Tsamcho is only one meter tall and 18 kg in weight. Her height and weight would be appropriate for a four- or five-year-old in Beijing, but Tsamcho, a nine-year-old girl from Nanmulin County, Xigaze, in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, has congenital heart disease and a frail immune system.
In a school health examination not long ago, Tsamcho was diagnosed with a ventricular septal defect. A normal person's left ventricle is less than 50 mm in diameter, but hers is 7 mm bigger. Had she not been diagnosed in time, she would have missed the opportunity for surgery and would not live past the age of 16.
On the morning of May 20, Tsamcho arrived in Beijing for treatment, about 4,000 km away from Nanmulin; it was her first time to leave her hometown. She came with another 148 Tibetan kids with heart defects.
In China, among every 1,000 newborns, seven are diagnosed with congenital heart disease. In high-altitude areas like Tibet, the roof of the world, that number rises to 15.
Tsamcho is one of the beneficiaries of the China Charity Federation, a nationwide non-governmental charity organization, under its program to treat 1,000 underprivileged children from ethnic minority groups suffering from congenital heart defects. Each of these lucky kids will receive completely free medical treatment.
Tsamcho would start a new life in the Armed Police General Hospital. It would have been impossible for a mother and child who live on subsistence farming to spend 40,000-50,000 yuan ($6,284-$7,855) on the surgery if not for charitable aid.
On May 29, Tsamcho successfully underwent surgery and returned home on June 6. Regular postsurgical swelling in her heart is expected to subside soon, and she is expected to be able to run and gain capacity for normal exercise in only half a year. | 
