2006年VOA标准英语-Surgery in US Saves Afghan Boy's Life

By Wajid Ali Syed
Washington, DC
12 September 2006
 
watch Afghan Boy's Heart Surgery

Stories of love and hope emerge¹ amid the violence of every war.  For writer Wajid Ali Syed, VOA's Jim Bertel (narrator) introduces us to a young Afghan boy who has taught some very tough soldiers the meaning of courage.

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Eight-year-old Afghan Muhammad Umer is no ordinary little boy. He was born with a hole in his heart that prevented his blood from carrying enough oxygen. The condition stunted² his growth and harmed his organs. His prognosis was dire³ until he met an American Army doctor in Afghanistan.

Dr. Gerard Martin sits with Muhammad  
  
Gerard Martin, co-director of Children's National Medical Center's National Heart Institute in Washington, D.C., says Muhammad is lucky.

"Muhammad is a very lucky young man for meeting (Dr.) Sloane Guy and having someone really get interested in him. And I know the soldiers are very interested in trying to do something that made a difference in the community in which they were undergoing a lot of adversity." 

Muhammad was moved from his remote village in northeastern Afghanistan to the main U.S. base in Afghanistan. 

 
Dr. Drew Kosmowski with Muhammad 
  
He became affectionately known as "Blue" around the base because his illness caused his lips, fingers and toes to turn blue. Dr. Drew Kosmowski is the chief surgeon at Bagram Air Force Base. "At eight years old he has a 75 percent mortality rate if we did nothing. As he gets older to adulthood⁴ he has a 95 percent mortality rate.  With the surgery the expectations of survival⁵ are much greater than average by more than the 75 percent range that he will survive the surgery and continue to do well and live a healthy life."

The little boy says he is happy to go to America for treatment.  But getting Muhammad and his father to the United States for the life-saving surgery was not easy.  They were twice denied visas before Senate Majority Leader -- and heart surgeon -- Bill Frist intervened⁶ and made the trip possible. 

Muhammad and his father  
  
Muhammad and his father arrived in Washington, D.C. in May. They were greeted by doctors from Children's National Medical Center. The shy, young boy from Afghanistan quickly won the hearts of his medical team as he bravely prepared for surgery.

The difficult operation was successful. Doctors repaired Muhammad's heart and removed blockages⁷ in the arteries⁸ to his lungs. His skin color has improved and he can walk more easily now. And the good news for Muhammad does not stop there.

Doctors have offered to fix another problem. Dr. Martin asked Muhammad’s father, "If I could arrange one of the eye doctors to take a look at his eye, would the father like that?" His father answered yes.

Muhammad's father is very appreciative⁹ of all the support for his son and looks forward to enrolling¹⁰ him in school. As for the boy, he is happy to go home and for the first time in his life worry about nothing more than being a child.

1 emerge   

vi.（从水中等）出来，出现，浮现，形成

参考例句：

• The baby's head was starting to emerge from the womb.婴儿的头开始从母亲的子宮中露出来。
• It's still hard to tell who will emerge victorious.鹿死谁手尚难逆料。

2 stunted   

adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的

参考例句：

• the stunted lives of children deprived of education 未受教育的孩子所过的局限生活
• But the landed oligarchy had stunted the country's democratic development for generations. 但是好几代以来土地寡头的统治阻碍了这个国家民主的发展。

3 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

4 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

5 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

6 intervened   

阻碍( intervene的过去式和过去分词 )； 出面； 插嘴； 介于…之间

参考例句：

• The President intervened personally in the crisis. 总统亲自出面处理这场危机。
• We enjoyed the picnic until a thunderstorm intervened. 那次野餐我们玩得很痛快，后来一场暴风雨使它中断了。

7 blockages   

n.堵塞物( blockage的名词复数 )；堵塞，阻塞

参考例句：

• The storms could increase the risks posed by river blockages. 暴风雨会增加因河道堵塞所造成的危险。 来自互联网
• An angiogram shows the location and severity of blockages in blood vessels. 冠状动脉造影能够显示血管内的阻塞位置以及阻塞的严重程度。 来自互联网

8 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 appreciative   

adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的

参考例句：

• She was deeply appreciative of your help.她对你的帮助深表感激。
• We are very appreciative of their support in this respect.我们十分感谢他们在这方面的支持。

10 enrolling   

v.招收( enrol的现在分词 )；吸收；入学；加入；[亦作enrol]( enroll的现在分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They lashed out at the university enrolling system. 他们猛烈抨击大学的招生制度。 来自辞典例句
• You're enrolling in a country club, Billy. 你是注册加入乡村俱乐部了，比利。 来自辞典例句