Today we had our weekly volunteers come to CURE Niger. They played with the kids and had some art time. Habiba was hard at work making and decorating a crown. She had some trouble cutting out the crown, but as soon as we showed her how to, she did great. She is a natural! Pray for her as she waits for her leg to heal, that she will be patient and careful.

Our apologies. Habiba did not have surgery today. We accidentally posted the status for Rahaatou (Habiba's sister) here on Habiba's account. But the news stands, Raahatou's surgery went well. Habiba says thank you for your prayers and that she can't wait until Raahatou has recovered enough to play with her again!

Habiba's surgery was a big success! The doctors worked on the angle of her left leg and inserted a big pin which will make sure the leg maintains the correction as it heals. It was a nice and straightforward procedure and Habiba is resting up in the ward now!

Habiba is glad we had art therapy today! She said that art therapy helps her take her mind off of her sister, Rahaatou, who is going in for surgery. The whole day, Habiba has missed her mom and her sister Rahaatou as they've been in the ward getting ready. Please pray for Habiba not to stress too much and also pray for her sister as she gets her surgery!

Habiba can still not move around as she pleases because of her cast. Today, our story time took place by the guesthouse so it was even easier than normal for her to get there and she had no excuse! She participated in the coloring activity and she said that we better take a photo of her and her coloring because it has been a long time since she had her picture taken. After that, we just took some time to catch up with her. She told us that having to use a walker is hard and that she just wants to be better so she can walk normally. Please keep Habiba in your prayers on pray for a speedy recovery.

Habiba is doing great as she is now getting used to walking with her walker. Today we participated in an activity that was less physically demanding and that was exactly what Habiba needed. She was tired from the walk over from the guesthouse so she was excited to see that today's activity was to draw with chalk. Keep her in your prayers as she continues to heal and that she may regain her ability to walk again real quick!

Habiba is doing well. So well that she has been discharged! But before she left the ward, we got the opportunity to capture a moment between her and Salamatou from our spiritual staff as she talked and joked around with Habiba. Habiba is pumped that she gets to go back to the guesthouse. She says the ward is boring and since she can't walk because of the cast, it would be nice to see new things from time to time. Pray for her as she goes back to the guesthouse that everything will be fine and that nothing would slow down her healing process.

Habiba's pin adjustment went well yesterday. She did end up having to get a cast in order to keep everything in place for the first bit of time. She's not pumped about this, but she says it wasn't near as bad as she was thinking it would be! Also, a solid orange wedge does wonders to lift one's spirits back up!

Habiba is once again back in the ward. This time she will be getting one of the pins in her le readjusted. She is happy to be in the ward, but is a little nervous about what she will face and if she will feel pain after the surgery. Pray for her so that everything goes well and that the healing process later will go smoothly!

Habiba's younger sister, Rahaatou, went in for a small procedure yesterday and, today, Habiba got to go to the ward and check up on her! Good news is that Rahaatou is doing great and Habiba will have her sister back with her in the guesthouse soon!

Habiba had a wonderful day today. She and our other patients got late Christmas presents in the morning and now they doing art therapy with some weekly volunteers! Today they played corn hole, painted toilet paper rolls for the body of the butterflies and then cut out the wings. We're thankful for creative distractions!

Habiba was just enjoying her time as she waited her turn to go for surgery. Today, she insisted that she be allowed to braid our storyteller Ezy's hair. She took the opportunity when he sat down to play with kids. "Since he has long hair like a girl, it should be braided like a girl," she explained. We are so happy she is here with us!

Habiba has gotten herself rescheduled. She will need to see the doctor again. Pray for her not to get discouraged as she waits. She had a great day, she was on the playground playing with her friends! She said the only way we can leave the playground is if we take a picture of her on the slide sliding down. It is great to see her enjoying her self!

Yay! Habiba is clear for surgery. She went for pre-anesthesia today and will be ready for next week. Habiba was part of a Bible story reading about Esther. She then got cookies for answering a question which you can see she was pretty excited about! Please continue to pray for her and her upcoming surgery!

