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At the Russian Orthodox Church in Seattle, Sergei lights a prayer candle. His mother is a faithful member of the church<br/>in Sovetskaya Gavan, but Sergei has rarely attended and is ignorant of the rituals.



Dr. Imrich Bor, a pediatrician fluent in Russian, explains the serious heart surgery he will face.<br/>Sergei's parents had never told him of the dangers he faced.



After learning of the serious heart surgery he will face, Sergei withdraws on his doctor's floor.<br/>Sergei's parents had never told him of the dangers he faced.



Foster mother Linda Johnson holds firm as Sergei cringes during a blood test.



Translator Olga Strashnova comforts Sergei in his room at Seattle's Providence Hospital.



The night before surgery, gun-toting Sergei shoots back in his hospital room. Having been in the US<br/>for 3 months, he is in love with all things "American," from cowboys to video games.



Sergei often walked the halls of 8-West dressed in cowboy boots, holster and six-shooters,<br/>amusing everyone he met with his Russian-accented "Stick 'em up!"



Alone in his hospital room near midnight before his risky surgery, Sergei<br/>stares out at the streets of Seattle, silent and withdrawn.



Dr. Edward Rittenhouse delicately repairs Sergei's deformed heart, carefully choreographing a team of skilled<br/>surgeons, doctors and nurses who have donated their services to save this young life.



After hearing that Sergei has survived the 5-hour surgery, Olga quietly prays.



Hours after surgery, Olga hovers lovingly over an<br/>unconscious Sergei, murmuring gentle Russian phrases.



A piece of paper towel serves as a Russian phrase<br/>book for cardiac intensive care nurse Tim McKibben.


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