Gail from Anhui

This adorable baby girl is waiting in LWB's cleft healing home in Anhui Province for her lip repair. She is 3 months old. She will need $1,000 for her surgery and travel. Please help us to raise the funds she needs by purchasing a set of note cards. Gift sets include 8 cards (featuring 4 different photographic images) with envelopes, packaged in a decorative fabric bag. Cost is $20/set. Gail's life will be forever changed by your generosity!

Back Soon...

With new images for purchase to kick of our 2009 fundraiser!

Update on Zhou

I just received an email that Zhou is continuing to do well and recover from her surgery. She looks like the picture of health in this most recent picture....love the hair!

What a difference...

Zhou's heart surgery was postponed several times due to recurring infections. Finally, in June, the surgery was scheduled and she traveled to the hospital to be prepped, only to discover that she had pneumonia. The pneumonia became a blood infection and for awhile, it didn't look like she would make it. Miraculously, she recovered from the infection, survived the heart surgery and was recently released from the hospital

before...

after...


Wen had been through a series of operations, including placement of a colostomy. Surgery was needed to actually reverse the colostomy...she didn't need it anymore because she began to gain weight as her body became stronger! The surgery enabled her to continue to grow and develop normally

before...

after...




***Shortly after receiving Wen's updated information, we were saddened to learn that she passed away. Here life was precious and we hope that the care she received brightened her final days.

Grand Total!!!

The last of the money has been collected and the grand total is....

$1,526.53!!!

The last bit of the money went toward this little baby's heart surgery


Thanks again to all those who supported us. I recently got a "thank you" letter in the mail from LWB. It was addressed to "Mayah's Fund" I loved seeing her name in black and white and knowing that her life is still having an impact!

Baby Wen

In light of the news about Han, LWB asked that we allocate our funds to another child. If this little one's smile doesn't melt your heart then I don't know what will! Here is a little bit of info about her:

Wen is now ready for her colostomy closure so she can continue to gain weight. There has been so much improvement in Wen over the last two months. Her color is great and she is putting on weight well. She is a very sweet baby full of smiles for anyone that talks to her. She has two small stuffed animals one blue and one red that she is always cuddled up to. She likes to play with their tails. We have seen such great improvement for Wen through the diligent care of our Heartbridge unit! She now needs the next surgery to maintain her weight gain and help with nutrient absorption.

It's so encouraging to know that we can help Wen to have a the great start at life that she deserves. Thank you again for your generosity!

A sad reminder

I just got an email from the LWB staff that baby Han passed away. He was taken to the hospital for fevers and vomiting where it was discovered that he had a large brain tumor pressing behind his eye. I know that his caregivers are grieving deeply for this little guy. A sad reminder that though many of the orphanage staff love and care for their small charges to the best of their ability, their resources are so very limited. With access to better diagnostic tools, maybe Han would have made it...or maybe it was just his time. Only God knows. I hear a lot of talk about Chinese people abandoning their babies. A woman recently said to me about our youngest, "Look how precious she is...how could her mother NOT want her!" Another person commented, "I don't care what I was going through, I would NEVER abandon my baby". That's easy to say when we live in our spacious house with 2 cars in the garage, leftovers going to waste in the refrigerator and ample health insurance. Can we really be so sure of what we'd do when we've never even visited a country overwhelmed by poverty, much less lived in these folk's shoes? I know that in China, few people have the money even to visit the doctor for a cold. Paying for an expensive surgery for a sick or disabled child is absolutely out of the question. At our daughter's orphanage, 8 babies were abandoned in one day. All of them with serious heart defects. This happened one day after a news report that this orphanage provided heart surgeries for sick babies. It breaks my heart to think of the possibility that these mothers faced a choice no one should have to make.... Keep my baby and she will most likely die, or give her up forever to give her a chance to be made well. I'm not saying that there aren't women who abandon their babies because they are truly unwanted or inconvenient. I'm just asking that we think before we pass judgement. The bottom line is that these kids need people who will advocate for them, pray for them, and adopt them. Let's be part of the solution and leave the judging to God.