, a Chinese American Volunteer from John Hopkins University, is working together with Ms. Gong in the money management of this project. Chinese banks require two months to process any foreign currency, so until the donations are processed Ms. Gong must borrow the Chinese currency to pay the hospital fees. Joe and Ms. Gong are collaborating to ensure that all of the donations are properly documented and funneled to the appropriate recipients, thus working together to surmount a thorny bureaucratic barrier.

Jia Jia was not out of the fire yet. While the donations were on their way to China and before she could undergo surgery, Jia Jia developed a severe lung infection. Dr. Ma, the heart specialist and chief medical officer at Changsha Children's hospital was unsure how to best handle this problem. Once again EAFI began to search for a solution. Dr. Ma and EAFI agreed that the best course was to get additional professional help from other doctors to make sure that Jia Jia received the most appropriate treatment for her infection and heart surgery. Three international phone calls were all that were needed to bring back hope again to Jia Jia and her family. EAFI director Kate Zhou made contact with doctors at New York Presbyterian Children's Hospital (NYP). Mr. John Shannon O'Kelley (International Medicine ) at NYP contacted Dr. Wang at Hebei Children's Hospital in the neighboring province. Then, with great help from Leonard Karp, Executive Vice President and COO of Philadelphia International Medicine, Dr. Rychik in Philadelphia Children's Hospital immediately was able to refer Dr. Gui in Shanghai Fudan Children's Hospital. These pediatric heart experts worked together to decide on the best course for this small child, in a coalition of doctors not usually seen for a small daughter of farmers.

For almost one month, the doctors treated Jia Jia's lung infection and waited for her immune system to improve before going forward with the heart operation. They remained optimistic that Jia Jia would soon be strong again and ready for heart surgery. Little Jia Jia's parents were scared, but hopeful that their child would become stronger and able to start on the long road to healing. Two days before Christmas, Jia Jia's infection cleared enough to have a successful operation. The night of the operation, Dr. Zhou could not sleep, she stayed up instead and shopped online for a doctor kit for Jia Jia: "When she is older, I will tell Jia Jia that it is the American and Chinese giving spirit that saved her life. I hope she can become a doctor when she grows up to give back to the community that she can help other girls in medical need."

Before the operation, baby Jia Jia was too weak to learn to speak, or crawl, or walk. She lies sleeping in a hospital bed healing and waiting and for life to begin. But she has accomplished that which some people strive for a lifetime to achieve; she has brought together hopes and prayers across oceans and through language and political boundaries. Thanks to a small group of volunteers in rural China , the good people of EAFI in Hawaii , a small island community in the United States , and a community of poor but loving people in China, baby Jia Jia has a chance to rise from the ashes and begin her life.