At the Hospital

After a long trip, Thien Nhan arrived safely in Bologne, Italy. "He was a good boy on the flight and ate and slept well," says his mum, Mai Anh. "We are all tired but happy to be here."

This morning, Thien Nhan will see doctors for a pre-surgery consultation. The surgeon needs to be sure that he is healthy enough to withstand such a lengthy and difficult operation.

Bon Voyage

Along with trip organizers and longtime supporters Na Huong and Greig Craft, Thien Nhan, his mom Mai Anh and his 12-year-old brother Big Minh boarded a flight to Paris last night at midnight. Their final destination is Bologne, Italy, where Thien Nhan, 4, is to undergo genital surgery on January 29th.

As the group sat waiting at Hanoi's Noi Bai airport, Mai Anh admitted to being nervous about Thien Nhan's upcoming surgery. "I'm sure that Thien Nhan will sleep on the plane," she said. "But I doubt that I will."

[Photo: Thien Nhan (right) and his brother Little Minh check out some new toys that Thien Nhan will bring on his trip to Italy.]

Overnight Flight

Following a phone interview with a journalist from the London Daily Mail, Mai Anh, Thien Nhan and Nghinh joined friends of Son Michael Pham’s for some familiar food at a Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle. Then it was time to say “Cam on & hen gap lai” (Thank you & see you again) to all of their new friends in Seattle.

On Sunday night, the family caught a 10.30pm flight to Boston, where Sue Hammond of War Legacies Project (http://warlegacies.org/) met them early on Monday morning. From there, they all drove to Sue’s home in New Hampshire, which lies near Dartmouth University Medical Centre. The family is now resting up in preparation for Thien Nhan’s medical exams.

Bon Voyage!

Tomorrow, Thien Nhan and his parents Mai Anh and Nghinh are flying from Hanoi to Seattle via Taipei. Greig Craft, who is organizing their US trip, called the EVA Air office in Hanoi today to confirm that all was in order. The ticket agent informed him that they had wanted to upgrade the family to Business Class, but unfortunately the plane was fully booked. Aware that a long stopover in Taipei followed by a trans-Pacific flight would be rough on 2-year-old Thien Nhan, the Vietnamese staff of EVA's Hanoi office had chipped in to pay for a transit room in Taipei airport for the family. We continue to be amazed by people's kindness and generosity towards Thien Nhan!