The thing I most want to be able to communicate to people who do not have the privilege of seeing all of these incredible children is the intrinsic, individual value of each of them personally. They are little people with likes and dislikes and their own personality and abilities. They are lumped together in institutions, but they are so precious and valuable in their own right.
I've been sitting here trying to choose a few favorite moments from the week to share with you. It is so hard to choose just a few!
Starting in Shanghai, I'd have to say seeing how well Suzanna looks was a highlight. She is a little girl with OI who did not look so great the last time we saw her. She had broken her hip and had been in bed for over 4 months at that time. She had licked her lips and all around them raw just from the sheer boredom of being alone and unstimulated so much. But this time they carried her into the room and her little eyes were bright and she looked so beautiful!
In Changsha I was anxious to see Levi. I love him so much and we are looking for a family for him right now so I wanted to see again for myself how he is doing. And, oh my, is he ever doing well! He is so, so cute and "typical boyish". To see the little sparkle in his eyes and watch him interact with the other children made my heart smile!
The first orphanage we went to in the Jiangxi province was Yichun. By far my favorite moment of that day was seeing how excited little Courtney was over the helmet Keely brought for her! It was beyond adorable.
Next was Jian. Here I got to watch as Jaxon was told about his family. He loved, loved, loved the photo album they sent and kept touching and kissing their faces in the pictures. Here we also had the opportunity to go visit a group of of older kids with more significant needs whom we have known for several years. They seem to remember us and were all reaching out for touch and attention. Seeing them there and then walking away again was so wonderful and so difficult all at the same time.
I have a little favorite at Xingyu, so it is always pretty safe to assume that the highlight of my time there will be seeing Samson. He is doing well, though his heart condition is significant. The best news about Samson is that his adoption paperwork is almost completed! Please let me know if you are interested in adopting him!
I have to mention a couple of other Xingyu children here. There is a little girl for whom we don't have an advocacy name but she just wrapped her little self around my heart! She was so proud of herself for going up and down this little set of steps there. Her smile just says it all!
And then there was another little girl who was blind. As Janell put her hand on her little chest she wrapped both of her little hands around Janell's hand. She was such a sweetheart!
The little girls with the Hello Kitty shirt looks like she has Apert's. I reached out to another mama parenting a daughter from China with Aperts to see if she might be able to help you advocate for her.
ReplyDeleteHi, there. The little girl in the Hello Kitty t-shirt with the fused fingers appears to have Apert Syndrome. My daughter, also from China, has this. The little girl needs to have her pinkies and thumbs separated ASAP to prevent stunting the growth of her other fingers. My daughter had this done in Changsha, Hunan very well before I got her. The little girl also needs major cranial surgery. Surgeons in Texas are the most skilled and have done surgeries for charity of this magnitude on Chinese children. If she's paper-ready for adoption, I can advocate for her on my blog and see if my agency would put her on their special interest list.
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