Three Little Girls Find Families

October 27, 2009

We are thrilled to report that the three little girls in our care with complex heart conditions all have families seeking to adopt them! This is wonderful news as the little girls each have heart problems that cannot be helped in China and because the surgeries they need are high-risk and need multiple complex interventions, there was no simple trip to another country for repair. We reached out to you, our community of friends and family with the hope on this rare occasion of finding families who would fight for them – families who wouldn’t be put off by the tremendous challenge ahead if these young lives were to be saved.

As many of you know, our partnership with Half the Sky Foundation and our agreement with the government precludes us from being part of the adoption process. However, our mission has always been to provide a better life for special needs orphans in China and Half the Sky has always promised to provide a caring adult in the lives of each orphan in their care. In the cases of these three special little girls, Half the Sky was given extraordinary, one-time permission from the China Center for Adoption Affairs to help find them "forever families". Now they have in fact found these families! Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for your help in making this happen.

LiuFang
LiuFang is 32 months old. She has had one not-entirely successful surgery in China and doctors are reluctant to do a second. With incomplete information, our consulting cardiologist offers this opinion (condensed here): Her "anatomy is probably that of a right dominant complete atrioventricular canal defect with hypoplastic left ventricle and single RV. Moderate-severe AV valve regurgitation. Mild coarctation of aorta. s/p PA banding with pulmonary hypertension beyond the band. Given the anatomic and physiologic abnormalities, the treatment options are very limited. It is extremely difficult to repair the single AV valve and valve replacement is usually not successful; rather we opt for heart transplant."

In addition to her heart condition, LiuFang has an incompletely-formed left arm and hand with only two fingers. Despite this, she is adept at manipulating even the smallest objects and is very focused when working with tiny spoons, small balls or puzzles. She is fond of books. She doesn’t like a noisy environment. If she listens to music for a while, she will then ask her foster mom to turn it off.

LiuFang has a large vocabulary for her age. She knows the names of fruits and animals and can count basic numbers. She recognizes pictures of her friends and speaks their names. She is quite attached to her China Care mom but is also friendly with others. She has two best friends and happily plays with them as long as her foster mom is still in sight.

CaiPing
CaiPing is 20 months old. Her heart condition is extremely complex. From a consulting cardiologist who was unable to examine her directly: "She probably has heterotaxy syndrome, asplenia or polysplenia, with dextrocardia, atrioventricular canal, double outlet RV with l-malposition of great arteries, pulmonary valve stenosis, patent arterial duct and hypoplastic LPA. She appears to have bilateral SVC. There is a high likelihood of anomalous pulmonary venous connections. A modified Blalock-Taussig shunt would be the first surgical procedure but she may also need a PA reconstruction. Given the complexity of the anatomy, she would likely need to proceed toward a single ventricle-type pallation with Glenn shunt and eventual Fontan but that may not be feasible if the LPA is severely hypoplastic (or absent).

CaiPing is a very feminine little girl who loves dolls and dressing up. Her China Care mom says she has great talent in language. She learns so fast that she comes up with new words every day. She mimics everything.

CaiPing is agile and graceful. Her China Care mom thinks she could be a great dancer some day. She has a gentle and mild personality. She gets along well with other children and happily shares her toys. She is deeply attached to her China Care mom.

ZiJun
ZiJun is 17 months old. She has tricuspid atresia and normally related great arteries. Cardiologists believe she could be a candidate for a Glenn shunt now and Fontan procedure when she is three years-old. While her condition is not correctible the prognosis for alleviating its ill effects are good. Doctors in China are reluctant to do surgery.

ZiJun is a spirited little girl and extremely bright. Her China Care mom describes her as a bit of a tomboy. She is very inquisitive, loves to explore boxes and is always eager to take a bath. Her motor development is excellent for her age. She can walk steadily and quickly as well as use her fingers and hands deftly. She can turn a somersault on the mat with adult assistance. Her favorite activity is climbing up chairs to get into her bed. Her China Care mom describes her as mischievous. She likes to take off her shoes. She is not afraid of strangers but is very attached to her China Care mom and jealous when mom gives too much attention to her China Care sister. She can speak a few simple words.