If you are just now starting to read Cokie's story blog down 4 posts to the beginning.
The child is in the operation room on the 7th floor. Her sick room is on the 5th is now deserted. The clean and white sheet on her bed is spread out neatly, spotless. A cloth moppet lies beside her pillow. The portable stereo stands on her bedside table.
It's 12:30. Four hours have passed since the child was brought into the operating room. Director Qiao comes out and says, "The operation went smoothly."
April the 8th.
A nurse feeds congee to the child. "She can eats a lot" says the nurse pointing to a cup in her hands." The child's eyes are are now burning bright. The child's legs are still bandaged and suspended. Her hands are still tied up for fear she'll scratch herself. Her head can move and her eyes travel everywhere.
"One more month and she can go home", says Director Qiao.
Going home is the word you normally use for for people who have a home to go to. But when the month is over, who waits for the child? The only clue is the statement the father made about staying in the Jurong Hospital. but after checking the Jurong Hospital has never had a patient like this.
She has no where to go.
"After leaving the hospital, she still needs attention. She still needs treatment. The road is still very long."
"Later she will be able to walk. Her hands are fine. Her brain is not affected, she will be able to earn a living."
After leaving Director Qiao's office I go back to see the child.
"She is always crying for her mother, now she falls asleep", says the nurse. She is sleeping, her face sticking to the moppet's face. The nurse wipes her tears with a wet gauze.
"She will suffer a lot", says the doctor.
She is only one and a half.
For me this is a very special interview. The child has captured my heart. She has affected and involved me. I am the fortunate father of a four year old girl. I feel pain for this unfortunate little child. I am indeed touched by her suffering. So in her name I want to thank all the kind heart people and mention them by name, even though they don't seem to want it: Director Qiao Chen from the facility of burns in the Nanjing Red Cross Hospital, he gave a new life to this child, the chairman of the hospital's Labor union Guo Ming; through his efforts many more people were drawn to this child, the doctors and nurses of the facility of burns, Yang Yongsheng, Chen Yong;the nurses: Wang Yan, Ding Xiaoyan, Tian Liang, Liang Linghong, Tong Kaimian, Lan Zhihong; they are real angels, they have drawn the child out of a nightmare into comfort. On this list we must mention Miss Zong, who brought the first donation to this child. And also there are Li Xia's fellow patients, they brought her the most immediate warmth and friendship. My list is not complete because all those who took pain to help the child, even the ones who uttered a sigh on her behalf, all show a part of goodness of mankind.
At last I want to speak a word to the father and mother of the child. The child misses you. When she is in pain, she cries out to you. When she is afraid or hungry, she cries out to you. In her dreams she cries for you. When she is helpless and alone she wants you to be there. In the one and half years you are all she knows. You were the ones closes to her. You were also the one that hurt her the most.
Maybe you have your own difficulties, maybe you had many unavoidable reason. But nobody has the right to let an innocent child cry forever. Please give the child a future.
The was after "the month" was up, and the hospital had put Kong Wei Xin (Cokie) in the orphanage-- after she had been abandoned in the hospital. Most likely the very first time, she had had no attention at all. I took this picture the same day I spotted her there. She was in deep depression. While many other children were up playing around her, she only looked around expressionless. The fire had moved bones in her foot and she was crippled here and could not walk. So, the hospital had saved her life, but she still needed many more surgeries.
