The other children....

Jerry has mentioned that when we were discerning to adopt Alex, there was a list of children we were praying for, and we felt it was one of these children.  I want to list them here...one, Molly, is getting adopted (yay!!!), but the others are waiting.  Maybe you know someone who can adopt them...spread the word!  They all deserve a home and don't have a good future in their home country at all.  They all live in different regions of the country from Alex, so there is no way we can even see them.

Alexander and Kory
They don't have to be adopted together but could be.  Both have Down Syndrome, and Alexander is considered happy and high functioning, while Kory has great personality.... Alexander also has a huge adoption grant, $8000!  That is a massive help to the adopting family right away!  They also live in a region where the court often waives the 10 day wait for special needs adoptions, which reduces overall costs.

Reese is a 5 yr old girl with CP, in a wheelchair, very friendly and has said she wants a family of her own.  I know, that breaks my heart.  She is in a wheelchair; at the moment, she is in one of the better orphanages....

Francine , to my mind, is barely special needs--she has CP but has learned to walk (albeit with a tiptoe walk) on her own.  She's pretty strong!  She is also a charming child, and I talked with a mom who met her--she thinks she would do really great in a family!  I could give you this mom's name for more information.

Genesis was off our list almost immediately because a family committed to adopt her--and then had to pull out after we committed.  :-(  She is blind and does have some hearing problems.  On the other hand, she is smiling and playing on a rocking horse in the picture....  Unfortunately, she is not in a good place now.  But with hearing aids (perhaps?) and attention, she could do so much better....  Reece's Rainbow has more information about Genesis, so contact them for details.  Yay!!!!  Genesis has a family coming! 

Reid also has CP and what looks like a laundry list of diagnoses (note that some of the diagnoses listed basically say the same thing, different words!), but seems to be doing well.  Let's be clear: epilepsy can be controlled with meds.  Delayed physical development is the norm for kids who grow up in orphanages--even in the best, it is not an ideal situation for kids and their bodies show it.  Mental retardation--OK, maybe.  But kids in these circumstances have some mental delays--again, in the best orphanages, it still isn't ideal for brain development.   Spastic diplegia means the CP is primarily in his legs.  Crossed eyes can be helped by wearing a patch.  Etc.  This is all to say I read this and think, basically, Reid has CP.  Period.

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All of these children are 5 or 6.  That means they are available for adoption NOW.  (Their country currently has restrictions on adopting some of these "special needs" until age 5, but these kids are free and clear for international adoption.)  It also means that they are on the edge of getting transferred to an institution (if they aren't there already, like Genesis).  Care is generally much worse in institutions.  Adoption is their ticket out.  Please spread the word! And contact us (or better yet Reece's Rainbow) if you are interested in adopting any of these children yourself.

--Susan