Several days into our winter break from Western Kentucky University, my boyfriend Eric and I were packing to come be with my family in Shanghai for the holidays. As we were making a few purchases at the grocery store just before leaving, I told him I needed to get a few things to decorate the Baobei’s beds with. We ran through the craft aisles picking out some wooden animals and foam stickers that are like the ones you all have seen since last summer (Eric, my mom Jennie, and I, alongside the nurses and Tingting put sticker sand posters everywhere on the fifth floor.) We arrived home and after a few days of jet-lag, we were able to return to the familiar halls of SCMC, decorations in hand, and were greeted by Dr. Bao, Head Nurse, the rest of the nursing staff, Lilly, and Jessica. After a few minutes of reunion hugs, we had to see our new Baobei!
Neither of us speak very advanced Mandarin, but Eric and I trotted over to Joe’s bed (who we affectionately call Joe-Joe or Joe Baby) and hugged all over his Ayi. Then we woke Joe up kissing him and laughing at the funny faces he was making at us. After we gave Joe a good diaper change and a nice big bottle, he drifted back to sleep and we broke out the decorations.
Ayi helped us, giggling the whole time, as we added a rainbow of colors to Joe’s room. Eric is quite tall and only needed a chair to raise him high enough to put stickers on the ceiling for Joe to see every time he opened his little eyes. I was by Joe’s side with Dr. Bao for a few procedures and even began calling Ayi our “Momma.” Although we couldn’t communicate that well, it was the love that did all the talking we needed. Every day, we hugged and kissed and played with Joe – it was like we had been old friends for years. No one has ever been so kind to my mother, Eric, or I. Eventually Joe got a roommate and Ayi taught the brand new parents of a sick baby boy how to take care of him! They also got some stickers and we welcomed them into our little family, showing them how to make bottles, take their babies’ temperature, and not to panic each time they heard a sneeze or saw some spittle.
Several days into our stay, we were blessed to receive two more Baobeis and decorated their beds as well. Some of the parents of other children in the hospital began to ask if they could have some of the stickers, and of course we gave them a heaping handful, and the sticker explosion of 2009 began…
Each day we would come to the hospital, people would crowd Joe’s room and we were all confused why we had become so popular. Eventually, Ayi pointed to the stickers in an attempt to explain, and as the crowd of onlookers got excited, we realized we had started something. By the end of the day, every headboard above every bed on the fifth floor was covered in vibrantly shaded shapes and so were the children. At one point, we even saw a small boy who had been so down just a few minutes earlier take off running through the hall with stickers plastered all over his face, laughing all the way. I can’t begin to tell you how many pictures we had to take and how many times we were called “Auntie” and “Uncle” for so many different children. We laughed and hugged every family as they helped us add a little “fun” to every bed. I couldn’t believe how well received we were and how excited everyone was over some stickers!
Once we returned back to the states, I really began to think about what had happened at the hospital. At first, maybe it was about having some stickers for the kids, but after a while, everyone was so excited because of the love and respect we were all showing to one another. It was the hugs, the kisses, the laughter and the joy of community that now filled the hallways; that’s what made the difference. We used every single sticker we had, hugged everyone we met, and realized love is all that matters sometimes.
Whenever you make your next visit to SCMS, say hello to the families and give them a hug for me. Share your love, brighten the spirits of the children, and be the person you’d want to meet while in the hospital with your own sick child. Be the person who makes a difference.
That’s the reason we’re all here with Baobei: because we want to fight for the lives of these children. This isn’t about the short-term – this is about the long haul. These children are so small, so sick, and yet they are innocent lives which are brand new. The joy of life must be treasured, no matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice, because as citizens not of a country, but of the entire world, we have the responsibility of looking out for one another. When you become a part of this foundation, you quickly realize this. All of our volunteers help because we believe that life is precious and that love, accompanied by the work of the gifted doctors at SCMC, can cure so many things. We have the ability, the drive, and the open arms to care for some of the sickest children in the world. While it is expensive, hard work, and difficult to always understand, we do this work because these children cannot stand up for themselves. Instead of living our lives in selfishness and ignorant bliss, we instead choose to live life doing the right thing and helping those who need it the most. Our volunteers aren’t here for self validation or for a temporary stint of work at the hospital – they’re here for good. Even if not in the physical sense, each and every volunteer from Baobei has a spirit that never leaves the hospital or our babies because we have a love that “sticks.”
Lauren E. Mauser
