Facebook Babies Update

In February, it was announced on Facebook that LWB won the Facebook challenge. With winning this award, we won $50,000, enough to help heal 10 heart babies. We thought you might like to see the babies and get an update on how they are all doing. Some are healed, some are in the hospital right now waiting for their turn, others are still waiting until just the right time. Everyone one of these children's lives will be changed forever with the money won through this contest.

Thank you to everyone who helped to make this happen!

Ying from Henan is still too tiny for surgery but is scheduled to have her ToF repair done in August. What a peanut! As soon as her heart is repaired, she will then have cleft lip surgery as well.

Yun from Zhejiang received surgery for ToF in February and is doing GREAT. This is a photo from the hospital bed.

Xiang from Guangdong was SO sick, and his aunties from the orphanage really didn't think he would make it. The Facebook funds came just in time and he had surgery in March. He received surgery for ToF and PA and is doing so well that he is being submitted for adoption. He was very blue before and now is a lovely shade of pink!

Ya received surgery for ToF and has been matched with her forever family now. That is what makes us absolutely the happiest.

Yang from Henan will be having ToF surgery next week. We can't wait to see his blue lips turn to pink!

Yun from Anhui received surgery for VSD and pulmonary hypertension and is doing so great!

Yan from Anhui will have surgery for VSD and PA soon. She needs a very specialized surgery so she needs extra prayers.

Yu from Guangxi received successful surgery for PDA.

Lin from Anhui received surgery for both PA and VSD!

And Xiong from Henan received surgery for VSD, PDA, and pulmonary hypertension. Isn't that a GREAT smile?

Karen Maunu
Medical Director

Hangzhou to Beijing

Hangzhou is truly one of the most beautiful cities in China. West Lake and the parks surrounding it create such picturesque scenery. We arrived in Hangzhou to visit Zhejiang University Children’s Hospital where the famous Dr. Li performs heart surgeries. Flowers were in full bloom - magnolias, plums, and cherry trees lined the beautiful West Lake. The city of Hangzhou seemed so welcoming.

Dr. Li and Dr. Qiu, a fellow who will soon be promoted to staff surgeon, greeted us at the airport. After a quick lunch on the lake, we arrived at Zhejiang University Children’s Hospital. Here we were met with a national television crew and many of Dr. Li’s colleagues. They took us to a conference room where we were interviewed and introduced to the director of the hospital. We discussed the relationship between Love Without Boundaries and their hospital and how we would like to continue this relationship into the future. The hospital director pledged to give us a 20% discount and give every child we send to them the absolute best care.

After our meeting, we were taken on a hospital tour. First, we were taken to the ward and were able to see two our of heart babies. One of these babies, a little girl, had just had a pacemaker put in and the other, a little boy, was scheduled to have heart surgery the next day. Both of these children were adorable. The little girl tried hard to be happy, even though she had just had surgery hours before. She was just so sweet! Tracie had one stuffed animal left in her bag, and we agreed it was a very fitting one to give her as it had a big red heart on it. The little boy was absolutely adorable. He just cooed and gave us the biggest smiles, and we loved knowing that in the morning he would be having his life changing surgery.

Next, we were taken into the ICU where most of our heart children go after surgery. Dr. Tang, the doctor in charge of this unit, was so very kind and asked us about many of the children they had helped. One of these little babies was baby Li, who had been in ICU on a ventilator for two months. This miracle child had touched all of them. Lori had her computer in her backpack and pulled it out so they could all see updated pictures of Li. We had all of the ICU staff huddled around the computer to see updated photos. You could see how they all genuinely cared about the children as they oohed and aahed over every picture.

Then we were taken on a tour of the operating rooms. We donned scrubs, hats, masks, and booties. We were able to see a couple of surgeries in progress and then were able to see their cardiac ORs. They were spotless and had state of the art equipment. It was fun to think that so many of our children were healed here. Last year, this hospital helped 60 of our heart children.

Soon it was time to say our goodbyes to all of the wonderful people we met. This hospital truly has a heart for the kids. We learned that not only does the director support the work that we do, but is also very compassionate to the poor. I just love that fact that our children are given the best medical treatment and the tender loving care of their staff.

Dr. Li took us on a brief tour of their scenic spots, on our way to the airport. We walked along the lake, looking out at the boats, the pagodas, and the mountains. The views we had reminded us of postcards, as we saw so many beautiful sights. Dr. Li also took us on a short walk though a bamboo forest. He taught us how you can tell the age of bamboo and about the many different kinds of bamboo. The bamboo forest was so peaceful and I can understand why he comes here often.

