There is something about traveling at 556 mph and 33,000 ft. above the earth that always makes me reflect on the past. A similar flight occurred just over eight years ago, and I was nervous then as I’m nervous now. At that time, I was yet to be a dad, but that was all about to change. I had just kissed goodbye my very pregnant wife so that I could bring back our twelve-month-old daughter waiting for us in China. Read more.
Every year our art auction raises essential funds for our medical program so that babies like little Fallon can get a second chance. When Fallon’s orphanage phoned us last week, they told us she was extremely blue, short of breath, and hot with fever. We moved her urgently to a cardiac hospital, and she will need surgery to survive. Read more.
Last week we began a series on having realistic expectations during the adoption trip by covering the topic of cleanliness. Today we would like to continue with the “bathroom” subject, as one of the most common questions asked by parents is whether or not their child-to-be is potty trained.
Well…… define potty trained. And if the definition is “Western style toilet trained,” then the answer is probably not. Read more.
It’s Wednesday morning and in five days, the 2012 Cleft Medical Exchange will commence surgeries for almost 50 children at Kaifeng Children’s Hospital in Henan Province. While I’m excited, my more overwhelming emotion is nervousness. I have been involved with Love Without Boundaries for eight years, but this is the first time I’m traveling on a medical trip. Performing 50 surgeries in a week is a daunting task in a familiar environment, but one can imagine the logistical issues of doing this from 5,000 miles away, in a state of the art, yet unfamiliar hospital, with many of the children arriving from hundreds of miles away. But therein lies the heart of why I adore LWB, and why I am honored to be associated with this wonderful organization.
Read more.
Diego and Hada are two of the six children in our Tongren foster care program who are in need of sponsors to provide nutritious cereal for them. Diego, seen below checking out a box of cereal, wakes up bright and early and asks his foster mother to wake up! His foster father works away from their home but calls frequently to check on them. Diego loves to hear the sound of his foster father’s voice on the phone when he calls. Diego has a good appetite and also likes to eat rice, noodles, and meat. The cereal program is a wonderful way to supplement his diet, ensuring that he receives the best nutrition we can give him.
Read more.
A visit to our Heartbridge Healing Home is always a treat, and last month’s visit was no exception. The children there, who once were very weak and fragile, are thriving. You would never suspect from looking at and playing with these children the odds they have overcome. Attentive nannies, quality nutrition, and lots of TLC make an unbeatable combination! Here are some of the beautiful faces from our visit.
Adrienne, seen above, babbled away to us, probably telling us about the great care she has received at Heartbridge. Read more.
Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems. ~ Rainer Maria Rilke
Spring, the season of renewal, has arrived, and with it brings our 2012 Cleft Exchange! Only nine days left until lives are changed for good. Today, we have added three new children to the list of those awaiting surgery. Read more.
Visiting the Henan Healing Home is always a wonderful experience. While this home might be small in size (with room for eight babies), it is HUGE on love.
Amy and Sheri snuggling with the babies at the Henan Healing Home
We have been working with a rural orphanage over the last year that really struggles with their babies born with cleft lip. We have a very good partnership in place where they contact us about their newly abandoned babies, and we move them to our Henan Healing Home as soon as we can. In February, we had taken in two new babies who were both really vulnerable and tiny when they arrived. Some of you may remember when little Bennett and Abby arrived to our home, neither weighing more than 3 kg. As we got new pictures of them each week, I could tell that their faces were starting to fill out, but it was hard to gauge just how small they were since the photos were normally closeups of their faces. Read more.
Jia Qi is not afraid.
Jia Qi is not afraid of hard work. He works for a token sum at the university library and still finds time to do volunteer work to help others.
Jia Qi is not afraid of a physical handicap. At three years old he became ill with polio. He uses one of his hands to help him walk. Read more.
Recently I read a blog where the parents of a child adopted from one of our programs made some derogatory comments about the child’s appearance and behavior in their first days together. As I read through the blog, it made me quite sad. I don’t think they wrote such critical things purposely, but it was clear that they weren’t taking the time to see life through the child’s eyes instead of their own.
It made me think that perhaps I should write up a few articles over the next month about setting realistic expectations during adoption. I hope these can be practical blogs that address some very common daily issues such as standards of cleanliness. Read more.
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