Tian You doing very well!

After a detailed check up in Shanghai in December, we are happy to announce that Tian You does not have any more reflux to his kidney. He's active, playful, and extremely charming. At our Christmas party, he was quite a little star during the kids demonstration of how many chinese characters they can recognise. And after each word he shouted out, he grinned at the applause and shouts of "yay!", "wow" from the audience.

Miracle.... Tian You to be adopted !

We are super thrilled to announce that our darling boy Tian You will soon be joining his amazing new family in the US ! Our adoption dream for him has come true, and as soon as paperwork is processed, they will be coming to Beijing to meet him, do more paperwork, and eventually bring him home with them. Some people are just so amazing to us. We thank Children's Hope International for helping us every step of the way from the day he came into Blue Sky 3.5 years ago. Tian You is a very special case, and we needed a lot of help to get him where he is today. Alive and well ! And now with a family waiting to love him, despite his medical condition and ongoing medical needs. wow.

Tian You with Xiao Mei

Tian You is pictured with Xiao Mei, our other bladder exstrophy baby who has just returned from Singapore. With this condition being so rare, it's quite amazing that Blue Sky has 2 of the cutest ! Both of these children bring joy to many people, and are such inspirations.

Back in Beijing !

What an amazing journey for Tian You. From having been close to death several times, and having endured painful surgeries and daily medical intervention since birth, he is now back in Beijing, a happy and bubbly little boy. This after a 2 month stay in Baltimore, USA, with a wonderful host, Lisa and her daughter Fudi, and with loving care from Qin Qin, his caretaker from Blue Sky. Tian You's life saver, is Dr John Gearhart, the world's foremost expert surgeon for bladder exstrophy at Johns Hopkins Hospital. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts. We also wish to thank the many of you who have helped us to fund Tian You's medical fees - his life is saved by all of you too. Special Thanks to:
Mr Ray Tye, Norah Molnar, G.Garcia, E&J Chalopin, M&D Kuan, M.O'Malley, D.Gant, M.Zhang, United Airlines.
Tian You will require further surgery on his pelvic area in early 2008. For now, he is to rest and recover and enjoy life.
We are happy to announce that he is available for adoption via Children's Hope International, a US adoption agency, where he is listed as a special needs child. Please do not hesitate to contact me for further information about this, as the ultimate hope we have for him, is to be adopted into a loving family. We know this will happen one day, as he is such a lovely boy.
Thank you everyone, ... tania@blueskyhealinghome.org

All good with TianYou....

He's been recovering well, and passing all post-op tests with flying colours. One of the catheters that he had installed has been removed and soon he will start intermittent catherisation.
We are still waiting to get some photos from QinQin, but she has little access to a computer... Soon, we hope !
We are still trying to find out which agency Tian You's adoption paperwork is listed with. He is available for adoption as a special needs child, and we have very high hopes that a family will fall in love with him, and consider adoption, despite his medical condition.

Doing VERY well out of the hospital !

QinQin called this morning to China reporting that Tian You (aka You-You) has been doing VERY well. He is WALKING and suddenly has developed an appetite ! He was always a picky eater, but QinQin was very pleased to say that he is eating lots and is very happy. Walking so soon after the surgery seems pretty amazing... She is keeping a eye on his movements and making sure he doesn't go overboard with being active...
Today he meets with orthopedic surgeons to evaluate his pelvic area.
Pics coming soon !

Looking tired, but still managing to smile

Our brave boy is doing well in recovery. He has been healing nicely, and is almost ready to be released from the hospital, into The Children's House - a housing facility near the hospital.
Tian You will still need further surgery at some point on his pelvic area - an osteotomy - but no earlier than 4 months from now. We are looking into the options for this surgery and will keep everyone posted.

Recovering well....

Tian You is doing great. He is much happier today now that he can have milk! The wounds look good and the urinary output is good-there is much less blood today in the urine-so things look really good. The worst is now over, and his recovery should be smooth.
Pictures coming soon !

