I've searched . . .

. . . with no success. When we were in Guiping in June 2007, we visited Maya's finding site -- the Women's and Children's Hospital of Guiping. That's the gate above, and according to Maya's abandonment certificate, she was found at the gate.

I've never fully accepted that, and I'm not exactly sure why. I had random pieces of information around which I built an alternative scenario. 1. She was found on the third day after her birth -- the day women and babies are released from the hospital following a birth in China. 2. At age 2 months, she was only 6 pounds and "not doing well." 3. She might have been a preemie. 4. If parents can't pay hospital fees, or are unwilling to pay fees for a girl child, they sometimes walk out and leave the baby behind. 5. [I didn't know this at the time -- I discovered it only after getting a copy of Maya's orphanage file -- but it supports my theory!] Maya was only 4 pounds when she was found.

I think it's possible that Maya was born in this hospital, in the labor and delivery unit pictured above. I think it's possible she never actually left the hospital. She might have been a preemie, or sick, or both, requiring expensive care beyond the means of her parents. Or, it could be she did leave with her parents, but was abandoned at the gate.

So when we visited, I asked our guide to help me track down any information about girls born at the hospital at or around the date we have for Maya's birth. I said he should tell them that since Maya was now my daughter, I felt responsible for paying any medical bills she incurred at the hospital, and that I would pay them if given proof that she was born there and cared for there.

Well, we got shuttled around to three or four different offices, each seeming to be higher in the hierarchy. But the answer was the same at each office -- that information was private, and could not be released without an order from the police department or a judge. One of the higher-ups, though, did say that finding a child at their gate did not mean they were born there. He said many people abandon children there because they know the child will receive good care. So my theory might be just that -- theoretical.

And that was that. No more information than there is water in this fountain! I didn't try for a court order or a police order. Maybe that will be my next step.