When it was time to leave Hangzhou, Dr. Li accompanied us to the airport and helped us check in. We had schlepped our large suitcases all over China and had given a few of them names (like big Bertha). Dr. Li thought this was so funny and helped us to name the rest of them. As he was helping us with our suitcases, we told him to be very careful, because we wanted to protect his precious hands. He needed to be ready for our baby’s surgery in the morning. We all had such a hard time saying goodbye to this sweet, kind man.

Soon we were in Beijing and were met by Robin Hill of New Hope Foundation. I couldn’t wait to return to their home and see our babies in our Heartbridge Unit. Our unit had been has been in operation since October has made such a difference to so many critically ill babies. This unit has nine beds and has been set up to help children pre and post surgery.

After a comfortable nights' rest and a delicious breakfast, we began our tour. The babies in the Heartbridge Unit were absolutely precious. Baby Li, the baby that the Zhejiang University Children’s Hospital staff had huddled around the computer to see, was the first baby that we all laid our eyes on. This baby was just SO precious and is thriving. You would have never known that this child was so very sick just months ago and fought to live. He had a very serious heart and lung problem and truly is a miracle. We just all loved cuddling him. Another baby who has been in our hearts was baby Yang. This baby has many serious heart defects, but she is such a fighter. She has just had the first of many heart surgeries, but is also thriving. What an absolutely adorable baby!

We were also able to see the rest of New Hope Foundation and some of the other children we have sent to them. Joyce and Robin have such high standards and love for the children. The beautiful babies were all adorable and we all had so much fun cuddling and playing with them all. A visit to their relaxing and peaceful home was such a wonderful way to end our trip.

I am always so sad leaving China, as it feels like my home away from home. There are so many kind and compassionate people working together to help children, that it is just so hard to say goodbye. Plus, there are just so many beautiful babies to hold! During our trip, we have received many new children to help. Please check our medical sponsorship page to see their beautiful faces. We are just so happy that we are able to work together with the wonderful people in China to make a difference for every one of these children. Thanks again to everyone who helps to change the lives of these children. We couldn't do it without you!

Karen Maunu
Medical Director

A wonderful day in Shantou

Today our trip took us to Shantou. Despite the cold and damp weather, we were very warmly greeted by the orphanage staff. We began our visit with a wonderful lunch, sponsored by the director, and then we were taken to the orphanage to spend time with the adorable children.

One of the first rooms visited was where our Believe In Me School was in session. The school curriculum used is Montessori based and the kids just have so much fun. The director said that they love this school program because the children learn and have so much fun. When we visited the room today, it was music time. The ayi was playing music and dancing with the kids. Every child was so engaged and one little boy in particular was just dancing away, swinging his hips to the beat of the music.

When we were in one of the baby rooms, an ayi rolled in a crib with four babies sitting up in it. What an absolutely adorable sight!! One of the babies had cheeks so big that showed that she must enjoy her formula. She also loved Tracie’s scarf and decided that she wasn’t going to let it go. It took two people to pry it out of her hands.

Another baby that we were able to see today was baby #3 from our Top Ten Photos on our website. This little girl had a bilateral cleft lip repaired in October during our 2006 Cleft Trip. Her lip looks fabulous and this child has quite the personality. She was all smiles and when put down, ran back to get a hug.

Baby En, who had his first stage surgery for a very complicated heart condition was absolutely adorable with the most kissable cheeks. This sweet baby will need a second surgery very soon and will soon be on our website. He has changed so much since his the first picture we received of him and could be a more loveable baby.

Lori and Tracie also delivered a giraffe to three of our cleft babies sponsored by a gentleman who also had a granddaughter with a cleft palate who passed away when she was two. He has sponsored these babies in her honor and sent the giraffes because they were his granddaughter’s favorite toy. Soon these babies will have their cleft surgeries performed and his kindness will make such a difference to each of them. One of the babies, baby Can, has the sweetest smile and she will have her cleft palate repaired.

One of our foster care children, a two year old little boy named Feng, came to the orphanage with his parents to visit. We had SO much fun playing with him and spent over a half hour with him. He loved to play with bubbles. As we would blow them, he tried to pop them. Soon, he decided that he would do it himself and tried to take the whole bottle. When his foster mother took the bottle away, he had a temper tantrum and made the most adorable faces. He was soon cheered up when we gave him a matchbox car and necklaces. We had to laugh when he preferred the necklaces. What an adorable little boy.

