One of Those Special People

I suppose most families have various people whom they consider special in one way or another.  Someone who touched their family in an unusual way.  It is amazing to think back to all of our varied life experiences and realize how blessed we have been to meet so many special people along the way.

When we first requested to see Eliana's file our caseworker suggested that we contact a therapist by the name of Pat Marcus who had traveled to Shanghai and met Eliana while she was there.  I tried to contact her immediately, anxious to hear what she had to say.  She called me back a few hours later and she answered my questions and offered to speak with Keith or our Dr. if they had questions.  She was very realistic in her report but also very positive and there was no question that she was passionate about finding a family for this adorable little girl.

We were able to meet Pat in person last June and again in September.  We spoke with her a little more about Eliana and about her work with various orphanages in China and Taiwan.  She travels to China a couple of times a year and trains caregivers in orphanages about things like "tummy time",  positioning, and pulling up.  She told me recently that the first several times she visited Shanghai none of the babies were crawling, but when she was there in November she saw a whole room where most of the babies were crawling! 

Pat kissing Eliana when she was in Shanghai in Nov.

Pat is headed to China again next week.  She wrote a blog post about it here.  (She is fundraising for her trip and has the link on her blog post if you care to help in this way.) She said she has a lot of profiles of children she will be meeting.  These are profiles of children given to Gladney.  I think it is just so wonderful that she can meet these children and help to make the profiles come alive for families who are considering adoption.  She often does a webinar about the children she met after she gets home.  She is such a blessing to Gladney families and to the children who are waiting for families!