Baby Ping

Baby Ping weighed in at 1.75 kilograms the day after she arrived at our baby home in April but appeared otherwise healthy. She went through a cycle of becoming sick then getting better before getting sick again. She arrived with the tiniest eyes, looking small even for such a tiny frame. The baby home director, Raphaela, laughingly remembers joking about Ping being an alien because her head was so oddly shaped. Ping's ankle also had an abnormal dip in it, as if something was missing, and her right hand had a slight deformity with the thumb. Overall, though, she was mostly battling the general difficulty of being born prematurely. Until about four months of age, she even slept curled up in a tiny ball, as if she was still in her mother's womb.

On August 6th, she died--no heartbeat or discernible oxygen level--before suddenly breathing in 10 minutes later. At that point, Raphaela redoubled her efforts to stabilize Ping. Miraculously, Ping's eyes were again filled with life, a moment Raphaela will not soon forget.

Since then, Ping has gained weight, though she still has an oxygen tube (which she tries to pull out often enough that it must be gently taped to her cheeks). She has difficulty feeding because she bites at the bottle nipple instead of sucking, though Raphaela has observed her sucking her thumb happily, indicating that she does at least have the ability. This difficulty has been cause for concern, though, and she was being feed via feeding tube until recently. We are hesitant to put her back on the feeding tube just yet as we hope she will still develop a normal feeding ability without it. We are hoping for a winter free from sickness, but she is currently fighting another bout. Join us in hoping and praying for a healthy next few months for Baby Ping!

Baby Huan

One of our newest arrivals is Baby Huan. She arrived at our Beijing home in October and was 5.5 pounds. Her tiny face and thin lips make her look a bit like a elf, an observation that makes us smile. This little one was born with anal atresia and was able to gain enough weight in her short time here to be reconsidered for surgery. She's now in the hospital and is expected to be there only 10 days, a quick turn around for a Chinese hospital. As a special blessing, she is going to be treated in the ICU during the whole stay, meaning that we don't need to provide a caretaker for her from our staff. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she recovers.

New Sweaters!

In Loving Memory - Baby Le

February 1, 2010 - October 24, 2010

Sweet Baby Le passed away in Beijing today. We'll miss you, little guy. Rest in peace!

Updates

Ye and Yu


Here are some updates on babies who have been mentioned in the past on the blog


Baby Ye has gotten bigger since arriving, and now weighs in at 4.7 pounds (2.15 kilograms). That doesn't sound like very much until you remember that she was only about 3 pounds when she came to us. We continue to hope for growth and weight-gain for her tiny frame

Baby Yu, whose twin sister passed away earlier this month, has been eating well and maintaining a strong heartbeat. She is now sharing a crib with little Ye to continue giving her the assurance of another baby close by, even if it can no longer be her sister. She is now at 5 pounds and will hopefully continue growing stronger by the day.

Long is growing, visibly more plump than when he arrived, and has captured many hearts at the baby home. He flirts with all of the helpers, and they laughingly talk about how handsome he is. We warned you that he has a magnetic personality! Continue to pray for timely growth and a miraculously healthy winter to come

If there are little ones you are wondering about, ones we haven't mentioned in a while, please let us know in the comments; we are more than happy to tell you the latest on these darling little ones.

The Miracle of Ponseti

Dr. Ponseti died about a year ago, but he's still one of our greatest heros. Who was he, you ask?

Ignacio Ponseti was an orthopedic doctor who developed a non-surgical method of treating club foot. So what does that mean? Maybe you've never met anyone with this condition, or even seen an untreated club foot.

About 100,000 babies are born with club foot around the world every year. Roughly 80% of these are in developing countries, without good access to high levels of medical care. Traditionally, infants with club foot deformities have been treated by surgery; which is well beyond the reach of many families who have a baby with this problem.

Ponseti's method of manipulation, stretching and carefully molded plaster casts gently correct the club foot without surgery. Even better, children treated with Ponseti's method do not suffer the same number of complications (relapses, scar tissue build up and painful joints) later in life as those treated surgically. It's cheap, it's easy (easy to learn and easy to use), and it works!

We started casting babies with the Ponseti method about 5 years ago, and are still totally amazed and astonished by the results. In just a couple of months, the foot is corrected to a normal position. The child then must wear a brace while sleeping until 3 or 4 years of age, and that's it! Most children do not require further surgery or other intervention.

Want to see how it works? Here a little boy who received treatment through China Little Flower. The photos show the progressive changes in his feet as the casts were changed week by week (click on the photo to see it larger):

Isn't that incredible? We sure think so.

Baby Le

As so many of the babies who come into our care, Baby Le has a severe heart defect which has weakened him significantly. Before making his way to Little Flower, Le was diagnosed with pneumonia and heart failure. A CT scan also shows a buildup of fluid inside his skull, which can be quite damaging if it is not dealt with quickly. The fluid buildup and heart problems require surgeries which would be too dangerous on his weak frame currently.

His small body is evidence that all of his strength goes toward surviving rather than growing, and he is in our care as a hospice case, meaning that we do not expect him to make it. Most recently, he has developed mysterious boils on his skin, a discouraging sign for such a fragile little one. We all fear that he is not strong enough to fight another sickness at this stage, but looking into his eyes, you cannot help but hope. We will keep you updated on his progress as we know more.