A Child's Story
Brett Halvorson (Lee Kil Woo)
Brett Halvorson meets with his Gift of Life sponsor, Nancy Reagan, 23 years
after she brought him to the United States for heart surgery.
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Brett Halvorson meets with his Gift of Life sponsor, Nancy Reagan, 23 years after she brought him to the United States for heart surgery.
My name is Brett Halvorson. I was born in South Korea as Lee Kil Woo. In 1983, I was brought over to the United States by President Ronald Reagan, First Lady Nancy Reagan, and Harriet Hodges on Air Force One when I was 4 years old to have open heart surgery through the Gift of Life. Shortly after my surgery, I was adopted by an American family. After the adoption, I had lost touch with everyone from the Reagan’s, Harriet, Gift of Life, and my biological family. I lived in Arizona until 1989, when we moved to the Seattle area. Around 2004-2005, I was thinking about my life and life in general and what it all meant…one thing I knew was that I had to contact the people involved with my past and personally thank them. I thought it would be easiest to contact Mrs. Reagan. After some searching, I finally contacted Mrs. Reagan and reunited with her in California at the Reagan Museum in 2007. Shortly after my reunion with Mrs. Reagan, I was able to reunite with Mrs. Hodges and my biological family. I flew to South Korea with Mrs. Hodges and met my family. Also in this very exciting time in my life I also reunited with GOL. I can not explain the gratitude and feeling I had reuniting with everyone from my past. Other than the day I received my surgery, it has been the best days of my life. All these people involved with me coming to America for heart surgery were coming back into my life so suddenly. All the coincidences that happened regarding these reunions were a miracle. For one example, I had told one of my current clients about my history and come to find out; his good friend had worked for Gift of Life years ago and knew Robbie Donno and contacted him. That was one of the reasons how I was reunited with Gift of Life.
I believe that everything happens for a reason. My reunion with everyone has inspired me to leave my current career to work with Gift of Life. I feel that I cannot pass up this opportunity to pay it forward and give back to the children that are still out there needing heart surgery just as I did 25 years ago. I attended the Gift of Life dinner/dance in New York (District 7250) where I received an Angel Award. I humbly accepted even though I should not be the one receiving this award. I believe the people of Gift of Life are “My Angels.”
I am looking forward to the next chapters of my life and I know they will be rewarding in other ways. As one Gift of Life saying states: Each child who gets operated on is a raindrop that creates a ripple of kindness. In my case, the people of the Gift of Life were the raindrops and I hope to help create the ripples.
In 1983, my heart was physically or surgically healed. In 2007-2008, my heart is spiritually healed. So I thank everyone for the work and dedication that saved my life! Now, it is time for me to give back to others!
Jonathan Olunga: Our 10,000th Miracle
Jonathan is the sixth born in a family of 7 children (3 boys and 4 girls).
Born on 28th December 1995 he will be 12 years old this coming December.
He is in 5th grade and attends Biotech primary school in Kampala. Like
most children who suffer from his illnesses, Jonathan is lagging behind
two years in his education. Due to his frequently being ill, he has been
missing school. Many times he ends up in the hospital.
Jonathan and his family have come to live in Kabalagala, a suburb of
Kampala, because this is where his father could find work. However, their
village is Numino in Busia District, Uganda. His father John Olunga is
a police officer while his mom Joyce Samanya Olunga is a housewife. They
have chosen their current home because it is only a short walk for Jonathan
to go to school.
Jonathan’s poor health was first noticed by his parents when he was 4
months old. However, they were not initially aware what caused his illness.
Like Graces parents travelled to several hospitals and even looked to
traditional doctors before they thought of visiting the Uganda Heart
Institute. It was then that they were informed that Jonathan had a heart
defect and needed surgery urgently. Fortunately for Jonathan and his
family, they would soon be made aware of the Gift of Life program in
Uganda and that he was a candidate for their help.
Jonathan loves football although he complains his school doesn’t have enough playgrounds. With a smile on his face he says he prefers to play the midfield. This was received with surprise by his sisters who thought he would go for a less demanding position in the field. Jonathan says that when he grows up he wishes...’to become a doctor so that I can treat people.’
Jonathan is a bright boy and has always been in the top 5% of his class despite his setbacks. In the face of the difficult economic conditions the family is faced with, everyone is overwhelmed by the unexpectedly great news of Jonathan being able to live a healthy life. They are grateful to the people of Gift of Life for their kindness and look forward to Jonathan’s ‘miracle journey’ to New York. Jonathan will be accompanied for his surgery by his mom. His entire community is overwhelmed that he will be helped by strangers from far away.
