Dreaming Big Dreams

I spent some time tonight sharing stories of "my kids" with one of my aunts. She is a nurse at a major teaching hospital, so she understands the scope of the medical needs of our children. Unlike some foster home programs which specialize in a few of the more common special needs, at Eagles Wings we have children with many different medical challenges. This in itself has me s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g to learn what I need to learn, identify the children's needs and find medical professional willing to help.

That help can take many forms. The most basic need is to have a network of doctors, nurses and therapists from various specialties (neurology, neurosurgery, orthopedics, urology, etc) who would be able to consult with me when I need to talk through symptoms, test results and discuss potential options. I know that ultimately decisions for treatment will fall on my shoulders but discussing things with a subject matter expert is a huge help.

For those with a penchant for travel and a little more adventure in their lives, we can definitely use people who can come and stay for a few weeks or a month. To do what? Two things really, first is evaluating the children, diagnosing their conditions and creating treatment plans. Second is training our staff in appropriate techniques to follow through on those plans. Our employees have no medical background (and neither do I, other than Dr. Mom!) so people with a heart for training can have an amazing impact.  Subsequent volunteers would then continue to evaluate progress and adjust treatment plans as needed and continue to train and re-train the staff. What a huge difference this can make! 

Anyone interested in spending 3 months (or more!)???  Well, you are very welcome, too!  My dream is to have a medical professional (nurse, doctor, therapist) always on site. Just 4 to 6 people per year who would be willing to come for a few months, well, I can't even begin to tell you how that would change the lives of these children. And many, many more.

So these are the things I shared with my aunt tonight. And now with you.

Donna

Director, Eagles Wings

Adoption News!

We had news today of another one of our little ones being adopted. This is just so wonderful. Previously only a few of our full-time kids had been submitted for adoption. I think this represents a change in perspective from the SWI, and I am very excited for more of our children to find forever homes. That means there will be places for new children to come and stay for a season or longer depending on their needs.


As children leave and we make room for new children, we do need to be ever mindful of finding sponsors for every child. At this point we only have about half the amount of sponsorship that we need. Thanks to one time donations and God's grace we are able to keep Eagles Wings open and serving approximately 70 children. If you would like more information about sponsoring a child or a staff member (CRITICAL!!), please see our Eagles Wings Website.


One of the less common aspects of Eagles Wings is its program for older special needs children, most of whom will never have the option for a forever family of their own. For them, Eagles Wings is their home and we are their family. Most programs focus on babies or very young children with correctable needs -- children who will have a good chance for adoption. This is wonderful and necessary! Only a few foster home programs bring in children with more significant needs, including cognitive disabilities and severe cerebral palsy, and Eagles Wings is one of them. For many of these children, just surviving is a miracle, but at Eagles Wings, our mission is to move these children from surviving to thriving!

All Better!

There was a measles outbreak a couple of weeks ago. Sad and scary when it's so preventable here. But things are different and sometimes we have to ride them through. Happily our kids are recovering and there have been no new cases for a week. We have the houses affected in quarantine and will lift that later this week. Here are two cuties who look none the worse for their experience!

Babies Are Home!

DangDang and Zhe Nan are back at Eagles Wings. Both got a slight fever on the long trip home and are being taken care of. We heard from the doctor who did the repairs, that Zhe Nan's former repair not only didn't hold but wasn't done correctly on the inside and, if the stitches had held, would have resulted in lack of movement of his lip. We are so fortunate that this team came at this time to take care of our little ones.

Thanks for everyone who continues to pray for our babies' complete healing.

Donna
Director, Eagles Wings

Surgery Update

DangDang and Zhe Nan and their two dedicated ayis are on their way home! Because of the change of venue, they have an 11 hour train ride from Yulin to Xian and then three hours to Zhengzhou and THEN a 2 hour ride in the van back to Jiaozuo. Such a long trip for two little babies and two very tired ayis.

We are so very thankful ...
...for the team that did this great work, under less than ideal conditions.
...for those who planned and prepared for a YEAR to make this happen.
...for everyone who raised funds for the trip and the surgeries.
...for everyone who has prayed for safety and good health for team members and babies.

I'll post photos as soon as I get them!