After we had our fill of all of the beautiful children, we took the older children to their favorite restaurant where they serve hot pot. We watched in awe as they enjoyed their meal so much. I sat with one of the girls who has the most beautiful smile. Every time I looked over at her, she just gave me her huge grin. I told her how beautiful I thought she was and she just beamed bigger. She is such a sweet, soft spoken girl. I just loved being able to share this time with all of these kids and wished that we had more time.

It is goodnight for now, as we are off to Hangzhou tomorrow. In Hangzhou, we will be meeting Dr. Li, one of the most kind and skilled heart surgeons. We currently have four babies at his hospital and we are all looking forward to seeing them. After seeing so many heart babies over the last few days who have been healed by this man, I can’t wait to shake his hand in appreciation for all he has done.

Shangrao

This is part three of our LWB volunteers' travel journal from this week.

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What a whirlwind two days. We started in Shanghai, flew to Jiangxi where we travelled the countryside and now we are in Guangdong. We have met such wonderful people and such adorable babies – what until you see the pictures!

After a night of fireworks, we met with 3 people from the LWB China Chapter in Shanghai. This group of people is so fired up about helping LWB by doing nanny training, PT camps, summer camps and fundraising. We also enjoyed learning about their experiences living in Shanghai.

Soon we were on to Jiangxi, landing in Nanchang, the provincial capital. Our hosts, the staff of the Shangrao Ling CWI, were there to meet us. We travelled 2 ½ hours by van across some of the most awesome scenery I have seen in China. Fields of yellow-flowered rep seed (a plant used to make cooking oil), water buffalo, rivers, and mountains created an absolutely picturesque scene.

Once we arrived in Shangrao, we were met by the orphanage director, vice director and department directors. How very kind each of these people were! We were treated to a delicious meal and then a walk in the park across the street. The entertainment of the night came from the karaoke machine blasting love songs. The orphanage staff and our team fell into fits of laughter when a young man who definitely wouldn’t win American Idol started to croon at the top of his voice. We all tried to convince the vice director and our facilitator to take a try, but as much as they wanted, they thought they would wait for another time.

Our day today started with a shopping trip with the Shangrao Ling director to buy items for the nannies, foster care families, and school supplies for the other Shangrao Xinzhou SWI (another orphanage nearby). We also told the director that we wanted to buy a present for her orphanage, whatever she needed. She brought tears to my eyes when she said she wanted cans of formula. We were certainly the entertainment for the rest of the shoppers as we pushed three heaping carts full of goods through the store.

On the way back from the store, we stopped at a few of our foster care homes. Two of these homes were children whose heart surgeries we had done. Both of these little boys were absolutely adorable! Mao, a two year old little boy, is just so loved by his family. We learned that his foster family has applied to adopt him domestically. In addition to meeting his baba, we also met both of his grandmothers. What love for this child there is in this home!

The second heart child we visited was a very spirited five year old boy named Feng. He was all boy!! He is currently in preschool and will start primary school in June. The orphanage is planning to put his adoption paperwork together soon. This little boy was such a tease, and we had so much fun playing with him.

From the foster homes, we went to the orphanage where there was a room full of toddlers playing. The children were playing on the new play equipment we had purchased for the orphanage at the end of last year.

There were swings, slides, a trampoline, a playhouse and rocking horses. We heard that the kids love this new play area so much that even the foster families bring their kids to play on this new equipment. I loved watching one of the nannies figuring out a way for one of the little girls, who is missing part of one arm, to be able to eat her bag of Kix cereal. She tucked the bag into the loop of her jacket so she would be able to eat like the other children. Both Lori & I were also able to cuddle and give a baby a bottle. Another of the little girls who followed us around was Meng, another one of our heart children. This child had been so blue when we first received her picture. She is now so beautifully pink and so healthy. She watched our every move and was our balloon helper, picking up the balloons laying on the floor.
After playing with the toddlers, we were treated to a delicious lunch made by the orphanage. The vegetables used in our meal were all grown by the orphanage in a garden outside. Our hosts were so gracious, and we discussed many things about the orphanage. This orphanage does many adoptions a year and already many of our medical children have been adopted. I just could see what a difference we were helping to make partnering with this orphanage. We also discussed many new children who need our help. I know that our medical sponsorship page will soon be filled with many of these children we met.

