Baby Tian You was brought to Beijing on 11 th April 2005 at 5 days old. He was abandoned on the street and brought to Blue Sky for medical assistance, after being sent back to the orphanage to die by the hospital in the town where he was found. He was born with cloaca exstrophy (bladder born on the outside) and imperforate anus, among other defects like inguinal hernia, genitals that need repair and reconstruction, born with only one kidney.
We admitted him immediately into a children's hospital in Beijing, where doctors basically sat on his case for 2 weeks, not quite knowing how to proceed with medical attention. The doctors told us that they were consulting with other surgeons at other hospitals to figure out what to do with Tian You, at which point, we decided that they were unfamiliar and unconfident of cloaca exstrophy. We were recommended another surgeon by another volunteer group, and immediately transferred the child on 22 April 2005. From discussions with the doctors there, we believed that they were able to help the child, and we didn't have any other options. Surgery was performed 18 days later on the 10 May 2005. 5 days post-surgery while still in ICU, the child had a wound infection, and the closed bladder ruptured. The child was released to Blue Sky on 3 June 2005, with his bladder still exposed, and we were told to return when he was about 6 months old.
We decided to send him to Singapore for the next stage of surgery in December 2005. He had many difficulties upon arriving in Singapore.
28th December 2005: Tian You arrived in Singapore on the 10th of December 2005. Unfortunately, he had a high fever after arriving and his left inguinal hernia came out. He was admitted into the hospital immediately and it was determined that he also had pneumonia. He underwent emergency surgery for his hernia, and treatment for the pneumonia. He was discharged a week later. His actually planned surgery had been postponed until the 4th of January 2006 .
News Update
2nd jan 05 - Tian You has been admitted to hospital and will undergo bladder repair surgery on the 4th of Jan 2006 (at KK Women's and Children's Hospital in Singapore.
3rd Jan 05- Tests completed for tomorrow's surgery. He has been approved to go ahead with surgery tomorrow. We have been advised that he will be in the operating theatre for several hours, as his surgery is very complicated.
Tian You in hospital today 3Jan05.
5th Jan06 - TY underwent 6 to 7 hours of surgery yesterday, and is now in recovery in the ICU. He is doing well.
"Tian Yu has had a setback. As I explained initially before he came over, sometimes these cases(actually often) are complicated and diffricult, and associated with morbidity. Tian Yu had an abdominal and bladder rupture of the new bladder on Thursday in the ward. He was rushed to the operating theatre, it was cleaned up, Iinserted a new and larger urinary tube to the new bladder, and washed it out. As it is formed be small bowel, there was some mucus accumulating, and the inital catheter although draining all the time initially, was perhaps not large enough. Anyway now he has two catheters draining, and I have put him in ICU and sedated him to relax the abdomen to allow this some time to heal. With the deformity he has the abdominal wall is a little deficientand there is some tension in trying to suture everything together. So far he is Ok after the second surgery.
MAY 2007 - help Tian You !
Since returning to Beijing in April 2006, Tian You's bladder remains slightly exposed, and is protected with a Dacron mesh over the wound. His caretakers have to manually relieve his bladder every 3 hours, by catherisation through a stoma on his abdomen. This procedure puts him at high risk of getting a bladder infection, and he has had one almost every month. Some have almost been fatal. His single kidney has already suffered damage because of the reflux of urine. He is at risk of renal failure if this reflux is not corrected. He is also fitted with a colostomy bag that collects his bowel movements, and we have been told that his condition is so severe, that it is impossible to create a working anus. He will wear a bag for life.
TIan You walks with a wide gait. He needs pelvic osteotomy, and this will also relieve the tension on his wound area, and give it chance to properly close and heal. At some point, he will also need genital reconstruction.
