Another new face

Emmanuel is the new kid on the block, but we also have a new volunteer in the Home. Her name is Emily, and she has come from Australia with a wealth of nursing experience and compassion to share with our children. She has only been here two days, and already she is settling in and getting to know the children. It seems she has a gift for connecting with the kids - especially our more reserved butterflies. Even the very shy children are warming up to Emily. Here she is getting a cuddle with Ysmael.

Emily's special field at home is cardiology, so she has been well qualified to assess Emmanuel. She's been discussing his heart condition in detail with our two resident nurses, and explaining what is going on with his little body. Unfortunately he has not been gaining weight appropriately, and he's going to need a nastogastric tube so that he can be fattened up ready for surgery. We need his body as strong and healthy as possible, so that he can cope with such a big operation. 

Emmanuel looks pretty happy about his examination!

Emily is also keeping a close eye on that pesky ear.

Emily has already found the Home to be a "little haven" with lots of warmth and humour. She is doing a great job at acclimatizing to the new environment. She says that  language and communication are the most difficult challenges. We think she is coping just wonderfully - her great nursing skills and enthusiasm are definitely getting her message across.

While she is with us, Emily will be sharing her knowledge with our resident nurses, and doing some training in areas relevant to paediatric palliative care. Having a nurse come to support us with skills in these areas is such a gift!  Emmanuel certainly looks pleased to see her around!

Meet Lana

We thought it would be fun to introduce a few of the grown-up faces around Butterfly Home. This is Lana.

As you can see, Lana is heaps of fun, and she really enjoys her work!

Lana was born in Scotland, but grew up in a village in Germany. She went to primary school in Germany, and then to boarding school in Scotland as a teenager. After school, she stayed in Scotland to study Psychology, and to do a Masters degree.

So how did all this lead to Butterfly Home?  Well, Lana came to this country to study language and to teach English. Once she had settled in, she started to look around for volunteer work which might utilize her excellent qualifications. After a first visit to Butterfly Home, she was inspired to do a cycle to raise funds. Now 10 or maybe even15 km might be a good start you would think....but no! Lana and her friend Neil decided to cycle 750km. They did an amazing job: cycled the whole way without serious injuries, enjoyed some incredible experiences, raised a lot of money and promoted awareness across the country. You can read about their incredible journey here:

http://cyclingforbutterflies.com/follow

Now Lana is spending a year at Butterfly Home as a volunteer administrator. She is committing the same energy level she had for cycling to her many roles at the home. She acts as a liason for our volunteers: arranging travel, accommodation, registration and other details, as well as giving them orientation tours and help with interpretation. She has duties in administration, writing reports and supporting Lyn and Suisie in the office. Most importantly, she assesses the children's development and emotional health, setting goals, and making plans for thier therapies. Lana also makes lifebooks for our children before adoption - such an important treasure for kids going through a lot of change.

This is what Lana has to say about her  work here: " Since in BCH, for the first time I have found a job where I can be in it with my whole body and mind. I love going to work and even find myself in the BCH on my days off. Although the Butterfly Home works in devastating circumstances, there are more happy days then sad. Seeing and making the babies laugh is incredible. Every child has their individual illness which they take on very well with their cute personality. For some of them the conditions of their illness or also living in a hospice environment causes their development to be behind. I am interested in how to help the children develop better. My first developmental class at uni was about attachment and how much more vital love is than food. I believe the children survive because of the loving environment they are in."

We are so thrilled to have Lana with us, and thankful for her very valuable input. We hope that her time here continues to be incredible, and that she will take away some precious memories. We know for sure that our children and the things she has seen here will be forever in her heart. And hopefully, Lana's story will inspire others to volunteer. There are wonderful organizations all over the world, and we need all the help we can get. Requirements are simple: a bit of courage, a bit of common sense and loads of compassion. And you just might find you are amazed by how much you recieve when your heart is taken up with giving.

Nurse Catherine is in the house.

We know everyone is hanging on for news of Finlay at the moment, and don't worry....we will be updating as soon as we can.  Scroll down for his story if you need to catch up.

But while Finlay is awaiting surgery in Shanghai, life goes on back in the Butterfly Home. This week, all the babies are enjoying the return of Nurse Catherine. Catherine has volunteered at the Home before - twice ! Can you tell she has a soft spot for these babies?
Catherine is from England. She has a taste for adventure, a love of travelling and a servant's heart. Mix that up with a wealth of experience in paediatric nursing, and you have a whole lot of blessings for our babies.

Here Catherine is attending to dear Ben. He doesn't look too thrilled at this moment, but he is surely happy on the inside to have such skilled hands to treat his problems!

Volunteers are such an important part of our work here at The Butterfly Home. Some come for a few weeks, while others for much longer. Some go to extra-ordinary lengths to get here - we just have to make mention of Lana's arrival. She's volunteering with us for a year, and travelled by bicycle all the way from Hangzhou, raising funds along the way. That's dedication!
Whatever way they get here, volunteers bless us all with their time and talents. Precious people choosing to share their gifts with our fragile little babies - it doesn't get much more encouraging than that!. Of course, our need for medical expertise is always high - if you are a doctor, nurse or therapist, we suggest you hop right onto the next plane to China. (But contact us first, of course - so we can make the necessary arrangements!).
You'd also be surprised how helpful other skills can be to us. Can you do repair work, or paint a room? Can you take beautiful photographs? Can you organize a storeroom, or cuddle a baby? Can you file paperwork, or make scrapbooks?  All you need is a flexible attitude and the ability to cope with just a little bit of the unknown. And the best bit is, that these babies will bless you just as much as you can bless them!