Finally, it was time for the baby rooms. The rooms were filled with adorable, chubby, smiley babies! We were able to see teeny tiny babies in the incubators we have provided for the orphanage and babies in walkers we bought. Babies were all over, cruising around and exploring. Each of the babies were so healthy and loved. We even saw a set of twins, the first children to use our incubators. I just couldn’t cuddle enough of these precious faces. We also noticed how the rooms were set up with 6 cribs in a room and a bed for the nanny. Each room went in had nannies holding babies. No wonder they were so loved. I also loved the way the director interacted with these babies, she was loving on them just like we were and you could tell they recognized her. We also learned that the director is an adoptive mom to two children herself. I could tell she had a great heart for these children.

After our visit to the Shangrao Ling CWI, we went to the Shangrao Xinzhou SWI that was just 7 minutes away. Both of these directors are good friends and the Ling director accompanied us. We discussed the medical children that we have helped, the new children that need our help, and other helpful information about their orphanage. After our meeting, we were able to visit one of their rooms were we saw some more beautiful, chubby babies.

At the end of the day, as we were saying our goodbyes, I told the directors how I felt as if I was leaving old friends. They just showed us so much hospitality and love. I am already looking forward to the day that I can visit again.

Karen Maunu

Medical Director

Wonderful Henan

LWB currently has four volunteers in China, visiting many provinces to check on our programs and investigate new possibilities. This is part one of their travel blog:

Celebration is in the air! Today is the Lantern Festival, the last day of Chinese New Year. As I sit here, fireworks are exploding across the city. Everyone is dressed up and we have seen families doing all sorts of things together to celebrate this day. They have been flying kites, wandering past the street vendors, and going out to eat. The streets have been filled with balloons, foods, and festivities. How fun it is to be in China today! The firework shows have been spectacular, with a show right below our hotel window.

There are many things to celebrate as we all reflect over the last two days that we have spent in Henan. What a wonderful experience that Lori, Nancy, Tracie and I have been able to share with the people in this province. We have been so warmly welcomed by orphanage and government officials. It has truly warmed my heart to see so many people who care about the beautiful children in their care.

Our visit started out yesterday with a meeting with the Zhengzhou SWI staff. When we arrived, we were brought into a room with the most beautiful toddlers.

These toddlers were seated in a bright room with balloons hanging from the ceiling and there was a feeling of such warmth. As we entered, they welcomed us with clapping and cheering. I was clapping and cheering inside as well, as I knew what a special opportunity we were offered with this invitation to visit this orphanage. We brought with us cakes and yogurt to celebrate the New Year. Each of us enjoyed our time with every one of these children. They loved the bubbles we brought. Not only did they like watching the bubbles, but they also loved blowing them. One little girl even tried to take the bottle away from Nancy to do it all by herself. One of the children that I played with was a beautiful little boy with albinism. I learned that this child has a family waiting for him in Holland. How lucky his family will be! This child is absolutely precious.

After our visit with the toddlers, we headed off to two baby rooms. Each of us loved cuddling and cooing with the babies. I held the most adorable baby and had such a hard time putting her back down. She had the most chubby cheeks and beautiful smile. Another sweet baby that was held by Tracie had an unrepaired cleft lip. This child will be our first medical child we will partner with Zhengzhou SWI to repair. I am so excited to be able to help this child.

Once we were done with visiting the children, we were taken into a conference room to discuss how we can work together. We were able to meet each of the directors and learn how hard they are working to help the children. They are doing their very best to help each of the children in their care. They have 169 children (80 babies), most with special needs. Many of the surrounding orphanages send their children to Zhengzhou SWI because they know that they will get good medical care. We talked about many of the children we saw and how LWB might be able to help. A book that described the accomplishments of the SWI was presented to each of us. I am so excited about the relationship that we have begun.

As soon as we finished a delicious lunch, with much toasting, hosted by the Zhengzhou SWI, we were off to Kaifeng. The trip took a little longer than usual because of the pouring rain. I couldn’t wait to visit with the people that I was able to meet last January. I felt like I was returning to see old friends. The vice director and orphanage doctor were waiting for us to start the foster care visits. Because it had been raining for two days, the director was so thoughtful and bought us all rubber boots. We all had fun walking in the puddles with our new bright boots.