We have researched and been recommended Dr Gearhart of Johns Hopkins Children Center, in Baltimore, USA. Dr Gearhart has waived his fees for Tian You, but the hospital costs are unavoidable. Tian You's multiple surgeries required (as assessed by Dr Gearhart) is estimated at USD350000. However, the most desperate life-saving surgery needed (reflux surgery) can be done first - and this estimate is under USD 100000. We are attempting to raise this amount ! If you are interested in helping Tian You and giving him a chance at life, please make your donation via Children's Hope International Foundation. They are a registered 501c charity in the US, and a reputable organization that we work closely with here in China. They have agreed to help us to collect funds on Tian You's behalf, and we are extremely grateful for their support. Donations can be made via their website:
http://orphan.childrenshope.net/Make-a-Donation.186.0.html and click on Category "Medical" and "China" and then go to page 2. Tian You is listed under Emergency Surgeries. Indicate again in the comment box that the donation is for Fu Tian You . Please also email tianyou@blueskyhealinghome.org to let us know that you have made a donation. CHI will issue a tax receipt for your donation. Donations can also be made by US checks.
Here is Dr Gearhart's letter in support of Tian You.
For the latest on Tian You, please visit his blog at :
Since
opening
in
June
2004,
the
number
of
children
BlueSky
has helped
as
of
15-nov-08
88 !
A
Medical
and
Physical
Therapy
Foster
Home
for
Orphans
in
China
Donors List to Tian You's medical fees at KK Hospital
In Singapore: Han Seng Juan, Vincent Ang, Karen Goh, David Lew, Loh Chong Huei, Bob Teh, Alex Kok, Richard Yeo, Tony Yeo, Frederick Hong, Clinton & Pheona, Jamie Wong, Mark Wong, Bernard Ngiam, Patrick Yap, Francis Tang, Chan Man Wai, Tham Wai Meng, Tay Kim Seng, Chua Eng Sin, Rose Fung, Wilson Lee, David Lew,
Special thanks to Karen Goh, Han Seng Juan and Wallace Tan.
Special thanks to the The Thio Family.
In Beijing: South AFrican Ball Charity Raffle, ANZA Melbourne Cup Raffle, BlueSky Charity Luncheon in Aid of Tian You
And many other wellwishers that prefer to remain anonymous.
We thank you all for your kind contribution to his medical fees. We had tried to apply for free surgery funding via a foundation, but Tian You was deemed to have a poor medical prognosis (meaning he would not be considered "normal" even after surgery) and hence rejected under the funding criteria. As a result, we have to pay for his medical fees, but KK hospital has said that they will assist us in keeping the costs as low as possible.
11th jan06 - TY has been having a slow recovery. He is still in the high dependency ward. He was not taking too well to his milk feedings, and has had a slight fever as well. He's on pain medication, and yesterday, his stomach was bloated and hard. The doctors and nurses are carefully monitoring him, and today he seems to be in a happier mood, so hopefully the worst is over. The pictures show his colostomy bag for his bowel movements, and you can see that there is a lot of air in the bag because of excessive gas.
Picture taken 10th Jan06
6thJan06- TY is out of ICU and recovering in the high dependency unit. The surgeons say he is doing very well, and will most likely be transferred to the regular ward soon. His bladder has been replaced completely. As he was born with such a severe deformity, the surgeons did not recommend creating an anus for him, as he would not have normal function later in life. So he will have a colostomy (opening through his abdomen) for his bowel movements for the rest of his life, and will have to use colostomy bags. This is the same situation for his bladder function. He will also need to catherize or use a bag for the rest of his life, from an opening in his stomach. We can only hope that despite this lifetime inconvenience, that Tian You will still find a family willing to love and adopt him. He will stay at Blue Sky for as long as it takes to find him this family ! With the funds left from his surgery (if any!), we will need to purchase colostomy and urostomy bags for his bowel movements and urine from the stomach. See: http://www.ostomates.org/bags.html for more information on the supplies he will need for the rest of his life.
Update: Tian You had successful surgery in the US in Sept of 2007. He returned to Beijing 2 months later. He was adopted in May 2008, and is now living in the US with his new parents and the family dog.
This was the Appeal letter that went our to friends of Blue Sky. Amazingly, we managed to raise the amount needed, and Tian You's life was saved by Dr Gearhart and his team.
Tian You also had a blog during his surgery in the US.
28th December 2005: Tian You arrived in Singapore on the 10th of December 2005. Unfortunately, he had a high fever after arriving and his left inguinal hernia came out. He was admitted into the hospital immediately and it was determined that he also had pneumonia. He underwent emergency surgery for his hernia, and treatment for the pneumonia. He was discharged a week later. His actually planned surgery had been postponed until the 4th of January 2006 . 
