First Hugs

Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Posted out of order!!
Our second day at Gracie's Room/First Hugs was even better that the first! We got to know the children even better. It is such a beautiful thing to meet the children who are described in our quarterly reports and discover how special each and every one is.

As it would be impossible to relate to you all the things we witness over an eight hour day in Gracie's Room/First Hugs, I will just share some of the highlights.

Krista got some valuable information from a friend on preemies ( Thanks Roz!) and Moya wore the baby we call "bella" for much of the day. The baby drank just over an ounce from the bottle when she was fed but boy she has a strong sucking ability. She is indeed a fighter and we are pulling hard for her.

One little boy who has been our project for quite some is Chun Quan. He turned 3 years old last week and has been in Gracie's Room since he was just a month old. He loves electronic toys and the books we brought. He will crawl over to smaller babies and pull their blankets up over them. He has spina bifida and we were told he has no use of his legs and is incontinent. But today and yesterday, we witnessed him tell the ayis when he needed to go to the bathroom. Yes! Chun Quan is not incontinent! And today, we brought in a push toy that Krista bought. And we witnessed a miracle. It was a privilege to watch that little boy, who scoots around the room, half crawling, pull himself up and walk, moving one leg, then the other, all around the two rooms. And after a while, he was exhausted but he would not stop. He was seeing the world from a whole new perspective!  We cannot wait to follow up and get him what he needs to walk. And to get his file to Beijing. We know there is a family out there somewhere for this funny, bright boy!

Xing Guang is a sweet little boy who will be two in a few months. He is quite the spirited child. Watch out, Xing Guang's family!! He will be adopted soon. Xing Guang will climb in and out of his crib; he scales the shelves of the cupboards looking for crackers, and he waved and said "bye bye" as we left. He is a bundle of energy and just delightful!!

In the midst of all the joy we experienced today, there was sadness. We are missing a very sweet child who we met and learned to love last year. Special condolences to our friend Angela who travelled with us last year and who especially loved Yu Ye.  We received a report on YuYe in January but did not see her when we arrived yesterday. We asked and were told she had died suddenly of an unexpected illness. We miss YuYe. She was loved.

Tomorrow, our dear friend and official report translator ( volunteer), William, will accompany us to Gracie's Room. He was our translator for our trip last year. Tonight we enjoyed a wonderful hot pot with William and his girlfriend, Linda.

Hope you enjoy our pictures.

Moya, Cathy and Krista