Love Without Boundaries - Changing the lives of orphaned and impoverished children in China

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January 2010

Iris' Story

In March 2008, we received information on an adorable six month old baby who was born with a huge hemangioma on her neck. Within a month, her tumor had grown so large that it broke open. Hemangiomas are normally a benign, blood vessel filled tumor, but in this child's case her tumor was getting so big that she was unable to turn her head. We named her Iris and sent her immediately to the hospital, where they treated the ulcerated area with cream and gave her an antibiotic for infection. Because of the complexity of her tumor and the need for extra care, we moved her to our Heartbridge Pediatric Healing Unit.

While Iris was at Heartbridge, she received the very best care and grew into a beautiful little girl. Everyone who met her loved her sunny personality. In November of 2008, we planned a medical trip to treat children with hemangiomas at Anhui Children's Hospital and hoped that Iris would be able to receive treatment. During her pre-op exam, the doctors discovered that she had a lung infection and an enlarged heart and thymus. Her case was too complex and required additional testing. After returning to Heartbridge, we consulted with doctors and had more tests run. Also during this time, Iris met Mariah Bywater, a volunteer working at New Hope Foundation. Mariah took all of Iris's test results and photos and sent them to a doctor, Dr. Hochman, in South Carolina, near her hometown. Mariah had helped a number of other children with vascular tumors receive treatment from Dr. Hochman, who is the founder and Medical Director of the Hemagioma International Treatment Center. Dr. Hochman agreed to do Iris's surgery for free, and Mariah's family offered to host this cute little girl during her stay in the U.S.

While we were working on the logistics for her trip to the U.S. and because she was doing so well, we moved her into a loving LWB foster care family in Hefei. After months of paperwork and waiting for weeks for her visa with no word despite numerous emails, faxes, and phone calls, we enlisted the help of some congressional representatives. They immediately went to work, and within a week both Iris and her caregiver, Ms. Wang, received their visas.

Iris and Ms. Wang arrived in the U.S. in early November and were met by their host family, the Bywaters. Between the many doctor appointments, Iris and Ms. Wang were shown the beauty of South Carolina. They visited Charleston and went on a boat ride, where they saw dolphins and Iris fell in love with seagulls. Through the Bywater's connections, Iris has received free medical care by a pediatrician and an ophthalmologist, in addition to Dr. Hochman. The doctors have discovered that she has borderline thyroid levels and hope to also treat a lazy eye while she is in the U.S. Ms. Wang needed to return to China on November 30th, but not before she was able to experience a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

When it came time for Iris's surgery, everyone was amazed that she didn't shed a tear. During every one of her previous doctor's appointments, she screamed when everyone with a coat came near her. On her surgery day, however, she loved being the center of attention, which naturally happened since the medical staff loved her. The only thing that she was upset about the day of her surgery was the fact that the hospital staff had removed her pretty bracelet she had on before surgery. She noticed it was missing as soon as she came out of anesthesia.

Her first surgery went perfectly, and Dr. Hochman was able to remove most of the tumor. A second surgery is tentatively scheduled in February to remove the rest of the tumor. After her next surgery and recovery, Iris will return to China. Her orphanage has promised to submit her paperwork for adoption immediately after she returns. So many people have cared for Iris along the way, but we can't wait to see Iris with a family of her very own.

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LWB is a charity dedicated to helping orphans in China. Our mission statement is: Love Without Boundaries Foundation is a worldwide group of volunteers dedicated to improving the lives of orphaned and impoverished children in China. We provide humanitarian aid in five key areas – Education, Foster Care, Healing Homes, Medical, and Orphanage Assistance – enabling children to receive families through adoption or to become self-sustaining members of their communities.