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.  The next thing I knew, he was looking at medical files (I could tell because he was reviewing an EKG strip) and whipping out a second cell phone.  He was speaking in English, which should caused me to think that something was up, but I was busy making sure my daughter’s visit was a good experience so I didn’t focus much on his call.  On our way to lunch, our guide told me that they “would let us take her”.  What?   Oh, he forgot to mention that he worked with Love Without Boundaries, and the orphanage was certain the little girl would not survive without help, so they were going to allow LWB to arrange heart surgery for her.  He had been on the phone in the orphanage, very late at night with someone from the Medical Team in the US, gaining approval to arrange for her life-saving heart surgery.  Wow!  Well, that was the moment I then became involved with LWB.

Miao went from blue to an adorable pink shortly after the critical surgery.  Unfortunately, during my next visit (this time as an LWB volunteer), we found her to be yellow.  Yes, yellow.  Apparently she had a blocked bile duct so, arrangements were quickly made for another medical procedure.  Miao went from yellow to pink very quickly this time at the hospital.  This was the trip  where we also convinced the orphanage administration to try foster care through LWB – and so that was another great moment.

I missed Miao on my last visit to China this summer.  We were running out to a field trip with 25 students from her orphanage school,  and then working on the sponsor crafts in the late afternoon.  I made plans to meet with her the next day, but then I learned she was ill.  Gravely ill – and it had come on so suddenly that the orphanage wasn’t sure she would survive.  LWB’s medical team whisked her off to the hospital, and then she was sent to Heartbridge to remain until her family could adopt her.  While in the care of LWB, the photos showed she gained weight and, once again, had a much healthier color to her.  Miao really thrived at Heartbridge, and I celebrated when I learned that her family was finally traveling to China to adopt her.

Miao at Heartbridge

I am overjoyed for this beautiful little girl, but also for the many volunteers and staff who found their way to LWB to make it possible to help these children so in need.  You know, I still think about the fact that I insisted on one thing on our trip in 2006 and honestly, only one thing.  It was our guide.  I had learned about him from a fellow adoptive parent who used this man’s services for a film project he was doing.   I wanted someone I could really trust in-province so I asked our tour agency to arrange him as our guide.  Initially they resisted saying they used to use his services but didn’t any longer.  Then they said the dates would not work.  Then he could not meet us at the airport on the day we had planned.  So, we paid extra, changed the dates, and caught a shuttle to the hotel, but we had Zhang Ming on our trip.  I had heard of LWB but had no idea he was with them and that he could do what needed to be done so quickly for the kids.  I feel God had a plan for Miao and used us as his instruments to deliver the plan.  The door was opened through our trip.  If it hadn’t been us, it would have been someone-  but I am blessed to think that He did use us just a bit.  And thanks to everyone who believed in LWB’s work by donating and volunteering, MANY children have been helped in this large orphanage  through medical, education, foster care, healing homes, nutrition, and orphanage assistance.  So much still to be done but it all started with Miao. And that is a definite WOW!

~ Sandy Hartman, LWB Education Volunteer

This month one of our Unity Fund recipients was a beautiful little boy named Yi.   He is four years old, and his mother and father are both rural farmers.  Last fall, his mom had to have heart surgery that drained all of the family’s resources.  It has left her too weak to work in the fields and so she tries to earn extra money doing odd jobs.   During the same time as her heart surgery, the family discovered that little Yi also had heart disease – a VSD that was affecting his health.  His parents were so saddened to get this news as they knew it would be impossible for them to pay for the operation he needed.  The Geng Village local Civil Affairs contacted LWB for assistance, and we arranged for Yi to have open heart surgery in Xi’An.  We are happy to report that the surgery was a complete success!

Our hospital manager visited Yi following his heart surgery and took him a toy truck.  She told us that his mother was very emotional during their visit.    With tears in her eyes, she talked about what it meant to their family to know that complete strangers would show such love and compassion to their little boy.   Thank you for making this important medical fund possible!   You are changing lives every day!

For adoptive families, the Going Home Barbie presented by the White Swan Hotel is something many families keep as a treasured memory of the time when their child became part of their family. Little Miss Norah has an extra special story for her Going Home Barbie.

