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."

Seeing Red

Just weeks after coming down with a bad case of measles, poor Thien Nhan got sick again -- this time with a fever and an angry red rash. Initially doctors thought he had the chicken pox but then changed their minds. Worried that whatever it was could be highly contagious, mom Mai Anh sent Thien Nhan's brothers, Big Minh and Little Minh, to stay with her parents.

When little Nhan's rash cleared and his big brothers came home Thien Nhan cried with happiness. "He was so happy to see them again. He missed them so much," reports Mai Anh. "Now they're all at school again and life is back to normal." For now...

The picture shows Thien Nhan, age 2, (right) getting a hug from his brother Hai Minh, 4.

Late New Year

Because Thien Nhan spent the Lunar New Year in hospital with measles, the kind folk at the Le Club in Hanoi are now throwing him a Late New Year's bash! All of Thien Nhan's friends are invited to join the festivities this Sunday, February 15th at 6pm to 9pm. The Le Club, which also hosted birthday and Mid-Autumn Festival parties for Thien Nhan, is located at 162 Phuong Liet Street, Hanoi. Chuc mung nam moi muon!

Generous Hearts

We can hardly believe it but -- thanks to your generosity -- the Thien Nhan Fund has now received over US$100,000 in donations! People all over the world have chipped in to help this brave toddler, with special thanks due to Singapore, home of our champion fundraiser cartoonist CC Lee.

(http://chewonitcomics.blogspot.com/)

Individual donations have ranged from VND50,000 (about $3) to US$5,000. Upon hearing of Thien Nhan's plight, many people who have little to spare have given him as much (or more) than they could afford. Elderly war widows, weary construction workers and struggling young parents have all opened their hearts to little Nhan.

We cannot thank all of you good people enough for working so hard to provide Thien Nhan with a decent chance in life!

A Rough Week

On the last day of the Year of the Rat Thien Nhan came down with a high fever and had to be rushed to the emergency ward. He developed a rash all over his body and was too sick to eat or drink, requiring him to be hospitalized for four nights. "He looked like a Tet peach tree," joked mom Mai Anh, referring to the angry red rash that covered poor Nhan's entire face and body.

His dad, Nghinh, fell ill too, and poor Mai Anh spent her New Year's holiday rushing back and forth between her home and the hospital. Luckily Thien Nhan's fever is now down, and while he remains tired and weak he is at home again.

New Year, New Leg!

Yesterday, visiting Australian physiotherapist Douglas Falconer accompanied Thien Nhan to a fitting for a new leg, provided thanks to the generous support of Viet Ortho Hanoi and French charity organization Coeur de Bambou. This new, higher-tech leg features a jointed knee and foot, and can be adjusted as Thien Nhan grows.

The fitting process is time-consuming and difficult, requiring a lot of fine-tuning on the part of the technicians and Thien Nhan's parents. Thanks to Ms. Au, Mr. Duc, Dr. Olivier and Douglas for their patience. At the moment, Thien Nhan finds the new leg cumbersome and scary to use - it will take time for him to adjust. We hope that 2009 will be the year that he learns to walk!


Check out more photos and a video of Thien Nhan's leg-fitting at http://bnok.vn/nhatkychulinhchi/2009/01/22/kich-kich-kich-kich-cho-nam-moi/ Mom Mai Anh and big brother Little Minh were there to cheer the tot on.

A Good Start to 2009

So far, 2009 has brought good news for Thien Nhan and his extended family, with his Aunt Elka and Uncle Thien welcoming a new daughter, Eloise, on January 12th. Baby Eloise arrived by c-section in Saigon, weighing 2.9kg. She's a healthy, contented and beautiful little girl.

In other news, since a story about Thien Nhan and the help provided to him by Singaporean cartoonist Lee Chee Chew appeared in the Singapore Straits Times at the start of January, CC Lee has collected another S$9,065 (US$6,055) for the tot from his readers and fans!

Check out CC Lee's comics and amazing fundraising efforts at http://chewonitcomics.blogspot.com/

Thanks again Singapore!

Super Brothers!

To help Thien Nhan to celebrate the New Year in style, one of his supporters in Hanoi presented Nhan and his two brothers, Big Minh, 8, and Little Minh, 3, with matching superman outfits.

The kids had a great time modelling their new costumes and are reportedly so fond of them that they refused to take them off. "They told me that they did not want to eat too much in case they grow out of them!" reports the boys' mom, Mai Anh.

