Long Long's Visit

You may remember Long Long, a little boy with a cleft lip and palate and severe respiratory issues who was sent to us for palliative care in September, 2010. You can read more about him here. Take a minute to read that post, so you can see his photos before surgery.

Little Long Long has been in the US since May of last year for the surgeries needed to repair his cleft lip and palate. He returned to China just for a week so that his paperwork could be completed for his adoption file - there is a family working to adopt him.

We had not seen him since his surgeries. Wow! What an amazing transformation! Thank you to Dr. Hobar and his team at the LEAP Foundation in Dallas, TX - once again, you have performed a miracle! Long Long is scheduled for his third surgery (to repair his hard palate) next week.


Long Long traveled back to China with both of his host moms. It is easy to see how much they love and treasure him; we can never repay them for opening their homes to this sweet little boy. It is their care and nurturing that has helped him to grow strong and healthy and recover from his surgeries. We wondered if he would ever "catch up" developmentally, but these families provided just what he needed to do that. To see him now you can hardly imagine how frail, weak and delayed he once was.




It is hard to convey with words the incredible changes in this little guy. When he was here in China, he was severely delayed and had no energy. Some days he didn't even have the energy to sit up. Now he walks and runs everywhere. Actually, he bounces. He's just like a little Tigger, bouncing along, arms swinging - following everywhere his curiosity leads.


And his curiosity does indeed lead him! Now that he has the strength and energy to explore his environment, he checks everything out.

He loves to climb and slide.

Long Long was happy to help unpack the Snapware and blankets that traveled over with him:

His little face is just gorgeous. Of course he was beautiful before, but now he'll be able to eat and speak more normally, and he won't have other children laughing, pointing and whispering about his cleft. The repair was so expertly done you would never know what a severe cleft he was born with.

We were happy to see he still has his lovely curly hair.


Long Long, we are so glad we had a chance to see you last week. We hope it's not too long till you come back to complete your adoption!