Updates on little ones...happy & sad

Little Widline is doing great! In fact, she is ready to return to her family in Haiti. They have been asking about her regularly and are wanting her home. Thankfully, she has recovered well from her surgery and has grown a good bit...though she is still a small little one. Vanessa is bring her back this week when she flies to Haiti. The report I got was she was happy and eating every jar of baby food Vanessa had in her house, so that is good! Wonder if she will like rice & beans? We can't thank her host family, the Bowley crew, enough for all the love and care they provided for this sweet baby. We know how much work it is to care for these sick little babies and how hard it is to let them go again when they must return. We truly appreciate all they did for her! We will keep you all updated on her progress after she returns to her family.

Pierre is also doing well, but as you can see, he still hasn't had his cleft surgery. He has had so many troubles with other medical issues, that it hasn't been safe yet. We are hopeful that he can have his surgery soon. Until then, it is great that he is growing and developing so well. Thank you to his host family in Virginia for taking such good care of him!

Lena has topped the 15 lbs mark! Wow, that is incredible considering how small and sickly she was when her Mom handed her to Vanessa last spring. Her host family said she is doing all kinds of great things and is just a joy to have around. She will remain here until she has her next surgery in a few months. Once that is done, she will be able to return to her mom who is anxiously waiting!

Chrisno is a toddler who came just last month to have a shunt put in to reduce the swelling in his head due to hydrocephaly. I don't have any photos of him recently, but he has been doing wonderfully since his surgery. His host family here in Virginia say he is babbling, playing with toys, rolling over and pulling off his socks! That is incredible progress! We are so proud of him.

Lastly, I need to share some very sad news. Little Dieuna who was so sick during her time here in the US and struggled to make a recovery from her surgery for hydrocephaly did return to Haiti. She had done much better in the weeks before her return and the doctor said it was time for her to go home. We made arrangements for her to stay at a hospital in PAP until her family learned to care for her. Sadly, she died within a week of returning. We are not sure as to how she died, but are so upset for her, her family and the wonderful host family here in the US that cared so much for Dieuna. Please pray for all of them.

We all do our best, but sometimes we just don't succeed and that is hard to accept. Vanessa and I are leaning on God for comfort and guidance as we continue to work to help these children. We understand that we could not succeed without the help of so many who give these children incredible opportunites by opening their homes and their hearts. To all of you who support our mission, we are extremely grateful.

Fran