Happy New Year

Three days ago, the Singapore Straits Times ran a story by journalist Judith Tan about Thien Nhan and the amazing help provided to him by Straits Times' cartoonist Lee Chee Chew. Since hearing of Thien Nhan's 's plight last year, the comic artist had raised and donated over S$32,000 via his 'Chew On It!' blog at http://chewonitcomics.blogspot.com/

Following this recent Straits Times' article, CC Lee reports that another S$5,000 in donations have come in during the past three days! What a fantastic start to the New Year for little Thien Nhan!

Thanks Judith Tan, thanks CC Lee and thank you Singapore!

Dartmouth Medical Magazine

Last August, Thien Nhan travelled to Dartmouth, New Hampshire in the United States, where he underwent urethral surgery. An interesting article about his case has just been published in Dartmouth's medical magazine --online at:

http://dartmed.dartmouth.edu/winter08/html/vs_good_person.php

Thanks to the writer, Matthew Wiencke, for his thoughtful and well-informed story, to Greig Craft and Son Michael Pham, the trip's tireless organizers, and to all of the doctors and nurses who helped Thien Nhan at Dartmouth University Hospital.

Ups & Downs

Last Sunday, one day after getting four stitches in his lip, Thien Nhan joined his preschool classmates at a Christmas carol performance held in Hanoi's historic Opera House. Due to his accident, he'd missed the dress rehearsal and was overwhelmed - and scared - by the giant stage and bright lights. "The kids were on a stage that moved up and down," explains mom Mai Anh. "Thien Nhan got really scared and cried through most of the song." Luckily, his big brother, Little Minh, 3, was at the concert too, and helped to reassure Thien Nhan. "Nhan wasn't the only kid who was crying," says Mai Anh. "After his accident and the anaesthetic he wasn't his usual happy self. He had a tough weekend." Luckily he's fine now and the family's looking forward to a happy and relaxing Christmas!

Musical Mishap

Poor Thien Nhan had a musical mishap! While standing on the piano bench and pressing on the keys with his leg-stump to make "music", the tot lost his balance and fell off, landing face first. "There was blood all over his chin and shirt," reports mom Mai Anh. "Nghinh and I totally panicked. We were so scared. We all rushed to the emergency room at Viet Duc Hospital."

At the hospital, doctors recognized Thien Nhan from local media reports. Aware that the boy has already been through a lot of trauma and fearful of damaging his adorable looks, they called two plastic surgeons from the Facial-Dental Hospital. These specialists decided to put Thien Nhan under general anaesthetic and used a special type of stitches that reduce scarring. Four stitches were required to repair his lower lip. "The doctors did an amazing job. Thank goodness he is fine and looks great," says Mai Anh. [Photo shows Thien Nhan the day after his accident.]

Christmas Decorations

Thien Nhan is busily preparing for this Sunday's Christmas concert, when he'll join his preschool classmates in singing carols at Hanoi's Opera House.

In preparation for the event, Thien Nhan's frame walker -- which he obtained in Chicago last August -- will be decorated with festive tinsel garlands and streamers. We'll post photos when available...

Something to Sing About

Today at preschool, Thien Nhan and his classmates spent time practicing singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". The toddlers will perform the song at a school Christmas party at Hanoi's historic Opera House. "It's amazing that when we got him nine months ago he only spoke a few words and now he can sing this song," says his mom, Mai Anh. "Time goes so quickly!"

Playtime

After a few weeks being plagued by colds and flus, Thien Nhan and his brothers, Big Minh and Little Minh, are all healthy again. Check out the cute video link of the boys playing with modelling clay at the Hanoi Children's Palace.

"Winter isn't an easy time for Thien Nhan because cold weather makes his leg stump ache," admits mom, Mai Anh. But the tot is looking forward to spending his first Christmas and Tet with his adoptive family in Hanoi.

http://bnok.vn/nhatkychulinhchi/2008/12/08/965/

Christmas Cheer

Thanks to Hanna's Mum and all of the Saigon Help Thien Nhan volunteers who showed up to help sell Bubbafish toys at last Saturday's HCM City British International Christmas Craft Fair! We sold VND13 million worth of soft, handmade toys, including 50 pieces that went to Smart Kids International School.

In the run-up to Christmas, Bubbafish - a small toy company operated by Thien Nhan's mom, Tran Mai Anh, and good friend Elke Ray - has participated in six craft fairs in Hanoi and HCM City, giving 10 percent of sales towards Thien Nhan's rehab. Sales at these events have contributed VND6 million to Thien Nhan, and raised a lot of interest in his case. Thanks to everyone who helped out!