he best sight in the world yesterday was walking in to the hospital recovery room and watching Willow eagerly slurping his fruity shake from the hands of our beaming vet, Heather. Bright and alert and standing on all four paws in his recovery cage, Willow is now on his third day of a new life following the removal of a 4.3-kg tumour from his liver. 

Chowing down on a full breakfast - and two oatmeal biscuits for desert (with vet permission of course) - this beautiful bear has melted our hearts as he recovers from such major, traumatic surgery and yet continues to gaze at us all with such trust in his eyes. 

Again my admiration for our team here in China knows no bounds - they have taken it in turns throughout the night to work in shifts and check on Willow as the minutes of his recovery tick by. As each new morning sees him stronger still, we become more hopeful that our miracle bear will live up to his name.

Here's a photo of beautiful Willow enjoying the sunshine. It was taken about a year ago.