At the age of 12, Lin Xiaoman was running up to take a penalty kick when a tearing pain suddenly shot through his chest. He collapsed in front of the goal, his vision gradually blurring – this young football talent, who had just been selected by the municipal sports school, had no idea that a 0.8cm ventricular septal defect in his heart had quietly shattered his sporting dreams.
The diagnosis and treatment recommendations from the provincial hospital were spread out on the coffee table. Lin's father repeatedly traced the words "sternal splitting + extracorporeal circulation" with his fingertips. Fearing such a major surgical injury, he wondered if his son would pull through. The image of Xiaoman leaping for a header in a photo stood in cruel contrast to the doctor's words: "Strenuous exercise is not recommended after surgery." Xiaoman locked himself in his room and tore up his newly bought jersey.
Father and son finally found Director Yang Xueyong from the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Beijing Jingdu Children's Hospital. By this time, Xiaoman's heart murmur had progressed to Grade 4. "A 3cm surgical incision under the right armpit, no need to break the ribs," Yang Xueyong said, pointing to the CT image. "But there's moderate aortic valve regurgitation, which requires intraoperative plasty, and extracorporeal circulation can be controlled within 90 minutes." A 3cm incision to complete the surgery? These words suddenly lit up Xiaoman's dim eyes. He clutched his father's clothes, his toes moving involuntarily, thinking maybe he could still make it.
The day before the surgery, Director Yang Xueyong visited him with a football painted with a heart anatomy diagram. "For a defect in this position, our 3.5mm retractor can just expose it," he said, drawing an arc on Xiaoman's chest with a marker. "It's shorter than the distance between the lace holes on your football boots."
On the fifth day after the surgery, when Xiaoman tried to get out of bed, the scar under the bandage looked like a pale red earthworm. After examining the wound, Director Yang Xueyong gave him the specially made football, saying, "Try jogging after three months. Only if the ejection fraction remains above 60% in the six-month review can you return to the pitch."
During his rehabilitation training, Xiaoman always carried the football given by Director Yang. From gasping for breath after 200 meters to being able to run five laps around the playground, sweat soaked his training uniform time and again. At the first review, Yang Xueyong looked at the report and said, "Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter 45mm, ejection fraction 68%. Young footballer, you can rejoin the team."
In this spring's youth league, Xiaoman, wearing the No. 10 jersey, scored the winning goal just before the final whistle. As he excitedly lifted his jersey in celebration, the 3cm surgical scar was faintly visible in the sunlight. In the stands, Father Lin opened the review report sent by Director Yang Xueyong on his phone, his gaze lingering on the words "Everything is normal" for a long time.
As the national anthem played during the award ceremony, Xiaoman quietly touched the small scar that meant so much to him. The wind swept across the green field, carrying the scent of grass. The young boy's football dream would finally set sail again, keeping pace with his heartbeat.
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