Waiting Child- Di Di [Edited]

 
Updated 09/11/2012- Di Di has a family!!
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[Edited]

As I've been thinking about this sweet baby, I felt I needed to share another detail with you.  Part of Eliana's diagnosis was that she had a few seizures shortly after being found.  This is not something we have told a lot of people up to this point but considering that this can be a very scary-sounding problem that may keep people from pursuing adopting little Di Di, I wanted to tell you about our experience with that.  In short, it is a non-issue for our daughter.  Of course this doesn't mean that it will be for Di Di.  But please at least think about the fact that this is not a file or a picture, this is a child.  And whatever her needs may be, her greatest need is a family.

It is such an advantage to be able to speak with a physical therapist who has met a child with a diagnosis like this.  Perhaps that is why we love Pat so much!  Hopefully Pat will be available to speak with any interested families as soon as she is home from China.

As soon as I saw this precious little girl's face on a photo listing, she stood out to me.  That was several months ago and this little sweetheart is still waiting for a family.

Di Di is in an orphanage in southern China. She is only 18 months old!  Her special need is albinism.  At one point I knew so little about albinism, but I've been following a couple of blogs of families who have children with this need. You can meet some of them here and here and here.

Pat Marcus met little Di Di when she was in China in November.  She speaks a little bit about her in this webinar.  you can hear about her from 34:09- 34:53.  I'm really hoping that Pat was able to meet her again since she is in China now.

Another detail about this little darling is that she likes music and musical toys.  I always love those little details that help you to see the child.  She is shy and quiet, but slowly warms up as she spends more time with someone.

Little Di Di's file was recently changed to special focus because she had a couple of seizures.  Her file includes updated medical records after the seizures.  Nothing was found that would have caused them. 

[Another edit]

I should have said that Di Di is designated to Gladney through a partnership program with the orphanage she is in.

Please contact me at erinmrtn@yahoo.com if you want more information. 

Go Read This!

Pat is in China. She is in Shanghai right now. She is blogging about it here. I absolutely LOVE her dedication and heart for the children. She says, "Its all about the kids..." and, for her, it really is. She will be blogging on the Superkids Charity Blog regularly during her trip. You can find it in my Blog List. I, for one, can't wait to follow along!

Quietness

We are so blessed to live in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains!  Many evenings we head out to any number of secluded places to hike or sit and watch Baltimore orioles feeding their young or watch the fish jump in various streams and ponds. 

Last evening we went to a very secluded place near the Appalachian Trail.  Keith and the children all went running back a trail and as their voices faded, silence settled around me.  All I could hear was the stream bubbling over the rocks, the wind whispering through the trees, and the birds singing and calling.  I just stood there absorbing it all.  As I stood there and the words to the hymn "Father I Stretch My Hands to Thee" came to my mind.

"Author of faith! to Thee I lift
My weary, longing eyes:
O let me now receive that gift!
My soul without it dies."

I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains: From whence shall my help come?   My help cometh from Jehovah, Who made heaven and earth.  Psalm 121:1,2

My heart is so burdened for all the children in this world who have no one to "mother" them.  No one to care for them.  No one to make them their own.  And my heart cries out to God, "Why?"  Somehow in the stillness and quiet of the woods I found peace and courage to do what I can.  To tell their story to people who might otherwise not hear.

Those little ones rocking themselves in their cribs because they don't have a Mommy to rock them.  I will tell their story.  The older ones who just want to be loved and cherished by their own family.  I will tell their story.  The ones who are unlikely to be chosen by a family.  I will tell their story.  By God's grace I will tell their story to everyone I can!

" In quietness and trust is your strength.” Isaiah 30:15b

I thank the Lord for quietness.  Quietness helps me focus on the truth of His strength.

Methinks I'm Going to do a Bit of Advocating...

And I'm absurdly excited about it!  So far I've had 100% success.  Remember "Xin Xin"?  She has been matched with a family!!

So, when I was communicating with our caseworker at Gladney about advocating for "Xin Xin" I asked her if they ever need volunteers to be involved with Superkids Charity.  She replied that they generally send therapists and doctors to orphanages to provide their services for the children there.  But she did say that she would mention it to the founder of Superkids.  So I figured that that was that, and that if I wanted to be involved in advocacy it wouldn't be through Superkids.

Long story short, Pat Marcus recently contacted me about taking a more active role in Superkids.  I'm not sure what all it will involve but I can't wait to find out!  So stay tuned for further updates!

By the way, Pat is making final preparations for another trip to Shanghai and Jiangxi province.  She is trying raise $3,000 and she has a little over $1,000 raised so far.  If you feel led to contribute, please follow these steps.

1) Go here.
2) Click on the "View Challenge" button beside Superkids.
3) On the left hand side of the window, select "Find a Participant".
4) Enter her name "Patricia Marcus" and click "Search".
5) Click on her name (highlighted in blue).

Best wishes for a successful trip, Pat!!

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!