Miss Norah was part of three Love Without Boundaries programs. Her heart surgery was sponsored by the LWB medical program, LWB foster care sponsored a wonderful foster family for her, and her tuition was covered by an LWB education sponsor. All of her sponsors will be delighted to know Norah now has a forever family and is doing just great. Norah joined her family just as Love Without Boundaries was preparing for the 2009 Born in My Heart Auction. Her family donated their Coming Home Barbie to the Auction which brought over $200 toward sponsoring heart surgery for another child.

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Norah’s Going Home Barbie not only symbolized her going home to her own family — it helped pave the way for another child’s healthy heart and hope for a permanent family. Now that is one Extra Special Going Home Barbie!

Nancy Williams is the Human Resources Assoicate Director for Love Without Boundaries. She lives in Cleveland, OH area with her husband, Reese, and two daughters, Elizabeth age 7, and Sarah, age 5, both adopted from Guangdong Province.

Our annual “Born in My Heart” Art Auction on eBay was held from April 23 to 28, and was a huge success!

By the second day of the auction, the total bid amount was already enough to fully fund heart surgeries for two children – Lacy, a beautiful child in Guilin; and Maria, a sweet girl in our Sanmenxia Foster Care program.

On Sunday, our medical team received word that one child, Mei from Anhui, was doing worse. She was pale and had trouble breathing. A quick check on the auction total showed that we could now also help Mei. We were relieved to inform our China Medical staff right away that Mei was funded and able to have surgery.

We were so excited that the auction was going to help heal 3 children!

But then…..people kept bidding and bidding, and by Tuesday morning it was evident that we would be able to help ANOTHER child: Joshua, a 1 year old with Down’s Syndrome and a complex heart defect. He is adored by his foster family. I can’t wait to let them know he will soon be healed.

In the end, the auction proceeds (100% of which go to the children) reached a total of $21,675. Wow!

These 4 children will soon receive life-saving heart surgery thanks to your support, what a huge blessing! Thank you to everyone who donated items, gave their time, spread the word and of course, bid on all the wonderful items! We are so grateful for your support.

Laura Baldwin is the Medical Program Director for Love Without Boundaries. She lives in Texas with her three children, Elise (Vietnam), Grace (Vietnam), and Julie (Guangdong Province).

Love Without Boundaries’ 6th annual “Born in My Heart” Art Auction goes live next week!

Beginning Thursday, April 23 through Tuesday, April 28, you can bid on some amazing items and forever change the lives of children born with heart defects. As always, 100% of the proceeds go to fund heart surgeries.

With items for every budget, this is a great time to shop for Graduation and Mother’s and Father’s Day too!

This year there are items you won’t want to miss, from original art to glorious quilts to books, clothing, toys, and more. What makes this event possible? It’s you! It’s the generosity of those who have donated these wonderful items. It’s the thoughtfulness of those who have asked “how can I help?” It’s the hearts of our amazing supporters who know that every orphaned child deserves a second chance.

Be a part of our auction and help forever change the life of a child like Jing Mei. At nearly one year of age she suffers with ASD, VSD and PH. What does it take to heal a child’s heart? About $7000. Yes, it’s a lot of money but as all of us here at LWB know, “many hands make light work”. Working together we can raise the funds to heal her heart and others like her.

One healed heart. One life spared. A truly priceless gift. Together, we can reach Jing Mei and other children with heart defects (and have a little fun too!) by taking part in the auction from April 23-28. Join the fun at:

http://stores.ebay.com/Love-Without-Boundaries-Store

Auction items will begin launching at 9 am (Pacific) on Thursday, April 23. Nearly 300 items will be added throughout the day so keep checking back! This 5-day eBay auction will close Tuesday, April 28th with items closing throughout the course of the day.

See you at the auction! And please help us spread the word. If you have a website, blog, are on Facebook or Twitter, please mention this event. Be a hero….help heal a heart!

Deb Mann is Co-Coordinator for Love Without Boundaries’ “Born In My Heart” Art Auction. She lives in Idaho, USA, with her husband Mike. They have 3 grown sons and a beautiful Jiangsu daughter, who was adopted from China in 2003.

Some things are simply universal…whether it’s a reward from the pediatrician, a treasure found inside your favorite box of cereal, or simply a prize peeled off of the “best” banana, if you are under the age of three you are required to attach any newly-found sticker to your face!

