Headed Home on Friday!

Monday, February 27, 2006 at 6:34 AM PST

I just talked to Dr Li and we are leaving the hospital tomorrow. He said tonight that the first stage of Susan three heart operations has been a success!!! This was after they did another echo today. You can clearly see the banding around the artery on the pictures and her saturation levels have come down from 85 to 55 in her lower limbs and things will continue to improve in the next few months. In another three months we will do more tests and then we should be coming back to do the second stage.

Susan is still a little tender. She cries when she coughs and does not like to be moved very much. She has been sleeping a lot but the funny faces are back and she is making new sounds. She has also been blinking her eyes. I am sure in a few days she will be moving around more..

We have tickets to go back to Xian by train on Friday, the earliest available time, and so we should be home by Saturday. I will spend a few days in Shanghai with some friends. The Wootans are eager to see Susan and we have to talk about some ideas related to marketing the foster home. Another family, Catherine Lamb and her two daughters will be traveling with me to Xian and will be preparing to help their son Trey do his eagle scout project..

The time might be coming soon that I would have to relinquish this child to the arms of a new mother and father. The Chinese have a saying: Tong Bing Kuai Le which translated means Bittersweet. I know that is how I am going to feel. I would have accomplished my goal which has turned out to save her life. This has been such a combined effort. We have put so much time and effort into her care and to know that we have succeeded means so much to me. I told a reporter this past week that I would love to know that in five or ten years that she is happy and healthy.

Thank you so very much for you interest in her well being and for all your never ending prayers on her behalf. I have been so blessed to be part of this miracle, to watch as hundreds of people donated thousands of dollars for a child they have never seen. To hear of stories of people choosing to adopt a special needs child after they heard about her. I have made new friends and felt the support and love of old friends. Together we can feel a great sense of gratitude for having been allowed to participate in making a difference in her life.

May Heavenly Father's blessing flow abundantly over you and your families.

With love, laughter and an enormous amount of gratitude,

Amanda