Miraculous Journey For Abandoned Girl From China
Miraculous Journey For Abandoned Girl From China
Reporting Don Shelby
ST. PAUL (WCCO) ―
Only 10 days after she was born, a young girl named Junfen was abandoned in China because she had a cleft lip and palate. But that isn’t the only hardship the young girl faced. She also has severe scoliosis.
Now, at the age of 7, and here in Minnesota, Junfen is finally getting the medical care that will change her life.
When we first met Junfen, she was getting ready for back surgery. But she had already won the hearts of everyone at Gillette Children’s Hospital in St. Paul.
This first-grader has been in the hospital for seven weeks. A halo was holding her head to prepare her spine to be straightened. Scoliosis had severely curved her back bone and fused her ribs together. There’s no room for her lungs and heart.
Junfen was abandoned as an infant in China with a cleft lip and palate. She had some surgery for that but her scoliosis left her tipped to the right.
As an older child with medical issues, Junfen’s chances for adoption were not great. Then Jerry and Karin Freihammer came along.
“We saw this picture of a spunky little girl,” said Karin.
“On the steps of the orphanage, and the smile,” said Jerry. “One shoulder very prominent up. That was the picture that caught us.”
The Freihammers had hoped to adopt an infant. But with nearly a 5-year wait, they decided a child with special needs needed their love.
“A child’s waiting, we’re waiting, why not get together,” said Karin.
They talked with doctors at Gillette before adopting Junfen. And they knew surgery in Minnesota could change her life.
“Our concern was with the scoliosis because her curve is over 100 degrees and it was progressing,” said Karin, “So surgery, it’s a must, it wasn’t really an option.”
Surgeons inserted Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Ribs, or VEPTR, along Junfen’s spine. It’s a delicate operation on such a small child. And there will be surgical adjustments every six months until she stops growing. That will probably be at least another five years.
Six days after her surgery, Junfen is home. She loves playing on the computer and is adjusting to the change.
“She saw her back in the mirror for the first time and she goes, ‘Oh, my back is straight,’” said Karin. “And it’s just a whole new world for her now.”
Junfen still feels some pain from the surgery and prefers to be carried.
It’s not that the curve of her spine ever kept Junfen from doing anything she was determined to do. She adapted to being off center. Now the little girl from Wuhan, China will learn a new kind of balance.
“We’re very excited about the results,” said her parents. “It’s almost a miracle.”
Junfen has only lived here in Minnesota for about a year and she is perfectly fluent in English. She’s attending an immersion school in St. Paul because her parents want to make sure she remembers her Chinese.