Our first foster care visit was with one of our favorite little girls "J." J is a child who had heart disease, but her heart was repaired by the government sponsored surgery program, the Tomorrow Plan. This little five year old girl just shines with personality. Her cute little voice chatted away as she told us all about her home. Her foster mother got her all dressed up for us, doing her hair, putting on a bright red silk vest, and a beaded hat. J was so excited to open the gift we brought her, including a tutu, wand, and stickers. She immediately added to her outfit and stuck stickers on her hands and forehead. What an absolutely adorable child. What love this child receives from her foster parents! You can just see how proud they are of her and how much they adore her.

We visited a total of 14 foster families. Every child seemed to be so loved and cared for. Each of these families was so welcoming, letting us traipse our muddy boots into their house. None of these families cared at all about their floors, but only about showing us their children.

As we were visiting the last group of foster families, the van we were traveling in tried to turn around at the end of a driveway and became stuck in the mud. At this point it was pouring down rain, and it was getting dark and chilly. It seemed the whole neighborhood came out to help get our van unstuck. They needed to dig, push and pull to finally get it out. Because we had 10 suitcases in the back, they needed to unload them in order to remove the weight from the rear wheels. They carefully piled our suitcases on top of rain coats. We huddled together, under umbrellas, trying to keep our pile from toppling over. The vice director and I laughed about our two unbelievable experiences together – the last time I was in Kaifeng, we spun out of control on a highway in a blizzard, and now this time the van got stuck in mud and a torrential rain.

After we were on way again, the driver brought us to the hotel so that we could clean-up quickly. We also rushed to put gifts together for all of the school children. These beautiful children touched our hearts last year when we visited. We wanted each of these children to have a special Chinese New Year gift and asked them if they could have anything, what would they want? In our bags were four MP3 players, a badminton set, roller blades and safety gear, a baby doll, a pen set and biographies, and backpacks. The kids were so excited to get these special gifts and I will never forget the look on their faces as they looked into their bags. I asked how the children would get music on their MP3 players and learned that the tutor we hired to help them had already downloaded the software on his computer so that we could help them load music. We shared dinner together and we all enjoyed watching each of the children eat. These children were so caring towards one and other, as they dished food on each others plates. I also had to laugh as two of the children left to use the bathroom and returned with the boy trying to shut the door on the girl, running away and giggling. They truly are a family.

At dinner, we heard that we had a very special breakfast with the leader of the civil affairs. He had heard the story of us visiting the families in the rain and getting stuck in the mud. He said that he wanted to meet us all to show his appreciation. This gentleman was so warm and generous, offering his help to us in whatever way we might need him. You could tell how friendly and genuine this man was. During the meal, I decided to tell him how happy I was to meet him. Every one laughed when they told me that I had told him instead that I wished him a promotion! He told me that he was in the highest position that there was, and then laughed. This meal was quite memorable to us all, because not only did we enjoy a wonderful Chinese breakfast, but also such graciousness.

After we said our goodbyes, we were off to the Kaifeng SWI. The orphanage was excited to show us all of the changes they have made. With the help of the wonderful Shanghai LWB club, there was a beautiful new playground and bright murals on the walls of the baby rooms. The baby room was our first visit and once again we were all cooing over the babies. One baby had so much fun “talking” to us, making all sorts of noises. After the baby room, we went to their playroom and passed out Kix cereal and made balloon hats for everyone. Two of the school girls were in the playroom too and soon became quite proficient at pumping up the balloons. In no time, they needed us only to tie the balloons and they were making balloon creations too. I loved their giggles and their pile of their balloon animals they had when we were done. They just laughed and laughed when we popped a balloon, because all of the kids would go say something that sounded like bang. One of the girls tried to twist and hold her ears at the same time. What fun we had!

For lunch, we went to a local restaurant and tried some delicious dishes. We had a window seat and were able to watch all of the holiday festivities. As soon as we were done with lunch, but before we left Kaifeng, we went to a local embroidery store. Kaifeng is famous for their beautiful embroidery. We bought a gorgeous piece for our heart art auction that will be held in May. The vice director and our facilitator did the bargaining, telling the woman about our organization. She too was happy to help us by giving us a good price.

As our plane left Henan, I reflected on all of the beautiful children, our friends old and new, and the partnerships that have been created and are beginning. I just love how we are all working together as a team of people to help these beautiful children.

Karen Maunu

Medical Director