One day, we got a phone call from a friend that helps run an orphanage here in Beijing, asking us if we would be willing to foster a 6 month old baby that had multiple problems. Sepsis (Bacterial blood poisoning) , chronic constipation, unable to drink, malnutrition, inflammation, bronchitis, yeast infections, and major respiratory problems. The government orphanage he was at did not want to care for him anymore, and if they did not find a different orphanage willing to take him or a family to foster him that they would just let him die. So this friend that called us explained that she had already contacted many orphanages and families, but no one was willing to take him because of his many health problems.... No one wanted to risk getting any of his problems that were contagious, especially in the orphanages with many children and workers there. So she told us that we were the absolute last resort, and his life was in our hands. We prayed, and felt peace that God had brought YuanHao to us for a reason, thus we agreed to foster him.
The first few days of him being with us were filled with new challenges and a lot of learning. Since he could not drink out of a bottle because of the lack of learning how to suckle from neglect, we had to feed him using a medicine dropper. A few days later Jennifer began to feed him through an NG tube that she would insert into his nose then down his throat then to his stomach. It was definitely a tricky process, but considering that Jennifer had just come back from medical training, she was very good at it! (Here is a link of her actually putting it in! :www.youtube.com/watch?v=blYjZU1L5ks ) After the NG tube was inserted, we would then attach the end to a syringe in which we would pour milk into, after ensuring no air was in the tube, and that the tube had not moved into his lungs. Sometimes we would wait up to 15 minutes while the milk took its time to exit the tube into his stomach, but it was good for our patience....Especially at 2 and 4 in the morning, which were the night shift feedings! YuanHao had to be fed every 2 hours, so we all took our shifts and learned every detail thoroughly about the complete process. The most important thing to remember, was before each feeding to check and make sure that the feeding tube was still positioned in his stomach, otherwise it could be life threatening. But after it was finished there was always a sense of joy in our hearts, knowing that we could be the hands and feet of Jesus, and care for this precious little one.
Sometimes it could be scary, not knowing if he would live or die. Sometimes he would get a sudden fever and we would rush him into emergency. Usually he would have to stay a few days because the fever was caused by a root problem. Sepsis was a main one, so we learned about what kind of symptoms to look for in case he were to get it again. Jennifer was so happy to have the privilege to be his nurse; she took over most of the medical aspects of his care, including changing his NG tube weekly or sooner if needed, giving him glycerin to help with his bowel movements, giving him oxygen and suctioning his saliva when he had difficulty swallowing.
A few weeks after having him, we realized his intestines were not working correctly and causing his stomach to bloat from constipation. We took him to the hospital to see a specialist, and he advised we get him a Gastrostomy. (Gastrostomy tubes are feeding tubes placed through the abdomen into the stomach) With this tube it would be a better way to feed him, and also prevent exposure to infectious bacteria, or other germs that would lead to severe illnesses. So after consulting with the orphanage we got the go ahead to get him the surgery. There were difficulties during the surgery and YuanHao was quite weak afterward, but after about 10 days he was back home with us again! After learning how to feed him through the Gastrostomy tube, we discovered that it was definitely more efficient and safe. And we also got a pump that we could set to feed him every 2 hours through the night! YuanHao began to grow stronger, and as we played with him and tickled him, he would try to smile! It was looking uphill for him, and we all were hopeful!
For the next few months his condition seemed stable… But just as sudden as before, he got fever, and again we rushed him in to emergency as before, this time the doctors said it wasn’t good, and that he had sepsis again…. They admitted him into ICU, so we couldn’t stay with him. It was very hard to leave, but we knew that he was in God’s hands. After a few days we contacted the orphanage to ask if he was discharged yet, and they said no, we asked how he was doing and they told us he was getting better and better. So we waited, trusting that there were many angels protecting him. A week or so went by and we contacted the orphanage again and asked when he would be discharged. They told us that he was discharged a while ago and was sent to a different orphanage that had medically trained workers to be taken care of until he recovered fully. This shocked us, as we were confused why no one told us about this, we had taken care of YuanHao for about a year by this time, and to us, he was family. We went to visit him, and he was doing better because while in ICU they discovered a metabolic disease and he could not absorb formula. They put him on breastmilk that was donated and he gained weight and looked so much better!!! He also seemed happy to see us, which filled our hearts with joy to see that he recognized us! Before we left, we all gave him a hug and told the orphanage that when he recovered enough we would like to foster him again.
A few weeks went by, and we didn’t hear anything, so we asked the orphanage if he was still at the other one of if he was back yet. And just like before, they told us he had been back for a while already. We were so hurt, why didn’t we get informed that he was back? We went to the orphanage to see him, and ask to foster him again. But the orphanage refused and said they think it best for him to be there because he was too weak and they didn't think he was going to make it. Regretfully we left, but visited him as often as possible. One day when we went to visit him, we showed up and they told us he was in ICU again! We asked where? And could we see him? But they said no visitors were allowed, so we went home and prayed. We asked often how he was doing and when he would be discharged, but the only reply we got was that he was getting better and would be able to leave soon. A few days went by and we went to the orphanage with some friends. We asked how YuanHao was and they said he was already back! We ran in to see him, but when we did our hearts were grieved. He had lost weight (weighing less than 6 pounds at 2 years old) and had gotten another surgery. He was weak and frail, and our hearts worried for him. We asked again to foster him, but the orphanage refused and said that he was just too hard for us to take, especially with the new surgery. But we explained how Jennifer was trained medically, and how we would be blessed to take him. They agreed to discuss it and get back to us. So we did all we could, and prayed. One change they had made was that they took him off of the breastmilk, and went back to feeding him formula. This was once again constipating him, and he had already had surgery removing part of his intestine, so we knew that this was not good.
