LWB Community

Josie: LWB’s Featured Child of the Week

Sweet Josie’s very large ventricular septal defect (VSD) heart defect needs to be repaired fairly soon. At just five months old, her life is just beginning, and she has such a bright future after her heart is repaired. One day we may read about her winning the lead role in a major ballet production or finding a cure for cancer. Or perhaps Josie will choose to be a teacher or engineer. While we do not know what desires are in her little heart, our desire for her is that she will have a healthy heart, find her forever family, and have the opportunity to pursue her dreams. Read more.

An Adoption Story: Joshua

Song is a boy who will remain imprinted in the memories of many of LWB volunteers and supporters. He was first featured on our blog in “Song’s Story,” and again in “Singing for Song.” Song had a difficult beginning in life and lost both eyes due to retinal blastoma, but we just knew in our hearts that the perfect family was waiting for this extremely bright and resilient boy.  Happily, Song was adopted nearly two months ago by a wonderful family and is now known as Joshua. Joshua’s parents recently shared his incredible adoption story. Read more.

Miao

Earlier this month, a very special little girl was adopted who had been helped by LWB. Many of you had prayed for Miao’s health over the years, and so we wanted to share her initial story with you – which now has the happy ending (new beginning) of adoption! ****

I first met Miao in April, 2006 when my Dad and I were given permission to visit my daughter’s orphanage in China. The orphanage had been closed to any Westerners visiting and past offers of assistance had been politely refused. When we visited, we were in the baby room holding and playing with babies in cribs when our guide was pulled over to look at this little toddler. Her color was very blue, and she was quiet, very quiet. Read more.

Layla: LWB’s Featured Child of the Week

Layla has just turned seven years old; yet she has had to endure more in her short life than most could imagine. Abandoned at a young age, she was adopted domestically and enjoyed family life. When her parents divorced, her mother continued to raise her until she took ill and passed away last fall. Layla was returned to the orphanage, and, while dealing with the grief of losing her mother, she became very sick. Doctors discovered she has a VSD and is in need of surgery.

Layla wants nothing more than to return to school, but her caregivers would like her to have a healthy heart before doing so. Read more.

When Hope Turns to Loss

When LWB first started our Unity Medical Fund, it was with the hope that we could actually prevent children from becoming orphaned. Through our medical work in China, we had learned that many parents abandon their children born with medical needs when they are unable to pay for the surgeries their children need. Our LWB managers had been approached multiple times by pleading rural parents who didn’t have the funds to get their child admitted to the hospital for care. They would frantically say, “we will give you our child if you will just save her life.” There is only one word to describe what I saw in too many rural parents’ eyes when they could not afford to help their child: desperation.

Read more.

Gentle Zachary

Waiting on the shared list for his family to find him is a very special little boy named Zachary who impresses everyone he meets with his gentle, warmhearted nature. Maureen Brogan, our cleft surgery coordinator, met Zachary during our 2010 cleft surgery trip and wanted to share her impressions of this lovely boy from Fujian.

Zachary had his cleft lip and palate repaired during our 2010 cleft surgery trip and was featured in several blogs about the trip (Day Two, Day Three, and the final day). However, he has a severe protrusion of his front teeth and gum. Despite this deformity, he is a handsome boy. He needs an orthodontist or oral surgeon to start moving his jaw and upper teeth into the proper position. This procedure and the required braces are not available in China, and his best hope for a bright future is adoption. Read more.

Counting Down Our Top Ten Photos of 2011: Emily Learns to Crawl

Coming in at #9 in our Top Ten Photos of 2011 is the unstoppable Emily. Baby Emily came into LWB’s hands from an orphanage in Fujian Province. She was born with a medical condition requiring a very specialized surgery. We were so grateful when Dr. Ngan with MedArt agreed to take her case, and Emily traveled to Hong Kong to undergo a very complex operation.

This photo was taken in May, about one month after returning to our Heartbridge Healing Home, a unit for babies who need more specialized care. At 14 months, finally able to spend some time on her tummy, Emily wasted no time learning how to “army crawl” around the room. Read more.

Counting Down Our Top Ten Photos of 2011: Homework With Friends

One of our favorite times of each year is when we get to vote for LWB’s Top Ten Photos.  Literally thousands of photos come to us each year from our various programs, we never tire of seeing the faces of the children who inspire us. At this special time of year, we want to inspire you — and warm your hearts — by seeing the photos our supporters have chosen as LWB’s Top Ten Photos of 2011!

Coming in at #10:  Homework with Friends

When LWB first learned of JD, his family was barely getting by. He was born with cleft lip and lived the first ten years of his life with it unrepaired. He had been taken in by a kind-hearted man who raised him as his son, but sadly this man passed away. Read more.

LWB’s Mini Christmas Auction

It’s that time of year again—time for LWB’s Mini Christmas Auction to help provide medical care for orphaned and impoverished children in China.  Recently we have been inundated with requests for help from impoverished families whose children are in desperate need of life-saving heart surgeries.  One story in particular really illustrates how much our Unity Fund can mean to a family trying to stay together during very difficult times.

Read more.

Willow: LWB’s Featured Child of the Week

Willow is a beautiful eight-month-old from Guizhou Province. Her orphanage wanted her to get an evaluation and surgery so desperately that they insisted she go to the hospital when another little boy from her orphanage was going for a heart evaluation. Fortunately they were able to travel together, and Willow has received the evaluation needed to determine exactly what type of surgery will best correct her intestinal malformation.
Read more.