Successful so far !

Well, it seems that everything has gone well, and Tian You is in the recovery room with QinQin by his side. He started surgery at 9am and it lasted at least 8 or 9 hours. The next few days are still critical, but he is in very good hands.

The surgeon successfully fixed his kidney. Basically, the tube that was draining the kidney into the bag was not implanted correctly, so it caused his urine to back up into his kidney, which would cause infections, which would then threaten his only kidney. He was already at a dangerous stage of reflux. That issue is now resolved with the surgeon re-doing (done already at previous failed surgeries) the ureter implant. This was the most difficult part of his surgery and Dr Gearhart is the foremost expert to handle this. Tian You’s long-term prognosis is now very good.

Also, the doctor gave him a full scrotum/penile reconstruction and said that it will be "nice looking" and functional, and with modern science he might even be able to have children. They also tested his nerve reflex on the back end, and there is a possibility that they one day can create an anus and get rid of the colostomy bag for that function.

So fingers crossed... Everything has been smooth so far.

Pre-op tests go well, surgery to go ahead on July 31st at 0900hrs, Eastern US time

Please keep Tian You in your thoughts and prayers, as he undergoes major surgery at 0900hrs, Eastern US time (2100hrs, Beijing time, July 31st).

Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation

A massive donation has come Tian You's way from the Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation based in Massachusetts. We are forever grateful to Mr Ray Tye for having taken the time to read our email appeal and application to his foundation for support for Tian You's medical fees. We are honoured that he has trusted our little organisation and our efforts to help save Tian You's life. The Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation provides funds for life-saving medical treatments to those in need. An amazing foundation that has helped many children receive the medical treatment needed to improve and save their lives. Thank you Thank You Thank You on behalf of Tian You. To read more about their work, please visit www.raytyemedicalaidfoundation.org.

Tian You arrives in America !

July 23rd 2007 - Tian You's first picture upon arrival in Washington, DC, after a direct flight on United from Beijing. Norah Molnar, our ex-volunteer based in DC, picked them up (in a Blue Sky T-shirt no less), and drove them an hour to Baltimore, Maryland, where they are being hosted by Lisa Fickenscher and her daughter Fudi. They have settled in well, and some comforts of home (instant noodles, chinese vegetables, etc), have been thoughtfully prepared by both Norah and Lisa.

On the plane to the US !

All the kids and staff said their goodbyes to Tian You and Qin Qin, and off they went to the airport. We wish them a safe journey.

Leaving for America !!! Finally !

July 23rd ! Tian You and QinQIn (his caretaker) will leave for Baltimore ! His surgery is scheduled for July 31st ! After such a long wait, things are now progressing fast.

While in Baltimore, Maryland (where Johns Hopkins Hospital is located), Tian You and QinQin will be taken care of by 2 wonderful ladies. Norah Molnar (our former volunteer team member of Blue Sky when she lived in Beijing, and who has since moved back home with her family), has been instrumental in fundraising for Tian You, and is assisting with many other arrangements. Lisa Fickenscher, has kindly offered to open her home for them to stay and to be on hand to help them throughout their stay in America. Thank you so much to these 2 wonderful ladies who are devoting so much time and effort to helping Tian You.

We are SO thankful to the folks at UNITED AIRLINES who have kindly sponsored 2 free tickets ! And of course, we are ultimately thankful to Dr JOHN GEARHART who will be saving Tian You's life. With everyone's help, this little guy has a chance to live a long and prosperous life. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Tian You still waiting for surgery date !

We are still waiting for the Johns Hopkins Hospital to confirm Tian You's appointment to see Dr Gearhart, following which we can make the travel arrangements. Tian You has been doing well lately (on prophylactic antibiotics), but we are very eager to send him to Dr Gearhart for surgery.
Thank you to all donors who have so kindly contributed to Tian You's medical fees! Thank you also to DR Gearhart who has been so kind to waive all his fees to treat Tian You. This little boy most definitely has touched the hearts of many. He has been an inspiration to all of us.

