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“Lyra is home now and adjusting well. She is a very smart little girl with a sweet and playful personality, who has stolen our hearts!” wrote the Andersons, in a letter to China Care. “Thank you for the care given to her in China. You saved her life.”

 

Lyra, who was born with a small hole in her heart, was abandoned in Taiyuan, a city in the northern Shanxi province. At four months old, she arrived at China Care fragile and sickly, weighing less than ten pounds. Doctors predicted Lyra’s hole would close on its own and expected her condition to improve. Instead, she grew weaker each day, eventually lacking any energy to sit, smile or move her arms and legs. Lyra did not even have the strength to eat and she struggled to breathe. A return visit to the doctor revealed that the hole in her heart was larger than previously thought. Lyra immediately underwent open heart surgery and, after a week in the hospital, spent several months recuperating. She battled numerous bouts of pneumonia before and after surgery, but fought to survive.

Upon her adoption and arrival in the United States, Lyra went through numerous additional tests. Her pediatric cardiologist recently proclaimed her heart in “wonderful” shape and declared that he had no concerns for her future. Though, he did advise that she avoid contact sports such as hockey and football. That news didn’t seem to upset her parents. “I think we can handle those restrictions!” Robin Anderson happily confessed.