At only five years old, Tommy Chan was forced to confront a reality far beyond his years. Doctors diagnosed him with a severe congenital heart condition that required an urgent and highly complex open-heart operation—one known for its risks even under ideal circumstances.
Almost overnight, normal family life disappeared. Playgrounds, school mornings, and bedtime routines were replaced by hospital hallways, medical briefings, and long, anxious waits. For Tommy’s parents, Lily and David Chen, every moment became a balance between fear and hope as they prepared for the unthinkable.
The hospital buzzed constantly. Nurses moved with quiet urgency, medical carts rolling past steel-and-glass walls. Doctors spoke in hushed, focused tones. Amid the sterile smells and rhythmic beeping of monitors, Tommy lay small and still in his hospital bed.
In his hands, he held a worn stuffed bear, its fur flattened from years of comfort. His wide eyes followed the movements around him, sensing the seriousness of the moment without fully understanding it.
