Fund critical surgery for 6 Chinese orphans

Thanks to your generous support of Baby JH, he has now made it to the CCAI website for adoption! He is growing like a weed and beginning to walk following his successful surgery for Tethered Spinal Cord Syndrome (TSCS). As we shared in our last report, TSCS is a neurological disorder caused by tissue attachments that limit the movement of the spinal cord within the spinal column. The Red Thread Promise will continue to support little JH until he is matched with his forever family which we hope will be very soon due to his greatly improved health and sweet face! $175 per month covers his nanny and foster care, clothing, food and routine medical care.

Please join us in supporting Baby JH and other children with spina bifida in its many forms.

Links:

• Meeting JH

2012 has brought 2 adorable children to our doorstep. Meet JH and Baby XX.  

JH came to Swallows Nest (our partner foster home in the Henan Province) in May of 2011 with Tethered Spinal Cord Syndrome. TSCS, a condition closely linked to spina bifida, is a neurological disorder caused by tissue attachments that limit the movement of the spinal cord within the spinal column*. Thankfully, our partners in China are turning JH's once dim future into a bright one. He has already received his surgery, a great blessing, and the prognosis is good!

Lili, JH's caregiver, says that he is a shy boy and is beginning to crawl and stand alone. He gets along with the other children and is a good eater. (And might we add that he is adorable?!)

The Red Thread Promise is sponsoring JH's care until he is matched with his forever family. His file is currently being prepared for adoption. $175 per month will cover his nanny and foster care, clothing, food and some medical care. Please join us in supporting JH during his time in China. (If you would like more information about his adoption, please contact kathy@redthreadpromise.org. While we are not an adoption agency, we do love putting prospective parents in touch with children in need of loving permanent homes.)

In December 2011, another bundle of joy joined us on this earth, a baby girl named Baby XX. A moment that should have brought great wonder, brought a dim future for this little one—she was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

Hydrocephalus is a buildup of fluid inside the skull, leading to brain swelling. The name literally means "water on the brain." This buildup of fluid puts pressure on the brain, pushing the brain up against the skull and damaging or destroying brain tissues. Hydrocephalus may start while the baby is growing in the womb. It is commonly present with myelomeningocele (aka spina bifida), a birth defect involving incomplete closure of the spinal column.**

Thankfully, Baby XX has already received her initial surgery and a follow-up CT scan, great steps toward a healthy future. Since then, she has been cuddled, loved and cared for by the specially trained nannies at Swallows Nest and is doing well. Her road to recovery is long—it holds numerous post operative medical appointments as well as a follow-up CT scan—but we have great hope for this little one. Thanks to Swallows Nest, she will be in the arms of people who love her and are trained in the care of children with such conditions until she is available for adoption.

The Red Thread Promise is committed to supporting Baby XX’s post surgical care until she is matched with her forever family. It is estimated that she may be in foster care for two or more years due to the severity of her special needs. For $175 per month, together we can provide for her nanny as well as her medical needs, food and clothing.

Once again, this is a perfect example of how your generous hearts are helping special needs children in China.

* National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

** Excerpts from the U.S. National Library of Medicine

Links:

• Baby XX
• Baby JH