Update on the China Care Home

October 12, 2009

As soon as the children settled into their new surroundings, through our partnership with Half the Sky, we contacted more than 50 orphanages across China and began cooperating with them in medical assistance. So much has happened since then that it seems like much more than just a few months ago! We have now welcomed nearly 50 new children into our home, provided 36 surgeries, made more than 100 visits to doctors for various check-ups and 19 children cared for by China Care have been adopted! In addition, we recruited and trained two dozen new nannies to dote on our tiny babies and have formed partnerships with some sophisticated hospitals in Beijing that give our children top priority for surgeries and other medical treatments. While we forge ahead on providing even better medical care for even more children, we always remain intensely focused on the children currently in our care. We fall in love with each and every one of them as they start to display their own personalities and as they struggle to overcome their challenges.

LiJi
LiJi when he arrivedLiJi was born in Inner Mongolia in the spring of 2007 and abandoned shortlly after. The local orphanage sent him to China Care when he was three months old, hoping we could help correct his birth defects – one of his eyes was smaller than normal and he had a deformed thumb. When he arrived, however, his condition appeared much more grave. A hospital check-up showed he also had a heart defect. We LiJi todayprovided the heart surgery when he was six months old and stayed with him and comforted him throughout the entire process. LiJi had an incredibly tough time before and after the surgery. He was admitted to the hospital several times for pneumonia and heart treatment. He is currently on heart medication and living at the China Care Home in Beijing. LiJi needs round-the-clock care as well as rehabilitation exercises to keep him fit. Now two years-old, he just started to sit with support and crawl a little. When asked to give a smile, LiJi waves his hands and flashes a big grin. He has remained in stable health in the last few months and we have high hopes that his development will continue to progress as he gets even stronger.

Ru
Ru when she arrivedRu was the first new baby we welcomed into the China Care Home after moving to Beijing. She was born in Inner Mongolia on May 29, 2009, just a few weeks after we opened the new home and suffered from intestinal atresia, a congenital birth defect where the intestines do not form completely. This tiny little girl was abandoned when she was just a few days old and arrived looking yellow and weighing less than 4 ½ pounds. Ru Ru todaywas immediately sent to the hospital and put in ICU as an emergency case, where she had surgery right away. Ru stayed in the hospital for three weeks where she gradually recovered until returning to the China Care Home. Once back at our home, she quickly put on weight and is now more than 10 pounds! She has become alert and responsive and adores her nannies, smiling whenever they stroke her chubby cheeks!