I found out that I was pregnant with David a matter of days before meeting Hu YuYing properly.  Our paths had crossed weeks earlier and I liked her immediately, but we didn't actually talk to each other for some time after that.  It did not take long for us to become friends.  In fact, I share a stronger bond with her than I have with anyone since my husband came into my life.  She's become one of the dearest friends I have ever known and the amazing thing is, the feeling is mutual! 

She says she never thought that, when she first met me, this little foreigner would become such a close companion.  In many ways, she's like a mother to me and she has definitely filled the role of a Grandma in the lives of my children... 

When I was carrying David, he would always wake up and dance around with joy when he heard her voice.  If she was standing on my right side, then he'd move towards that side of the womb.  If she moved to the left, then within a few seconds, he'd find his way as close to her as he could.

The two of them finally met face to face at three a.m. in the Woman's Hospital of Shijiazhuang. 

I will never forget the way he looked up into her eyes or the smile which spread across her face when she held him for the first time.  Nor will I be able to forget how grateful I was that, in the midsts of minor complications which prevented me from holding my son for hours after his birth, we had someone we both trusted there with us to help us survive the night.

I feel as though we gained two family members in one year.

My Dad calls her our Chinese Guardian Angel.