Rak Jai Thai covers all costs for a sponsored child ’ s treatment , even if a family must travel from far away to reach Bangkok .
Health & Wellness
Dr . Preecha Laohakunakorn is a man of few words , letting instead his actions speak for themselves . As the premier Pediatric Cardiologist at Bumrungrad International Hospital , Dr . Preecha ’ s description of his work is both deeply moving and life affirming .
On a busy day at the hospital , I sat across from him at a Starbucks and spoke to him about the significant work he does to save the lives of many children . I started by asking him why he became a doctor , and I learned that his father , a hardworking man , had passed away before his time from a serious illness . This is what inspired him to become a doctor . “ Why cardiology in particular ?” I asked . “ Cardiology is where we give an impact . It is life changing ,” he said .
Dr . Preecha decided , long ago , that he would “ dedicate his life to helping others .” That is exactly what he does today : Dr . Preecha has helped some 800 underprivileged children with congenital heart defects — a compassionate contribution that he makes in addition to his everyday work as a Bumrungrad cardiologist . The doctor has negligible spare time , he tells me .
Here is what I learned about a cardiologist with a loving heart , and his impactful , meaningful volunteer work :
HARD , REWARDING WORK
Dr . Preecha has been involved with each and every Rak Jai Thai case since the inception of the program . He is a diagnostician . It is his job to diagnose problems and help decide which treatment is best for each patient .
Rak Jai Thai covers all costs for a sponsored child ’ s treatment , even if a family must travel from far away to reach Bangkok .
The first child he helped through Rak Jai Thai was a baby of about four months with hole in the heart and heart failure . After surgery , everything was fine . “ The first case was quite a simple one ,” he says . “ And after that , there were a lot of hard ones .”
Pediatric cardiologists such as Dr . Preecha must deal with a mixture feelings — relief and happiness ,
THE RAK JAI THAI PROGRAM
Decades ago , few centers in Bangkok could perform heart surgeries . This meant there were long waiting lists , which was a grand problem because heart surgeries are extremely time sensitive . For good results , heart operations must be carried out in time . Patients with critical heart problems are acutely aware that waiting too long could spell death . They can ’ t afford to wait .
Bumrungrad ’ s Rak Jai Thai campaign ( which means Healing Hearts of Thai Children ) was established in 2003 in response to the needs of heart patients who cannot finance their surgeries or who cannot wait for treatment . Dr . Preecha has been involved with the program from the beginning . “ When we set it up , we thought we could cut short the waiting list and get those who really need surgery to the operation room first ,” Dr . Preecha explains .
The Rak Jai Thai program works with the Cardiac Children Foundation ( CCF ) of Thailand , a nationwide outreach program that serves children with serious heart defects . “[ The CCF ] receives referrals from all over the country , especially for babies and newborns who need surgery urgently ,” says Dr . Preecha .
The CCF keeps a record of the names of everyone who has congenital heart problems . The organization then sends the list of patients who desperately need surgery to the Rak Jai Thai program . The collaboration between CCF and Rak Jai Thai gives newborns and children with life-threatening heart defects a second chance — a glimmer of hope .
Rak Jai Thai covers all costs for a sponsored child ’ s treatment , even if a family must travel from far away to reach Bangkok : “ The parent of the patient has to leave his or her job to accompany the child , so the program provides accommodation and a stipend for the whole treatment period . When the baby needs to come back for follow-up care , we provide transportation . It is free of charge for everything ,” says Dr . Preecha .
sometimes pronounced sadness , and a good deal of tension and worry : “ It is a great responsibility , and you just want to get the best outcome . At the same time you ’ re worried if you can do it or not . Every time we send a kid to surgery , you just keep thinking : Was it the right thing to do ?’”
A boy from Lipe Island in southern Thailand was another of Dr . Preecha ’ s sponsored heart patients . When he met Dr . Preecha , the boy was about six-years-old . He had a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot . His skin was blue because of the low oxygen in his blood . He tired easily . And his mother had to carry him on her back to school every day .
“ We found out and we got him here for his operation . And after his operation he was so active ! He could go diving and fishing and help his father , who
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