“Mama, mama, hug!” Yimi toddles with open arms toward her Chunhui mama Wu.

“Come on, Yimi. sway your little hips……” the mamas invited her to dance. At their encouraging words, Yimi started to wiggle with joy.

Yimi runs about in the activity room briskly like a butterfly fluttering among the flowers. Who could believe that this cute little girl who now moves freely and calls “mommy” sweetly was a lifeless baby unable to sit up steadily or speak one word only four months ago.

TIME

October 2023

ADDRESS

Chunhui Care Home (CCH)

Yimi, now two years and two months old, was born with cerebral palsy, abandoned, and taken to the local welfare institution. When Philip Wang, a staff member of CCH visited her, she was sitting quietly on her crib, looking like any typical child. But through close observation Philip found that the girl was unable to sit tight, let alone stand up. The strength of her neck, back and waist was so weak that she lost her balance and collapsed after sitting independently for a short while.

Cerebral palsy is a non-progressive brain injury that causes problems with movement, posture, and neurodevelopment. These disorders may affect one’s functions like eating, dressing, learning, and socializing. Children with cerebral palsy usually have such symptoms as muscle weakness, increased muscle tone, abnormal postures and reflexes. Over time, these symptoms may become increasingly recognizable and have a negative impact on the children’s growth and mental health.

It takes tons of effort to work with children suffering from CP and help them confront their challenges. For babies and infants, loving care of adults is crucial. Without such care, Yimi would continue to languish and even get worse. To prevent against this, Chunhui Children invited a rehabilitation therapist to provide professional service for the girl at CCH.

A few days after Yimi arrived in Beijing, perhaps due to the environmental change, she had a high fever and was taken to the hospital. Mama Wu spent seven sleepless days and nights nursing her.

As Mama Wu recalls, the first time She saw Yimi, the girl was lying quietly in her hospital bed and only cried when receiving nebulized treatment. "In order to divert YiMi’s attention to her pain, I held her in my arms and crooned to her. A few days later, when it was time for nebulized treatment, she put on the mask on her own initiative and looked at me, expecting me to sing to her again. She is smart, likes music and enjoys interacting with people,” said Mama Wu.

"In their early years of life, children with special needs need environmental and language stimulation to rehabilitate as fast as they could." Mama Wu always keeps this belief in her mind. Before Yimi was hospitalized for rehabilitation therapy, she often helped her toddle around at CCH. When the girl felt tired, mama Wu picked her up and worked to relax her muscles. To develop Yimi's language skills, mama Wu often talked to her and sometimes played music for her. Yimi liked the music so much that she would move to its rhythm.

Under the nurturing care of mama Wu, Yimi started to turn for the better. Both her physical coordination and language skills improved, which laid a solid foundation for her rehabilitation therapy. Now Yimi can walk independently and even call "mama" fluently. 

Mama Wu talked about Yimi’s rehabilitation experience in the hospital with pride. Behaving herself and braving against the therapy, the girl was always surrounded by a couple of doctors who adored her and hugged her from time to time. The Chunhui mamas observed how the doctor worked with her, and then gave her massages in their spare time as the doctor did.

"When Yimi was in the hospital, I always asked the mamas who took care of her whether she had learned to walk. They would send me photos of her. Then one day, I was thrilled to receive a video clip showing she was walking. Children with special needs grow up in a hard way that is beyond our imagination. They need make a lot more efforts and spend a lot more time than typical children to master a skill as simple as eating,” said mama Wu.

“Each child is unique, and I have a close emotional bond with all of them. When they look at me with their big bright eyes and call me 'mommy', I am touched beyond words. Although I couldn't stay with Yimi all the time in the hospital, when she saw me after she was discharged, she immediately threw herself into my arms. I knew, she remembered me and missed me.” 

Each time mama Wu hears the voice of the children in her care, she walks over and repeats: “Mommy is here. Mommy loves you. Let me give you hug.” For mama Wu, caring for the children is not only a job but also an inseparable part of her life. These children are her beloved babies and her pride. “When they call me ‘mama’, my heart is melted. It is great to know that they love me, trust me, recognize me and count on me,” she said.