North Hollywood;
Los Angeles Times, Sept 17, 1998
Police 'Adopt' Boy, 4, With Heart Defect;
Shao-han Deng , a 4-year-old boy who came from China for a series of operations to correct a heart condition at UCLA Children's Hospital, received an unexpected visit Wednesday.
At 10 a.m., five Los Angeles Police Department officers knocked on the door of the boy's home in North Hollywood. They may have looked intimidating, but they were there to shower him with gifts.
They also brought more than $500 in cash donations for Shao-han's parents, mother, Han Dan and father, Yongxin Deng, whose desperate call for help on the Internet has generated a worldwide outpouring of support....
...After talking with UCLA, Mobasser found out that Shao-han's heart has only one ventricle instead of two, a condition that creates hypertension in the arteries.
That's when police officers decided to unofficially 'adopt' the family and to start raising funds, Mobasser said....
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Letter to Los Angeles Times' editor:
Re: "Police 'Adopt' Boy, 4, With Heart Defect," Sept. 17.
As a crime prevention specialist and community police representative with the Los Angeles Police Department Devonshire Division and a member of this community, it warms my heart to read stories like these. Congratulations to Edward M. Yoon for capturing the heart and soul of the LAPD.
It is policemen like Officer Steve Saletros, [Officer Marjan] Mobasser, Sgt. Joe Gonzales, [Officer] Paul Williams and [Officer] Vita Vallejo that make up our police department's heart and soul. I am sure there are other stories that have never been printed where officers have continued to give back to the communities they are sworn to protect and serve. I hope that Shao-han Deng has a successful operation and recovery and that [he and his family] take back to their country the kindness that they received from these officers and the medical community at UCLA. It is through these acts of kindness from the legal and medical communities that our community and our world will prosper. God bless you all.
JOSE G. CASTILLO, crime prevention specialist
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