He is not alone

This sweet young man is my son. I rescued him two weeks ago from the bondage of a Ukrainian orphanage. 

After the Revolution and gain of independence many soldiers came home with missing limbs and other disabilities. Leaders decided that seeing such people would bring sadness to the already weeping country. So they locked them away in institutions. 

It became the norm to not see such people in the public. 

A child born with a disability is often considered by society as a curse.  

So it is the norm for those children to never come home from the hospital. 

Or doctors have been known to give parents contact info so they can have their organs harvested. 

In the black market. 

In return the family will gain a small amount of cash. 

Children left behind will be in an baby house OR orphanage until age 5. 

At age 5 they are then transferred. 

To an adult MENTAL institution, often for disabilities only physical. 

85% of these children will die within the first year of transfer. 

What happens to the remaining 15%?

They hang on and wait. 

1.For Family. 

2.For LOVE. 

3.For Death. 

Generally #3 

BUT SOMETIMES THERE IS HOPE. 

Organizations such as Maya's hope provides caretakers and medical interventions to orphanages in Ukraine that will ALLOW it. 

Most think the kids are better left to die. 

Remember they are a curse. 

They are considered a vegetable. 

I found my son through Maya's hope. 

He was 1 of 4 special needs orphans that I brought to America yesterday. 

Meet Daniel. 

He will be 16 in two weeks and he would have became unavailable for adoption due to his age. 

I am so lucky to have found him in time. 

When I first met him he weighed 22lbs at almost 16. 

He was so drugged he was choking on his tongue and had no idea I exist. But I knew he existed. I saw Daniel. I saw my son. 

We took Daniel to the hospital right away when we landed so that we could address the very serious situation of Refeeding syndrome. His labs were VERY BAD but not as bad as I would expect from a child in such dyer situation.  Looking at him you would not believe he has survived such a life. But the truth is he has been in this nightmare almost his entire life. He adapted and this is his norm. He has non working shunts in locations that are not ideal. But we recently found out  they are causing no real threat and it would be more of a risk to remove them so they will remain. 

His hemoglobin was only 3 which low is considered 14. So he required an immediate blood transfusion. Of all his labs only his electrolytes were in normal range. Although all labs were severely  under normal range they expected them to be much much worse due to his visual state. No child in America would survive such low numbers. He on paper is barely alive compared to normal standards but this has became his norm and he has adapted to survive. He has been in this condition for many years. He did very well receiving the new blood and it brought his hemoglobin up to a still low 4.4 but it is good progress and his color is already starting to emerge. That is one positive step on a long path of recovery. 

He has gained a couple pounds already in our care. We have had him two weeks already but in Ukraine. If you have ever wondered what it would be like for a 5 year old child to be placed in an adult mental institution in a dark cold room starved, and  left to die..... look no more, I found him and it is very sad. But I couldn't continue knowing and do nothing. We brought him home and call him son. 

HE IS NOT ALONE IN THIS STATE OF DISASTER. 

The smell, sights, sounds and realization that MOST will never escape this state has left my heart shattered and it will forever haunt me. Most will not have a second chance like Daniel. We can't always expect others to do the right thing but you always can do the right thing even if it is the hardest thing you will ever do in your life. You must be the change you wish to see or you can't expect change. Casting stones only builds walls. Walls only further hide the pain it doesn't erase it. I wanted to be so mad about the people who did this but If it stopped at being mad then I might as well be letting it happen too. Our boy is tough, he has survived. He is loved and love makes us stronger and I can't wait to share all the progress he will have in his future.

As I stated above there are others. Others who need you like Daniel needed me. If  you would like to know more on how to adopt one of these children please visit the Reece's Rainbow web site. There are many Special needs orphans listed from all over the world. All longing for the care and treatment they deserve. 

If your heart is lead specifically to children in Ukraine in the condition as my son Daniel I can give you more iformation but please contact me privately Here. We can be the change the world needs to see and you can make a difference in a life that is hanging on by the thinnest of threads. Every child deserves a family. Every child deserves love. 

Love

Makes

Us 

Stronger!

Magical moments

I can't share pictures of our kids until they are officially ours but we have had all 4 referrals and said yes to 4 worthy children.

First we met Elizabeth who shares the same diagnosis as my bio's. She is more beautiful and amazing than I could of ever imagined. She is perfect. And it turns out she has only been an orphan for just over 1 year. That means we found her not long after she was placed in an orphanage. Her mother did not give her up but she died at the very young age of 28. She is in an orphanage for typical kids and she is SO VERY SMART. We fell in love with her instantly. Everything about her is amazing, She was shy at first but warmed up to me really fast. She is a silly little princess who took only moments to take my heart and change it forever. 

AND. GUESS WHAT? She will be legally ours this Friday. YES. YES. YES. 

She hasn't had the fortune to have proper care and her legs are fixed in a bent position as if sitting on a chair. She struggles to swallow, and during the evening visits she is much much weaker than the morning. In the evenings it is hard for her to hold her head up so she rests her chin on her chest. She is a little chatter box and loves to sing and goof off.  We don't know what types of medications she is on or if she is being sedated but I would say something isn't right. It seems more than SMA causing struggle in the evenings, the difference is just to dramatic BUT. SMA does cause you to be weaker as the day progresses  I just wouldn't expect this much. Especially going by my own interactions with the disease and the knowledge that I have. 

 She is very lucky she is in an orphanage for typical children otherwise she would be bedridden, she can't move on her own at all.. She is almost 7 and has had no schooling. Her mom must have worked a lot with her. Her family is from the village far from the city and they were very poor but she was very loved. We kept the name her mother gave her which I can share with you as soon as she is our daughter legally. We decided to do this rather than giving her a new name because we feel her mom was a blessing and a very important part of her story. 

I was told that she is in one of the best orphanages in her country and I have to agree but that didn't stop them from leaving her wet clothing on her all day when she had an accident. It broke my heart to visit her later and realize they left her in those clothes, the smell alone was awful but when they swooped her away from us she was freezing from being so wet. This is why children need parents. They need someone who cares. REALLY CARES. 

We leave really early in the morning to travel to her region and visit with her. I can't wait to see her again. It has been two weeks now since we first met her. She had the choice in weather we would be her mama and papa and she is already calling us that. It brightens our hearts very much. I am glad she accepted us as her own but it must of been hard to give up everything she has always known and call someone mama who doesn't even speak her language.  And I am very thankful that she gets to be our daughter. Just 4 more days and she will be ours forever. This has been so emotional. I cry when I see her and I cry when I leave her. Leaving her is so very hard. And getting to see her makes me so happy I don't know how to contain the emotions I've bottled up for the past 9 months waiting for this time to finally be here. I;m so happy we are here doing this. It is the most rewarding magical thing I have ever been a part of. I encourage you all to ask yourselves this holiday season. Do you have room at your table for just one more... or maybe four. 

I can't wait to tell you about our other 3 special children....

to be continued.....