The Miracle Magnet, Part Two: Heart Surgery Child Patient from China Recovers with US Sponsors

Locations in this article:  Beijing, China

Princess YingSo what does it look like when a village of strangers takes on the care and feeding of a 5-year-old heart patient from China?

Last week, I wrote about the main players who have come to Ying and her father’s rescue—the group who brought them to the U.S. for Ying’s first heart operation, Mending Kids International who stepped up to pay for it, the Ellzey family, who, like us, have twice now taken Ying and her dad into our homes.

Both times, the Ellzeys provided a loving haven in America in spite of having five children of their own.

Make sure you’ve read Grateful Traveler: the Miracle Magnet, Part One.

My husband, my daughter and I serve as the backup crew, taking on Ying and her dad when the Ellzeys have too much on their plate. I won’t lie and say it’s easy. It isn’t, even with people as gracious, loving, sweet and kind as Ying and her dad.

The Ellzey family with Ying and her dadBut both we and the Ellzeys (at right) have come to love them and so we do it happily.

But what of all the others who’ve come to the aid of this family? The people who aren’t charged with their care. There’s the Chinese-American lawyer who gathered up colleagues and paid for Ying and her father’s airfare to America and has been there for them like she is family.

There are the people in my eye doctor’s office.  The doctor examined the father’s eyes for free. And when I suggested we find old glasses that fit his prescription, the women working at the office declined, then pooled their money and bought him not one, but two pair of glasses.

There’s my daughter’s school (private, not public since that would be a Mending Kids no-no, as kids who are being brought to the U.S. from elsewhere are not allowed to attend schools on the public dime) who allowed Ying to attend classes, assigning a Chinese-speaking teacher to her while they entertained her father.

And the dentist at Cedar-Sinai who pulled all of Ying’s teeth for free because the decay was so great, the heart operation could not be done while her mouth was so full of infection.

And what of the endless visits to doctors and dentists, which the Ellzeys always facilitate? Chinese-speakers seem to magically appear to help translate everything for Ying’s dad, putting his worst fears to rest.

Then there’s the professor from Beijing University who met them while she was visiting L.A. Once as poor as this family, she has vowed to see that Ying gets a good education back in China–something that holds out hope of ending their poverty forever.

Keever from Mending Kids

And of course there’s Keever from Mending Kids (at left).

Christmas day saw friends of ours inviting Ying and her dad to join with their family to celebrate the holiday. Gifts were given and smiles exchanged.

The moment that blew me away? When, on the spot, guests took up a collection and handed Ying’s dad an envelope of money.

There’s the woman Ying and her dad met on the plane on their way from China. Mrs. Jeffries is a grandmother with lots of kids and grandkids of her own, yet she and her husband never miss an opportunity to have Ying and her father over, piling their arms high with gifts every time.

There have been trips to Disneyland, Legoland, museums, gardens, and zoos paid for and hosted by countless people who understand that for Ying and her dad these kinds of places–where one visits for nothing but pleasure–are as foreign and unexpected as a trip to the moon.

And then there are the clothes, some bought new, but mostly hand-me-downs from friends and neighbors. Bags and bags and bags of them. For Ying. For her father. For her mother. For her grandparents. How they will be shipped (or where they will be put in a two-room mud house) has not yet been figured out. We keep suggesting they might have to leave most of it behind. But Ying’s father can’t bear the thought. He’s says he’s never seen such beautiful things in his life.

For years, they’ve been the poorest family in their village with nothing to show for their hard work but troubles. Now, because of the intervention of Eskimos, their lives are full of hope. Ying, who like her dad is scary smart and only lacks for opportunity, will be educated. They have everything from down jackets to wear in the bitter cold to a digital camera so Ying and her dad can share their American adventures.

I have always known people were filled with goodness. Until now, I just didn’t know how much. One family. Countless hands reached out to hold them up. True Eskimos, the ones who inhabit the coldest regions of the world, believe that giving part of a hunt to the poor and needy brings good luck to the hunter. They’re right.

Giving brings blessings to both the giver and the getter. And a little girl’s heart grows stronger.

Click here to read Part Three of the Miracle Magnet.

By Jamie Simons for PeterGreenberg.com.

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