SLUM BOY HAS BRIGHT FUTURE THANKS TO DETERMINED FRIENDS...

A YOUNG THAI boy's dreams of playing with his friends and growing up to become a preacher are now within reach thanks to a lifesaving surgery made possible by some determined friends.

Eleven-year-old Ta Potira-Tanlim wasn't expected to survive more than a few more years in the Bangkok slums before last month's eight-hour operation that fixed his serious heart problems.

He owes his new lease on life to two women who refused to allow medical refusals and red tape to prevent him from facing a brighter future.

Handicapped by congestive heart failure and abandoned by his parents, Ta was spotted in the slums a year ago by American Youth With A Mission worker Lee Ann Sidebottom, who has worked among Bangkok's poor for the past five years. "He was running errands for his grandparents and he was having difficulty breathing; I could see that there was something wrong with him," she said.

The pair struck up a friendship, and Ta began turning to Sidebottom for help. She took him to hospital when he needed treatment and asked doctors what could be done to help him, but they said they would not consider the extensive surgery needed to make him well.

Thinking that there might be hope for Ta back in the United States, Sidebottom turned to Donna McCornack, a homemaker from Novato, California who had worked with the YWAM slum team during a summer missions trip with her church, last year.

Although she had not met Ta during her time in Thailand - he had been hospitalized - McCornack's heart went out to the youngster. She began searching for help. She contacted more than 20 doctors and hospitals, finding one surgeon who would perform the surgery free but whose hospital costs would be a prohibitive $100,000.

Then she discovered Dr. John Lamberti, a leading heart surgeon at San Diego Children's Hospital, who agreed to donate his services. The hospital's costs would be only $35,000 - but the surgery date was only three weeks away.

That led to a race against time to raise the money needed for the flights and hospital care - donated by friends and businesses - and to gather all the paperwork needed for Ta to be able to make the trip. With no birth certificate available Sidebottom had to trace Ta's mother before finally securing him a travel visa the day before the scheduled flight.

The eight-hour surgery was successful, repairing a hole in the heart, inserting a new valve and repairing a major artery. Within days of recovering Ta was climbing stairs unaided for the first time and looking forward to being able to play with friends, instead of being teased because of his sickness.

"The doctors were amazed at how well everything went, and the speed of his recovery," said McCornack. "We know that it was an answer to prayer. He is quite a remarkable young man; he told people about his faith that God would heal him, and how he would like to be a preacher when he grows up.

"With all the obstacles we faced along the way I feel that God really has a plan for his life."

Ta returns home to Thailand soon, accompanied by Sidebottom, who traveled with him for the surgery, and McCornack.

(Photo available on request)

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