Introducing precious Danielle!

Danielle was born in November of 2012 was admitted into the CWI in January of 2013. Her special needs are macroglossia, heart disease, and hypertrophy of limbs on the right.

Danielle was found abandoned at the park in January of 2013. When she was first admitted to the CWI, her height was 53cm, weight was 5.2g, head size was 38cm, chest size was 36cm. Her general condition was good. She responded to light well; her ears and nose were clear. She had macroglossia and her tongue was exposed outside her mouth and the color was dark red and there were obvious saliva and her neck was short. She did not have cleft lip or palate. The breathing sound of her lungs was rough. The sound of her heart was strong and rhythm was regular. A II/VI continuous murmur could be heard along the left second rib. Her stomach was protruding and her liver and spleen were not swollen. The muscle tones of her limbs were normal. Her date of birth was estimated.

Danielle was already two and half months old at the time she entered the CWI. Because of her special need, it was difficult for her to drink the formula. The caregivers was very patient and took their time to feed her with the soft bottle one drop of formula at a time. Although it usually took a long time for Danielle to drink, she had a good appetite and could finish one bottle at one feeding. Under the loving care of the caregivers, Danielle grew strong and had normal physical and motor skill development.

Danielle was a lovely baby. She had round face, a pair of big eyes, dark thick black hair. She loved to laugh. She smiled as soon as someone called her name and played with her. She also laugh out loudly. At ten months old, Danielle started to crawl. She put her hands in front of her, push up her bucket and pushed her feet and crawled forward to get the toys she liked.

Danielle was placed into a foster family inside the CWI on June 16 of 2016. She adapted quickly in the foster family and got along well with other children. Danielle became outgoing and lively and she liked to interact with other people and enjoyed participating the group activities. Danielle is a bright and mature child. Although she did not express with words her gratitude toward the foster mother, she was grateful in her heart to the hard work and good care the foster provided to them. She often offered to do some simple chores such as wipe clean the table and arrange the chairs.

Danielle started preschool inside the CWI in October of 2016. There are many children in the program who are Danielle’s age. At first she was a little shy because the environment was new to her. Since she has strong abilities to adapt, she quickly interact with other children and participated. Danielle is a bright child, she learns fast and absorbs all that has been taught to her by the teachers. Many teachers show Danielle’s work to the other children. According to her teachers, although Danielle has special needs, she is very enthusiastic in participate in class and her attention span is very good. In order to help Danielle’s language development, the teachers made a speech plan and teach her to learn to speak simple words. With the help of the teachers, Danielle’s language ability has improved a lot. She can accurately express in words to express her needs. Her pronunciation was accurate and clear. She has no problem communication with others normally.

As for her special need, she has been taken to the hospital twice to consult with specialists, where they were told that at this time there is no good surgery prospect in our country to treat the macroglossia. Surgery might be an option when the child turns 18 years old (please note that there may be other options in the US or other countries). When Danielle first entered the CWI, she had physical exam and the doctors found her to have congenital heart disease. On March 11, 2016, she had another ultra sound test of her heart and the result showed that she has VSD and the rear left ventricular wall is thickened. The systolic function of her left ventricular is within normal range. In the physical exam, the doctor also found that she has hypertrophy of limbs on the right which was caused by developmental dysplasia before she was born. Besides limping slightly of her right leg when she walks, there is no other problem and this condition doesn’t effect her daily life. Her motor development is normal and she has no problem run and jump. There is no need for treatment.

Danielle is a lively and active child who loves outdoor activities and group activities. She is a social child. After entering the CWI, Danielle has received timely immunization shots.

Danielle is waiting for her forever family and is listed with BAAS through an agency partnership. Interested families can contact BAAS for more information.