“I only got a glance at her in the delivery room and then she was taken to the NICU in the hospital. Our first meeting was a whole 14 days later.”
Rui Rui was extra tiny when she was born. And her first few years were not easy for her or her family.
“Maybe because she was so small and her digestive and absorption system was not developed, she would often get sick.”
Around her first birthday, she still couldn’t walk or talk yet. Her parents realized that the development gap was pretty wide when comparing her to other children of her age.
“After she was diagnosed [with Developmental Delay] at the age of 3, we began the long road of recovery.”
Her parents enrolled her in therapy right away. They wanted the very best chance for their daughter. But therapy was expensive, so they could only afford a home in the suburbs.
“We need to take nearly five hours of public transportation back and forth every day to take therapy classes in the city. Because the distance is far, taking RuiRui to therapy is a full time job for me.”
Since then, Rui Rui has made some progress with speech and occupational therapy. “Before, she could not say anything and now at least she can call baba (dad), mama, and nainai (grandma). She can also use some simple actions to express her ideas. In our eyes, she is getting better little by little, so everything is worth it.”
But this amount of therapy was not enough for Rui Rui. She needed more in order to close the development gap.
Last year, Rui Rui’s parents heard about Hope Station for the first time. They enrolled in our Family Strengthening program, excited to get more therapy for Rui Rui, and encouragement and support for the whole family.
But Rui Rui and her family still can’t get all that they need from Hope Station without 2 more sponsors.
With only 2 sponsors right now, Rui Rui’s family can only get so much support. Therapy is limited, training for her parents is limited, and help from our staff is limited.
Would you consider being Rui Rui’s family sponsor at $40/month starting today?
Not only will you get the satisfaction of knowing Rui Rui’s family gets more of the support they need, you’ll also get monthly updates from them so you can follow along as they raise Rui Rui at home.
As Rui Rui’s mama wrote to one of their sponsors recently:
“Thank you very much for helping our daughter, so that she will have a chance to recover.”
To sponsor Rui Rui or meet the other waiting families, go to www.hope-station.org/sponsor-a-family/
