LWB Community Blog

On their final day in Hefei, the doctors had a wonderful visit and discussion with the cardiac staff of Anhui Children’s Hospital (ACH). LWB has worked with ACH for over 13 years, and two of our cleft surgery exchanges were held here. Anhui Children’s Hospital cares for many of the babies from our Healing Home program, and we always know they will get excellent, compassionate care. Incredibly, this hospital sees over one million patients per year!

Sunday was another great day in Anhui at the first international pediatric heart exchange with Hefei Cardiac Hospital, Little Hearts Medical, and Love Without Boundaries. Our medical exchanges are true collaborations between the medical teams, and this trip allowed for many discussions on the latest advances in research and patient care. During rounds, the doctors checked carefully on each of the children who received surgery on Saturday.

Yesterday was a very full day at Hefei Cardiac Hospital for our inaugural cardiac exchange.  The medical team began with morning rounds to check on the three children having surgery and to do more evaluations of the others who are waiting.

LWB’s first Hefei Cardiac Exchange is now underway!  Dr. Stephen Langley and Dr. Jeremy Ringewald arrived in Anhui from Florida and were warmly welcomed by the team from the Hefei Cardiac Hospital and LWB’s China Directors. They were given a tour of the hospital and met the little patients who had been awaiting their arrival.

Little Lincoln was born with Down Syndrome and an ASD heart defect (atrial septal defect). He entered our Anhui Healing Home last winter at five months old, and the nannies immediately fell for his quiet, gentle nature. He thrived in their care, and when he was a year old he graduated to foster care. In February, Lincoln became quite ill and was hospitalized with pneumonia. Doctors did repeat cardiac tests and let us know that Lincoln’s heart function was worsening. He would need to undergo open heart surgery to have a chance for a healthy life.

The devotion of Oliver’s mother has been an inspiration these past few months. As you may remember, Oliver was born with Down Syndrome and a severe heart defect. After taking her son to several hospitals and asking if they could heal his heart, Oliver’s mother was repeatedly turned away. When she learned that LWB supporters had funded heart surgery for Oliver, she was so grateful that her precious boy had a chance for a healthy life.

In January, baby Gage was born in Anhui province and soon found himself at an orphanage. The orphanage staff cared for him as best they could, but Gage was frequently ill with chest infections and had to be hospitalized. The orphanage reached out to us to see if we could help them determine the cause of his illnesses and labored breathing. We arranged for Gage to be seen at a hospital, and doctors diagnosed him with a heart defect that was likely responsible for his poor health.