One morning we saw a post by one of the managers of the orphanage with a scripture about how “He shall wipe away every tear from our eyes, all things will pass away, and all things shall become new.” Underneath was a picture of YuanHao…. Our hearts filled with fear for the worst. Could it actually be? No… Is he? No…. Although the obvious was that YuanHao passed away, none of us wanted to believe it until confirmed. So we tried to contact anyone from the orphanage to ask, but no one answered. Finally after a long time of trying, we got through to someone….And this is how the conversation went:
Christina – “Hello, how is YuanHao doing?”
Orphanage – “He died.”
Christina – “What? Died?”
Orphanage – “Yes, he died this morning”
Christina – “Oh……Why didn’t anyone tell us?”
Orphanage – “I can’t hear you, it’s too loud here.”
Christina – “Can we see him?”
Orphanage – “I’m really busy right now, write me and I’ll see it later.”
Our hearts broke. Tears flowed. How could he be gone? And we couldn’t hold him one last time, we couldn’t tell him how much we loved him one last time, we weren’t there to comfort and sing to him during his last moments…. Then tears.
Later that week we went to the morgue and saw his body one last time before he was cremated. As we looked into his little lifeless face, we saw a shell, and realized that his spirit his soul was with Jesus! Even though it was hard, we found peace knowing that he wouldn’t suffer anymore, and that he can now run, dance, and sing in heaven among the angels. This isn’t the first time we have lost a foster baby, but it is something I don’t think we could ever get used too…. It hurts just as bad each time. But remembering the love we let him feel, the joy we brought to his face, each dirty diaper we changed, each time we got up in the middle of the night to feed him, each time we changed his clothing, each time we bathed him, each time we did unto the least of these, we did it unto Christ. And in the end…. It is a reward to be seen as worthy by Him to take care of these sweet little ones.
A special thank you to all those who faithfully and lovingly prayed for little YuanHao, and to The Pregnancy Resource Center of Lapeer for their amazing support, very treasured preemie outfits and other wonderful gifts! Also special thanks to Stuart and Michelle Eddy for their loving help and blessings!
I (Christina) wrote a poem for YuanHao when I was staying with him in the hospital once. The day he died I used the poem as lyrics and wrote music to them. So here is the link to a song I wrote, in memory of YuanHao: "Sweet Little Baby" www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRHiIKxyFVs
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The first few days of him being with us were filled with new challenges and a lot of learning. Since he could not drink out of a bottle because of the lack of learning how to suckle from neglect, we had to feed him using a medicine dropper. A few days later Jennifer began to feed him through an NG tube that she would insert into his nose then down his throat then to his stomach. It was definitely a tricky process, but considering that Jennifer had just come back from medical training, she was very good at it! (Here is a link of her actually putting it in! :www.youtube.com/watch?v=blYjZU1L5ks ) After the NG tube was inserted, we would then attach the end to a syringe in which we would pour milk into, after ensuring no air was in the tube, and that the tube had not moved into his lungs. Sometimes we would wait up to 15 minutes while the milk took its time to exit the tube into his stomach, but it was good for our patience....Especially at 2 and 4 in the morning, which were the night shift feedings! YuanHao had to be fed every 2 hours, so we all took our shifts and learned every detail thoroughly about the complete process. The most important thing to remember, was before each feeding to check and make sure that the feeding tube was still positioned in his stomach, otherwise it could be life threatening. But after it was finished there was always a sense of joy in our hearts, knowing that we could be the hands and feet of Jesus, and care for this precious little one.
Sometimes it could be scary, not knowing if he would live or die. Sometimes he would get a sudden fever and we would rush him into emergency. Usually he would have to stay a few days because the fever was caused by a root problem. Sepsis was a main one, so we learned about what kind of symptoms to look for in case he were to get it again. Jennifer was so happy to have the privilege to be his nurse; she took over most of the medical aspects of his care, including changing his NG tube weekly or sooner if needed, giving him glycerin to help with his bowel movements, giving him oxygen and suctioning his saliva when he had difficulty swallowing.
A few weeks after having him, we realized his intestines were not working correctly and causing his stomach to bloat from constipation. We took him to the hospital to see a specialist, and he advised we get him a Gastrostomy. (Gastrostomy tubes are feeding tubes placed through the abdomen into the stomach) With this tube it would be a better way to feed him, and also prevent exposure to infectious bacteria, or other germs that would lead to severe illnesses. So after consulting with the orphanage we got the go ahead to get him the surgery. There were difficulties during the surgery and YuanHao was quite weak afterward, but after about 10 days he was back home with us again! After learning how to feed him through the Gastrostomy tube, we discovered that it was definitely more efficient and safe. And we also got a pump that we could set to feed him every 2 hours through the night! YuanHao began to grow stronger, and as we played with him and tickled him, he would try to smile! It was looking uphill for him, and we all were hopeful!
