Sick Days

Over the weekend Thien Nhan came down with a fever and cough, which he then passed to his brother, Little Minh, aged 4. While Nhan now seems better, last night Minh's fever rose to a scary 40 degrees. "They take turns being sick," said their exhausted mum, Mai Anh. Meanwhile the kids' cousin, Sol, almost 2, has been hospitalized with pneumonia. Luckily Thien Nhan's eldest brother, Big Minh, 8, seems to have missed this round.

Changeable temperatures and high humidity make early spring a prime time for flus in Hanoi, and many kids from Nhan and Minh's preschool are home sick right now.

Singaporean Generosity

On January 3rd, the Singapore Straits Times ran a follow-up story by Judith Tan about Thien Nhan and the amazing help that the tot has received from Straits Times cartoonist Lee Chee Chew, whose blog "Chew On It!", is devoted to raising funds for little Nhan.

Since the story ran, Mr. Lee - who's never even met Thien Nhan - has raised another US$31,013 from readers, fans, colleagues (and out of his own pocket). The comic artist also donates all proceeds from the sales of his first two books towards Thien Nhan's rehab. To date, Mr. Lee has raised a whopping US$51,292. Thank you Singapore!

The SST story and Mr. Lee's blog may be found at: ttp://chewonitcomics.blogspot.com/2009/01/thien-nhan-on-print.html

To view the list of donors who have supported Thien Nhan via Mr. Lee, please scroll to the bottom of this blog. Our thanks to all of you!

Helping Mum Out

Thien Nhan's mum, Mai Anh, suffers from rheumatism and had terrible shoulder and back pain for much of last week. Her three sons were a big source of comfort, with Thien Nhan - who will turn 3 in July - making a special effort to cheer up his ailing mum. "Thien Nhan climbed into bed and hugged me," reported Mai Anh. "And Little Minh brought me snacks."

A Great Big Brother

Thien Nhan's big brother, Big Minh, 8, is in charge of updating the "Education" section on Thien Nhan's Vietnamese-language website: http://www.thiennhan.info/vn/news/hoc-tap.aspx Each day after school Minh rewrites some of Thien Nhan's preschool teachers' comments and posts them online. A recent example reads: "Thien Nhan learned the poem "Lotus Flower". He also stuck flowers onto a card to make a Women's Day gift for his mom."

*Photo, left to right: Big Minh, Thien Nhan & Little Minh

Terrible Twos?

Thien Nhan, who will turn three this July, misbehaved at school last week, earning reprimands from his teachers every day last week. In the worst incident he refused to stop chattering with his "girlfriend", classmate Bao Linh, during nap time. When told to keep quiet Thien Nhan kicked the teacher (with his good leg). "His brothers, dad and I spent all weekend explaining why he must not behave like this," said mom Mai Anh. "Nhan had to go and apologize to his teacher today."