Donna
Director, Eagles Wings

Today's Update

Everyone is safely in Yulin. Our Eagles Wings charmers passed all their pre-surgery tests and are scheduled for their lip repair tomorrow (Friday afternoon, China time). Please send good thoughts their way for health, safety during surgery, good healing and a safe trip back to Jiaozuo. More as soon as I know something...internet is less reliable in Yulin so updates are less frequent.

Donna
Director, Eagles Wings

Update on Surgeries

I heard a quick update today...and it's about as representative of what we deal with as almost any example I can think of.
The surgeries have been scheduled for several months to take place at a hospital in Xian. Our Eagles Wings babies took the train to Xian on Tuesday to do their pre-op workups and wait for the medical team from Tennessee to arrive. The team left the US on Monday, arrived in Beijing on Tuesday and will travel to Xian today. So far so good.
EXCEPT...that the hospital has now (today) refused to allow the surgeries.  WHAT??? I can't imagine the discouragement and frustration of all the organizers and team members.  But with a real sense of purpose and determination they quickly went to Plan B and arranged to do the surgeries at a hospital in Yulin, about 660 km away (about 400 miles for the Yanks). The Eagles Wings babies have already been moved and resituated; the eleven babies from Xian (who remember were never supposed to have to leave town) will now be moved to Yulin very shortly. The surgeries will start this weekend as planned!  Hooray!
And that's how things go in this wild and wonderful world of special needs orphan care. No wonder I am so so anxious to get there!

Donna
Director, Eagles Wings

Great News!

The time difference with China can be difficult, but usually it is a wonderful thing. I know what has happened "today" by the time I wake up in the morning. :)  I am very, very happy to report that DangDang and Zhe Nan have arrived safely in Xian and are being very, very well taken care of thanks to Annabelle's Wish and the lovely and committed staff at Starfish Foster Home.  I cannot thank these groups enough for helping us do our work. It really does take a village...no one can do everything that needs to be done without help from others. Nor should we. There is just as much (often more) joy in giving and sharing and helping as in receiving those gifts and assistance.

So a special thanks for Jeannie, Amanda, Ginnie, Laurie and Dr. Robert for your love and care for our Jiaozuo babies.

If you would like to be part of the giving and sharing, you can make a contribution to the medical needs of other Jiaozuo children, like DangDang and Zhe Nan by clicking HERE.

Donna
Director, Eagles Wings

What A Difference A Lip Makes...

Try this...get a cup of water, or a juice box with the little straw thing or a bottle of pop/coke/soda (depending on what part of the country or world you reside in). Now take a sip...wait! wait!  You can't close your lips -- just take a drink with your mouth slightly open. Hey, stop cheating....open your lips just a little and try again.

Well, if you are using a cup you probably have a mess dribbling down your chin onto your clothes. If you are using a straw you are completely thwarted because you can't get any sucking action going. And that's what trying to eat and drink is like every day for DangDang and Zhe Nan, two of our cleft babies. Add to that a cleft palate which makes whatever you do get to stay in your mouth come out through your nose. (Don't you HATE that feeling?!) For babies born with cleft lip and cleft palate, just surviving is a daily effort. Feeding these babies takes a lot of patience (and lots of clean towels to mop up what doesn't go down). It's a mess for everyone and frustrating for a hungry baby to have nourishment so close and yet so far. Eagles Wings 5 is our home for babies with high maintenance medical needs, like cleft lip/cleft palate.

It's already July 13 at Eagles Wings and although they don't know it, in just a few hours, Dang Dang and Zhe Nan are going for a very important journey. They will be going with two of their ayis to Xian, a 3 hour train ride away, where they will have surgery to close their lips. The next few days will be scary and a little painful, but the benefits...being able to actually close their lips!...will be well worth it. In addition, after their surgery, they will be able to be processed for adoption, and their chances of being chosen by a family are far higher after this surgery than before it. Just a fact of life. One of many "facts" that have made life pretty difficult so far for DangDang and Zhe Nan.

So, if you don't mind, say an extra prayer today and over the next week for DangDang and Zhe Nan and their ayis as they travel and as the babies have this healing, and life changing, surgery. Please also pray for the doctor and other staff who are traveling from the US -- on their own time, raising their own funds -- to do the surgery on 20 little ones just like DangDang and ZheNan. We are so SO thankful for their skill and their willingness to go where they are needed.

THIS is what it's all about.