Transformation Tuesday: Charlotte

Last June, a little (just 2.5 KG) one-month old baby girl arrived here at New Day Foster Home.

She had heart surgery in July, and needed to wait until she was bigger to have a second surgery. Charlotte quickly stole the hearts of her nannies, and did a great job of gaining weight, developing a splendid pair of chubby cheeks!

It was easy to look at pictures of Charlotte and exclaim over her cuteness, but the reality was that her heart desperately needed fixing.  Her skin and lips had an unhealthy blue tinge, she was needing regular oxygen treatments, and would turn an alarming purple color when she cried.

At the beginning of February she was admitted to hospital in preparation for surgery, but came back 11 days later.  The Chinese New Year holiday was coming up, and the doctors were concerned that during the holiday the hospital would not have enough staff on duty to cope with the difficult and extended recovery time that they predicted for her.

On February 26, Charlotte was readmitted to the hospital and finally had her surgery on March 9.  It went well, and that 'extended recovery time'...?  She was out of ICU after 3 days, and back at New Day less than two weeks after surgery.

Charlotte still has some recovering to do, but already the transformation is beautiful.

She's in the CCU for now, to keep her away from germs, which means that she is reunited with her buddy Eli.  They arrived at New Day around the same time last year, and Eli has also had heart surgery.  It's easy to imagine that they are sharing hospital stories, isn't it?!

"Um, excuse me, Mama - please tell Charlotte that I'm OLDER than her.  No fair that she's bigger!"

We are so glad that Charlotte was finally able to have the surgery that she needed, and thankful for the excellent surgeons that did such a great job, and that she recovered so unexpectedly fast.

Another wonderful transformation story; from 'tiny with a blue-grey tinge', to 'wonderfully chubby and pink'!