. >> reporter: with that smile, that energy and that laugh, it's hard not to like 6-year-old erblin.le guy is happy because he is learning first hand the generosity of americans. he was born with a life-threatening congenital heart defect. he needed heart surgery. his father ran out of options. >> i was terrified and scared, while i was in kosovo that he will die. >> reporter: but a group of high school students from long island heard about erblin's problem, got together with a program called gift of life, and they raised thousands of dollars to fly him over to fix his heart. >> before the surgery, we were able to meet him and he was so adorable. >> reporter: but these students didn't just raise money. they sat in on the surgery. all of them with dream of being a doctor just like the surgeon who patched him up. it was only a 35-minute procedure, but it was life-changing. >> i was tired. now i feel good. >> reporter: and so do those students. not doctors yet, but already saving one life. >> this is, like, truly a day i will never, ever forget. >> reporter: he now heads back to kosovo.