For the next few months his condition seemed stable… But just as sudden as before, he got fever, and again we rushed him in to emergency as before, this time the doctors said it wasn’t good, and that he had sepsis again…. They admitted him into ICU, so we couldn’t stay with him. It was very hard to leave, but we knew that he was in God’s hands. After a few days we contacted the orphanage to ask if he was discharged yet, and they said no, we asked how he was doing and they told us he was getting better and better. So we waited, trusting that there were many angels protecting him. A week or so went by and we contacted the orphanage again and asked when he would be discharged. They told us that he was discharged a while ago and was sent to a different orphanage that had medically trained workers to be taken care of until he recovered fully. This shocked us, as we were confused why no one told us about this, we had taken care of YuanHao for about a year by this time, and to us, he was family. We went to visit him, and he was doing better because while in ICU they discovered a metabolic disease and he could not absorb formula. They put him on breastmilk that was donated and he gained weight and looked so much better!!! He also seemed happy to see us, which filled our hearts with joy to see that he recognized us! Before we left, we all gave him a hug and told the orphanage that when he recovered enough we would like to foster him again.
A few weeks went by, and we didn’t hear anything, so we asked the orphanage if he was still at the other one of if he was back yet. And just like before, they told us he had been back for a while already. We were so hurt, why didn’t we get informed that he was back? We went to the orphanage to see him, and ask to foster him again. But the orphanage refused and said they think it best for him to be there because he was too weak and they didn't think he was going to make it. Regretfully we left, but visited him as often as possible. One day when we went to visit him, we showed up and they told us he was in ICU again! We asked where? And could we see him? But they said no visitors were allowed, so we went home and prayed. We asked often how he was doing and when he would be discharged, but the only reply we got was that he was getting better and would be able to leave soon. A few days went by and we went to the orphanage with some friends. We asked how YuanHao was and they said he was already back! We ran in to see him, but when we did our hearts were grieved. He had lost weight (weighing less than 6 pounds at 2 years old) and had gotten another surgery. He was weak and frail, and our hearts worried for him. We asked again to foster him, but the orphanage refused and said that he was just too hard for us to take, especially with the new surgery. But we explained how Jennifer was trained medically, and how we would be blessed to take him. They agreed to discuss it and get back to us. So we did all we could, and prayed. One change they had made was that they took him off of the breastmilk, and went back to feeding him formula. This was once again constipating him, and he had already had surgery removing part of his intestine, so we knew that this was not good.
One morning we saw a post by one of the managers of the orphanage with a scripture about how “He shall wipe away every tear from our eyes, all things will pass away, and all things shall become new.” Underneath was a picture of YuanHao…. Our hearts filled with fear for the worst. Could it actually be? No… Is he? No…. Although the obvious was that YuanHao passed away, none of us wanted to believe it until confirmed. So we tried to contact anyone from the orphanage to ask, but no one answered. Finally after a long time of trying, we got through to someone….And this is how the conversation went:
Christina – “Hello, how is YuanHao doing?”
Orphanage – “He died.”
Christina – “What? Died?”
Orphanage – “Yes, he died this morning”
Christina – “Oh……Why didn’t anyone tell us?”
Orphanage – “I can’t hear you, it’s too loud here.”
Christina – “Can we see him?”
Orphanage – “I’m really busy right now, write me and I’ll see it later.”
Our hearts broke. Tears flowed. How could he be gone? And we couldn’t hold him one last time, we couldn’t tell him how much we loved him one last time, we weren’t there to comfort and sing to him during his last moments…. Then tears.
Later that week we went to the morgue and saw his body one last time before he was cremated. As we looked into his little lifeless face, we saw a shell, and realized that his spirit his soul was with Jesus! Even though it was hard, we found peace knowing that he wouldn’t suffer anymore, and that he can now run, dance, and sing in heaven among the angels. This isn’t the first time we have lost a foster baby, but it is something I don’t think we could ever get used too…. It hurts just as bad each time. But remembering the love we let him feel, the joy we brought to his face, each dirty diaper we changed, each time we got up in the middle of the night to feed him, each time we changed his clothing, each time we bathed him, each time we did unto the least of these, we did it unto Christ. And in the end…. It is a reward to be seen as worthy by Him to take care of these sweet little ones.
A special thank you to all those who faithfully and lovingly prayed for little YuanHao, and to The Pregnancy Resource Center of Lapeer for their amazing support, very treasured preemie outfits and other wonderful gifts! Also special thanks to Stuart and Michelle Eddy for their loving help and blessings!
I (Christina) wrote a poem for YuanHao when I was staying with him in the hospital once. The day he died I used the poem as lyrics and wrote music to them. So here is the link to a song I wrote, in memory of YuanHao: "Sweet Little Baby" www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRHiIKxyFVs
If you feel led to support our ministry here in China, please click the button below to...
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