Overcoming Severe Sepsis: Catching Up with Xongpor, Four Years Later
Xongpor (now 16-years-old) helping out in his family’s farm in Oudomxay province.
Xongpor, four years ago…
In March 2022, Xongpor arrived at Lao Friends Hospital for Children with his life hanging by a thread. At the time, he was only 11 years old. He had developed life-threatening complications following a ruptured appendix, with a severe abdominal infection that had been treated initially at a different provincial hospital. By the time he reached LFHC, he was in septic shock, with multiple liver abscesses and cascading complications that no other hospital in the northern region was equipped to manage.
By that evening, Xongpor's condition had deteriorated so severely that the clinical team at LFHC had to have a heartbreaking but honest conversation with his mother about the seriousness of his illness and the uncertainty of his survival.
Despite undergoing two emergency surgeries, Xongpor remained critically ill, with several abscesses still deep within his liver and a life-threatening infection continuing to spread. A third major operation was considered too risky, yet leaving the abscesses untreated could prove fatal.
Under the guidance of volunteer radiologist Dr. Mark, LFHC pediatrician Dr. Vee performed the hospital's first ultrasound-guided drainage procedure, successfully draining the remaining abscesses without further invasive surgery. The procedure gave Xongpor a vital chance at recovery and marked a significant milestone for LFHC.
For Dr. Vee, the experience was transformative. It sparked his determination to pursue surgical training and ultimately becoming soon to be, LFHC's first in-house surgeon.
(watch the video of Xongpor’s arrival and recovery)
From the team who stabilized him on arrival, to the surgeons making critical calls in the operating theatre, to the nurses who supported his long recovery, Xong Por's survival was never the work of one person. It was a chain of care.
Xongpor Now, Four Years Later
Today, Xong Por is now 16 years old.
He is healthy, strong, and building a bright future.
When the LFHC team recently visited his village in Oudomxay Province, they found a smart and confident young man. He supports his family in daily life and is currently learning tailoring, a practical skill that is already giving him a sense of direction and independence.
His family welcomed the team with open arms. They don't have a lot, but they insisted on eating together for lunch and sent everyone home with gifts from their farm. For a family of humble means living in a rural village in Laos, that kind of generosity is a big gesture of grattitude. It touched everyone who was there.
2022 has not faded for them. Their gratitude is still palpable.
Xongpor still remembers it all, and remembers everyone from the hospital with fondness and appreciation.
He has now graduated from our pediatric service. We wish him the very best and hope he builds a good future for himself. He has been given a second chance, and we have no doubt he will make the most of it.
We are rooting for him!