Habiba made it back for her follow up appointment today! She's walking without her walker and loving her freedom. The doctors say she's doing well and, after today's appointment, they've scheduled her for another follow-up in January so our little lady is on her way once again!

Habiba has once again gone home, but not until after she and her sister Rahaatou got to jointly, as they do everything, be in a fashion show! They modeled some clothes made by a local seamstress and had a great time. Right now, they're scheduled to be back here for a follow up appointment in three months!

Habiba took a break from her physical therapy and joined us for an art therapy session where she decorated this frame for a picture of herself! It was a chance for us to sit down with her and explain that we're all made in God's image and He loves us even more than we can imagine!

It's been six months and five days since Habiba first came to us and she is almost unrecognizable now! Her legs are straight and her wounds are healed up. And to boot, the doctors have made the call that she actually will not need that walking boot we were talking about! She's still using a walker to get around, but even that won't last long!

Habiba (looking at the camera) and her sister Rahaatou made it back for their post op check up today! Her legs are looking nice and straight and the doctors are pleased with the healing. A small wound did open up under her cast so we're going to treat that and make sure it heals up nicely. In the meantime, we're also going to be making a walking boot for Habiba that'll help protect her leg as she's in the final stages of healing!

Habiba is doing great and we were able to deliver several of your get well messages to her today along with a little beanie baby bear that was donated to us. She is in high spirits and, adding to her high spirits, she was discharged today. Even though she's leaving the ward, please continue to keep her in your prayers as there is still a lot of healing to do!

Habiba had a visit from Hanatou and Salamatou from our spiritual department today! They've actually been visiting her every day, this is just the first day where we captured a photo of it. They got to check up on her, talk to her mother, and pray for them both!

Day 1 post op and Habib seems to be doing amazing! The doctors saw her on their rounds this morning and are pleased with how she did over the night. No serious bleeding. No complaints of swelling and the cast being too tight. Just firm determination to heal up from this surgery and have two straight legs!

Habiba's surgery was today and it went great! We attacked her left bow leg this time. It was a long and complicated procedure where the doctors essentially took out a wedge of bone from her leg. This allowed them to then break her leg straight before putting in some hardware to hold it straight as she heals! It was a big procedure and she'll undoubtedly be feeling it when she wakes up. If you could join us in praying for strength for this little one, that would be amazing!

Habiba has been admitted to the ward for surgery number 2! We've hardly ever see kids this excited the morning of their surgery!

Habiba came back for her follow up appointment today (along with her sister Rahaatou) and the doctors are pumped about how well she is doing! They said the bone has healed up enough that we can talk about taking out the pins that are in there. They also discussed the possibility about installing some permanent hardware in her leg which will strengthen it as she continues to grow.

Habiba's grandmother was able to figure out some transportation home for the two of them and they left early this morning. We're a little bummed we didn't get a proper goodbye with them, but we're pumped Habiba gets to go home and we're excited to see her when she comes back in a few weeks for her follow up appointment!

Our little lady has had a pretty slow week. She's just been hanging around the hospital while learning to walk with both her new cast and new walker. She's got a great attitude about the whole ordeal and we just ask you be praying for her as she goes through all these adjustments!

Habiba had a good weekend. She's started off this week with a trip to the x-ray in order to make sure everything is still where it needs to be. Her leg looked good and the doctors say she can be discharged! Since she lives pretty far away from the hospital, she'll be staying at our guest house for the time being.

We got to spend some time with Habiba this morning. She's feeling pretty rough as we all would after such a major surgery, but, ultimately, she is doing well. She'll need to stay in the ward for a few more days to make sure there are no complications, but she is on her way to healing! Please be praying for strength and determination for this little lady!

Habiba's surgery was long, but straight forward. The doctors took out a wedge of bone which allowed them to essentially break her leg straight before putting in some hardware and casting the whole new leg up! Surgery is never fun, but she should be able to heal up from this one pretty fast!

Habiba has been admitted to the ward. She's a little hesitant with her new surroundings, but she's ready to get started! The doctors have decided to tackle her right, knock-knee first and, once that's complete, we'll take a look at that left, bow-leg of hers!