Outside the operating room, six-year-old Yuanhao sobbed uncontrollably. Curled up in his oversized blue gown, tears clinging to his eyelashes, he clutched Chunhui Mama Yang Yunfen’s sleeve with trembling hands. Born with bilateral superior oblique muscle paralysis, esotropia, and retinal abnormalities, Yuanhao had never seen the world clearly—only blurred, overlapping shadows.
Since 2011, Chunhui Children’s Chunhui Care Home project has partnered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs’ Tomorrow Plan, bringing life-changing surgeries to over 4,000 orphans with severe illnesses like congenital heart defects, spinal deformities, and malignant tumors. Behind each diagnosis is a child waiting to heal.
“Why do I have to sign for a checkup?”
On February 26, Yang Yunfen marked her calendar with a red heart—Yuanhao’s surgery day. “He shakes every time he hears the word ‘surgery,’” she said. To soothe his anxiety, she had prepared toys in advance, but on the day of the operation, the boy was overwhelmed with fear. Tears soaked his pillow. When he asked through sobs, “Why do I need to sign for a checkup?” Yang Mama gently replied, “It’s a long exam, and they need your permission. I’ll be right outside the whole time.”
Tears Beneath the Gauze
After surgery, as the monitor beeped steadily, Yuanhao awoke from anesthesia in a panic. Kicking wildly and trying to rip off the bandages over his eyes, he cried out hoarsely: “I can’t see! I can’t see! I want my mama!” Yang Mama rushed to his side, pressed her forehead gently against his, and whispered, “Yuanyuan, feel my hand—I’m right here. We can’t take off the gauze yet, and we can’t cry. Tears might slow your healing.” Yuanhao grasped her hand tightly and refused to let go, finally drifting back to sleep. Yang Mama stayed by his side, never letting go of his hand.
In early March, as she was tidying up his favorite teddy bear, a small tug on her sleeve made her turn around. Yuanhao looked up at her and, for the first time, met her gaze directly. “Mama,” he said softly, “I remember what you look like now.”
A Second Birth Certificate
At Chunhui Care Home, every child has a Growth Report. In Yuanhao’s file, one sentence stands out: He can finally see a toy car clearly. Before surgery, his world was like “a crumpled candy wrapper”—fragmented and unclear.
For children like him, surgery changes more than the body—it begins to heal emotional trauma and restore confidence. One girl with severe scoliosis stood taller after surgery, literally and figuratively. An infant born with anal atresia underwent successful reconstructive surgery. In Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, with the care of trained Chunhui mamas, children look forward to their spring—healthier, stronger and more hopeful.
Every year, Chunhui Care Home supports more than 200 children with critical medical needs. Its care team, like precision gears in a finely tuned machine, provides not just medical support, but the emotional warmth these children so deeply need.
As morning light streams through the windows, it falls across rows of small beds. Each bed has once held a child awaiting treatment, and each blanket holds a quiet promise: that even the most abandoned life deserves to be seen, loved, and protected by the world.