Tian You has a visa for travel !!

After weeks of preparing documentation for obtaining a US travel visa for Tian You and his caretaker QinQin, we are pleased to announce that approval has been given. Thank you US embassy in Beijing ! We are now full steam ahead with making arrangements for an appointment with Dr Gearhart at Johns Hopkins (another lengthy process), after which we can make flight arrangements. We have fundraised just enough to cover the deposit required by the hospital, and we wish to thank all of Tian You's donors from the bottom of our hearts. Several of you have been amazingly generous and we cannot thank you enough. He is one lucky boy!
As you can see from the photo, Tian You has been to the Great Wall. He is pictured with QinQin (pronounced chin-chin) on our yearly Blue Sky outing. QinQin is Tian You's main caretaker and a very dedicated staff. She is our manager at our medical unit. Picture taken in April, on a beautiful Great Wall day (45mins from our foster home).
Please keep checking this blog for more updates, or feel free to email us. tianyou@blueskyhealinghome.org

Tian You's need for more surgery

Tian You has had a UTI infection almost every month since returning to Beijing post-bladder repair surgery in APril 2006. His infections keep increasing in severity, the most recent one requiring us to admit him into hospital for IV medications and monitoring. TIan You was born with only one kidney, and has had part of his kidney affected by the frequent UTI's. At some point, his kidney may fail, and we may lose this precious boy. We try our very best to keep him infection free, but this is difficult because he needs to have his urine released manually with a catheter every three hours. Our staff diligently do this in a sterile environment, but he is so susceptible. Tian You was also born without an anus, and has a colostomy (where his poop is collected in a bag).
We are currently waiting to hear from Dr Gearhart, an expert in Bladder Exstrophy cases, on the next possible steps for TIan You, and the estimate on costs of sending him to John Hopkins Hospital in the USA. The costs for surgery will be astronomical, but we are trying our best to fundraise for his needs. For more information on the condition, please see this website. http://urology.jhu.edu/pediatric/diseases/PEx1.php

Update on Tian You

Tian You returned to Beijing in April 2006, and has been doing ok. His wound has not fully closed, and he will need further surgery within the year. For the moment, we are keeping a close eye on him, and are carefully taking care of his wound, urostomy and colostomy. His medical supplies are quite costly, but we have had various individuals help us to obtain the catheters, colostomy bags, stomahesive pastes, plaster remover swabs, etc, at discounts, or sometimes as a donation. Unfortunately, Tian You often gets urinary tract infections, and has to take antibiotics. We are exploring options for his next surgeries. For more information on Tian You, please feel free to drop an email. info@blueskyhealinghome.org

Returning Soon !

Dear Friends of Tian You
Tian You is going to return to Beijing soon. They will have one more appointment on Monday, after which it will be decided if they are ready to return. His wound has been healing very slowly, but he is generally doing well. Lucy, I've been told, takes wonderful loving care of him. She is a treasured staff of Blue Sky, who upon return, deserves a long holiday. Besides, all of Tian You's aunties at Blue Sky will be fighting over taking care of the little Prince. They miss him terribly.

Healing well

Tian You's wound is healing well. He had a check-up today at the hospital and generally all is good despite a slight fever and cold, and is on some medications to control this.

Checked out for home care

Tian You was checked out of hospital on Monday. He and Lucy will be staying at the foster family's home, but will be visiting the hospital frequently to receive care for his wounds, catheter drainage and colostomy care. The surgeons want to monitor him closely on his healing progress, before letting us know when he will be fit to travel back to Beijing.

Smiling and playing

Tian You is all smiles, and just a little too active ! He's obviously feeling much better, but is still at risk of opening up his wounds with his energy. Lucy will be trained how to manage his catheter and colostomy bag, and his stitches and wound over the next few days, and if all goes well, they will be checked out of hospital on Monday. Follow-up checks will be twice a week for the first week, and his progress will decide how long he needs to stay in Singapore.