Saturday, April 28, 2007

Kids Recovering


Weekend installment of news from Shanghai Children's and the neurosurgery mission:

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I can definitely feel it is getting relaxing in the hospital now.. it is amazing to see how the children are getting better and better day by day..

The doctors came back to check on the kids this morning. Dr Lazareff and the other doctors had so much fun with Hou. That little boy surely has the sweetest smile in the world that can melt everyone's heart. He loves to talk as well and he loves to be in pictures. He also showed me today the picture of himself in it given by a volunteer. He loves that pic so much and he keeps it by his bedside so he can see it from time to time. He even asked me to take a picture of him with that picture - then he was laughing so hard telling me "see? there are two Hous in the pic!!"

Taylor got a new "hat" today - Dr Bao came really early today to change the bandage for his head. With this new "hat", little Taylor looks like a little chef - we were joking with him that he would make a good chef as he himself is so chubby - people can tell he does good food.. he was laughing when we joked with him!

Jacob recovered very well too. We called him LeLe in Chinese.. Whenever his ayi said "Lele", he would say "he he" (laughing). His ayi kept repeating Lele while Jacob kept following with "he he".. it really got everyone in the room laughing!

Liu is doing very well too although she still needs to lay on her stomach. She can't wait already to get herself busy with art work. She was busy with stickers and colors even when she was laying. Naomi and Liu are in the same room. I was trying to practice speaking with Liu by speaking words slowly and one by one.. it surprised me that a couple of times Naomi followed me even before Liu got the chance to repeat after me. I think Naomi is really ready to talk now as she would make any sound like what you make and then laugh and laugh, being proud of herself.

Little Wendy was fussy today for a while as she didn't enjoy the IV. Her director was sitting by her holding her hand and telling her to be brave. Her foster mom ran down stairs to get a new toy and these two women were just so busy doing everything they could to please the baby. Wendy was still crying though, until i asked Wendy if she would love to be in the pic, she stopped crying and gave me a smile, then she went back to crying. It really got me both laughing and crying for her.

Matthew's surgery can't be done this time as it requires a big surgery for his bone as well. We thought it would be best to wait until later this year when a famous orthopaedics surgeon is coming to this hospital to perform free surgery. Matthew was so upset at the beginning when he heard he couldn't get surgery. He was so jealous when Carrie came out of OR and kept asking he wished to be in OR too. We explained to him and told him he would have his opportunity later this year and he was so happy hearing that. He was telling others around that he would have surgery later this year.

Every child from this mission will be in my memory forever. I was telling one ayi today that although I really want to recover and be discharged soon, part of me inside also wished they could stay as I would miss them so much! They are great kids who are so brave. I had surgery myself when I was 20 years old and I remember even at that age, I cried a lot after surgery. But look at these kids, most of them were already smiling and having fun from the 2nd day on. They have added so much fun to the hospital with their giggling, their smiles and their different personalities. It is truly full of joy discovering their personalities. I can't wait for these kids to recover and grow up healthily to pursue their different dreams!

Tingting