Hi all, some of you may or may not heard but on Sunday May 3rd 2020, Alvin was taken to Children's Hospital in an ambulance where he's currently being treated. Several days prior to this admission, he had severe coughs that eventually led up to him vomiting blood. With hopes that this issue would subside, my family waited to see if this could be something minor but these episodes had only worsen each time thus leading to his current state at Children's Hospital. 
 
Alvin who's real name is Touzong Lee was born with an abnormal heart. Due to the abnormality, his heart wasn't strong enough to pump blood throughout his body and because of this he's had several heart surgeries even before hitting the age of 5. Not too long after, he fell down a flight of stairs and the impact caused a traumatic brain injury to his head. This issue led to a blood clot in his brain and surgery had to be performed to remove the clot.
However, this isn't the first time Alvin has had this current heart problem; the first time this happened was back in 2012. Back then, the doctors couldn't find the root of the problem nor stop the issue at hand so my parents decided to stop any further treatment and bring him home. Since then, he's been fine up until this point and we only fear that this time it's something greater and more serious. The good thing is that this is not covid-19 related because his tests results came back negative. As my parents are very traditional, they believe this is caused by something else; something that western medicine and hospitalization can't cure so they had wished for the doctors to wake him up and discharge him so that we can perform traditional Hmong rituals for him. After some convincing and encouragement from my siblings and I, they agreed to let the doctors continue any necessary treatment including procedures. This time around, the doctors are saying that Alvin has excessive blood vessels around his heart and as he ages, those vessels become weak and brittle so when they break; they cause internal bleeding which can leak into his lungs thus causing the coughs and vomiting of blood (they predict this was also the cause the first time). The doctors first performed a procedure call cardiac catheterization to coil off those extra blood vessels and prevent the bleeding but that didn't seem to be effective as Alvin still bled inside after the procedure. Throughout all this including his hospital stay, Alvin was incubated and has another tube inserted within him to suck out any blood that continues to leak into his lungs. With his vital signs unstable and the non-stop bleeding, no method seems to be working so the doctors recommendation was another surgery as a last resort to resolve this ongoing issue. Of course, we all know how risky and how big of a gamble surgeries like these can be. The plan was to cut an incision under his left arm so that they can go in and remove a part of the lung's lobe which equates to about 25% of his lung. After a conference call with immediate family members and other elders, the decision was made to go through with the surgery. The surgery was performed on Friday May 22th, 2020 and according to the doctors, it went well so he's currently recovering at this point. 

Alvin has been such a strong fighter since birth and for 15 years now which is astounding to say the least. Just being in and out of the hospital for so many serious conditions and to never give up despite being afraid shows so much bravery, courage, and strength far beyond measures. Even if he's mentally delayed, he's still smarter than what you'd expect given his medical history. Alvin definitely has a character that's hard to miss; you know it's him whenever he enters a room or when you're just around him. I'd say you're lucky if you've met him in person or even if it's through the photos or videos that he's in. He's such a fun boy to be around and he carries so much energy with him wherever he goes. I can guarantee you'll always enjoy the conversations you have with him because he'll either make fun of you for what you're wearing or he'll think you're cool. You can almost always catch him lounging around the house in his boxer, singing his Hmong songs out loud, or eating because that boy sure loves to eat good. Don't get me wrong, he gets annoying sometimes but that's what little brothers are good at right? 

I just want to thank you all for taking the time out of your busy day to read this. I feel like most of you do know or have met him at some point whether it's in person of maybe you just some post of him by his siblings. A prayer goes a long way already regardless of what your respective religion might be but if you wish to donate something to this hopeful cause, the Lee family would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts and most greatly appreciate it. I know time is extremely difficult due to the covid-19 pandemic and we totally understand so we only wish for everyone's well being as well. Thank you again and stay bless.