Angel - born 15th March 2010.

22/07/2010

This sweet little girl came to us age 3 weeks and weighing just 2.3kgs (about 5lbs). She was looking pale, with lots of baggy skin hanging around her thighs, her bottom was very red and sore looking and her mouth full of thrush. No wonder she was an unhappy little scrap.

The welfare centre doctors said she was too small and might die. We assessed her problems (prematurity and imperforate anus) and looked for solutions. Although for some babies the only solution is to love, comfort, feed and hold them until they die, for Angel there were other possibilities, so we had investigations done and found a surgeon who would operate at once. Surgeons at the government hospital were not willing to operate until she was 3 years old!

So we went for it and she had a successful operation on 22nd May. Angel was discharged back to us on 5th June for the treatment she will need for about a year, so far all is well and her papers are now being prepared for adoption.

The total cost of the surgery and hospital stay was was generoulsy covered by donations.

In spite of her shaky start Angel is meeting all her early milestones and seems unfazed by her separation from her adoring Nannies. She is smiling, babbling and laughing a lot, alert and eating well, and is now waiting for adoption.

Brittany's Story

20/07/2010

At around 4 years old it probably became obvious to her parents that Brittany wasn’t like other children ready to go off to nursery school, her development was very delayed and she didn’t interact well. She had been abandoned one month before we were asked to take her; she was losing weight rapidly as she ‘wasn’t eating’.

I carried this wide eyed, silent, skinny child to the Butterfly Home where she was lovingly bathed and offered food in various forms. She wasn’t interested, turning her head away and lying unresponsive. The sadness in her eyes was heartbreaking.

Assessing her, I noticed that apart from being very thin she seemed to have some of the signs of Down’s syndrome and I wondered if she had a tongue thrust making it difficult for the welfare centre staff to feed her. So– determined not to resort to a feeding tube, I tried to get a spoonful of baby rice past her tongue, success!! She ate a little and gradually with lots of loving encouragement from her adoring Nannies, she began to eat and drink more and more. We also discovered a lovely smile and her love for music and singing.

The most likely reason for her not eating is ‘heartbreak’, due to her abandonment. The resources in the welfare centre are poor so many children like Brittany die needlessly, labelled as difficult or not wanting to eat the child becomes listless and starts to waste away as they take less and less food.

When a child feels loved they want to eat. Brittany is now happily settled in her new home, surrounded by friends, carers, therapists and teachers who will help her reach her full potential whatever her special needs.

Eve

26/06/2010

Eve is now 5 months old and has (we think) Goldenhar's syndrome, which involves benign tumours on her right eye, microtia (underdevelopment) of her right ear and right sided facial palsy. She has been with us since we opened in April and has become a responsive and chubby little girl.

She smiles, giggles and loves to eat!

We are grateful to American and Australian friends who have donated to make her investigations (and hopefully surgery) possible in Beijing's top eye hospital, under the care of China's top eye Professor!

How wonderful is that - one of the least of the least goes to the TOP for her care??