A Home for Li
We have been helping an adorable little boy for the last year. He had spina bifida as a baby, and had to have one leg amputated recently. We found a great temporary foster home for this beautiful little boy to recover in, but we knew that we would need to find a permanent place for him, where he could get some schooling and be fitted with a prosthetic leg. PHF offered to accept Li into their House of Love, and so then the question of how he would get from Guangxi to Beijing arose. He loved his foster grandma so much, but she was unable to travel with him, and we knew that this transition would be hard for him.
Thankfully, we were able to find a volunteer to help us transfer Li to Beijing. One of our friends living in China, Lisa, had gone to visit Li while he was in the hospital and has a real passion for Li’s orphanage. She has helped with nanny
training, sending cards to the kids, and she will soon be sending a PT team to his orphanage. We knew that she would be the perfect person to help Li through the grief of leaving his foster grandma.On Friday, Lisa flew down to Guangxi province and met Li and his foster grandma. His grandma had been talking to Li about going to Beijing for weeks, and she said that he was very excited to get to go to school and meet new friends, but of course he was nervous about leaving her. We love this picture of Li and his grandmother as they headed off to the airport. Li did very well
with everything until it was time to say goodbye. As his foster grandma was leaving, he started to yell and cry out, “Grandma”. Lisa bent down on her knees on the floor with him. She talked quietly to him and he listened to her. She told him we all love him and want the best for him. She said that his Nai
nai (the foster grandma) would always love him. Li took Lisa’s hand and walked bravely through security and onto the next adventure of his first airplane ride. He enjoyed riding on the plane and eating the plane food. He drew pictures and was very sweet to everyone he met. This little boy was so very brave.When they arrived in Beijing, they traveled to his new home and he met some of the Ayis. They immediately welcomed him and gave him some dinner after his long journey. The other kids in the house had just had bath time
and were walking around on the way to bed. Li kept looking at them and he was interested in meeting all of the other kids. He was very tired, so Lisa said goodnight to him and told him that she would come back in the morning to see him. Already she could see that he liked the colors and lights and warmth of the place.When Lisa went back on Saturday morning, he seemed to already feel right at home. He was enjoying playtime with the other kids. He already seemed very comfortable with the aunties and was very talkative. Li told Lisa that he had slept very well, that he loved his new home, and that he really liked th
e other kids there.All of us at LWB are so thankful that Li will soon have a new leg, and we all hope that 2007 will be the year he is chosen by a family who will love him FOREVER.
Karen Maunu
Medical Director
Copyright (c) 2007 Love Without Boundaries