Xin here is a handsome young man from our Heartbridge Pediatric Healing Unit, and he obviously has this rule down pat! Xin was admitted to Heartbridge after surgery to repair multiple heart defects in July of 2007. He is on a number of medications so we are keeping him under our close supervision until the day that he is able to be adopted…which leads to the really BIG news that we have learned that Xin has been chosen by a family!

Just look at that face, somebody is getting one adorable kid!!! Congratulations to Xin and his future family. This is definitely a celebration worthy of a special new sticker!

Jan Champoux is Heartbridge Coordinator for Love Without Boundaries Foundation. She lives in Nebraska, USA with husband Rob and four children. Jan and Rob have two “homegrown” teenagers, a son adopted from Korea, and a daughter adopted from China.

I just LOVE this photo!

Hui had heart surgery last May.  He looks like he is feeling pretty good!

Kate Finco
Medical Co-Director

When LWB started its Unity Fund this year, we hoped to help rural families who otherwise couldn’t afford medical care, with the ultimate goal of keeping families together. We have met many families who have touched us deeply in the past and hoped to be able to help other families like them. Many people gave generously to our Unity Fund both through our website and on Facebook.

The money in this fund has allowed us to provide surgeries for quite a few children over the past couple of months… and this is how we heard about Jing.

Jing is a beautiful 9-year-old girl who had a very severe heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot (a heart defect that includes four different defects), along with an aortic valve defect. Usually this heart defect is fixed by one year of age; Jing had lived nine years with hers. Jing’s family is from a village in a remote mountainous region of the Shaanxi Province. Her father had taken her to several hospitals in Xi’an to try to find a way to help their daughter. Her family knew that her life was in danger and that she needed her surgery badly. When she arrived at the hospital, where we have found a great heart surgeon named Dr. Lei, her family found out that her surgery would cost 60,000 rmb—close to $10,000 USD. The family knew that there was no way they could afford this surgery. The hospital tried to help, making the bill as low as possible, but the family still couldn’t afford it; they had to take their daughter and leave the hospital. I can only imagine their angst knowing that their daughter wouldn’t be healed.

This family has not only been hard hit with their daughter needing heart surgery, but have faced several other hardships. The family of six, including the grandmother and grandfather, parents, and a sister have had several other medical hardships, including Jing’s grandfather losing an arm in a farming accident, her grandmother having cervical cancer, and her mother suffering from a rare disease that causes her to be regularly unconscious and weak..

We were so overjoyed to be able to let this family know that the money from our Unity Fund would make up the difference needed at the hospital…. and that their daughter would have the opportunity to be healed. Jing is a very sweet girl and so very grateful to have this chance. Our Xi’An hospital monitor, Sherry, overheard Jing tell her father that steamed buns and porridge would be fine since they had so little money; they were eating just one meal a day to save money. Their neighbors from their village had pooled their money together to help pay for Jing and her father’s transportation to Xi’An.

In this season of excess, their story hit all of us exceptionally hard. We knew that we had to do more than just help with this child’s surgery. Sherry started cooking meals at home and bringing them to the hospital, knowing that for Jing to heal well she would need extra nutrition. In addition, our staff in China, upon hearing about Jing’s family, sent money to help them. Our volunteers here in the U.S. heard of her needs and donated money to buy Jing a thick coat, a pair of pants, and a pair of boots.

The very best news of all was that, last Wednesday, Jing had her surgery, and it was a success! Her heart has been healed. It warms my heart to think of all of the love and care, from people all over the world, that has gone into helping this one child. We are grateful to have been able to give this gift to Jing and her family but realize we have received a wonderful gift as well to have crossed paths with Jing.

Karen Maunu
Medical Co-Director

I have some wonderful news to share!  Both ten-year-old Jie and baby Gracie have had surgery and are doing great!  

Jie’s surgery was Thursday and took five hours.  Although she is in intensive care, she has had her ventilator removed and is doing very well.  Gracie’s surgery–also a very long surgery–was performed on Friday and was a total success!  She is also recovering in intensive care.

The doctors have said that both girls look great!  We are all so happy that they have both had this chance to be healed!

Karen Maunu
Medical Director