Family 2013

Family 2013
Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Cardiologist Appointment update :) & our need to act

When we met the doctors at the kids orphanage, both Doctors stated that each of the children had a heart condition. Now what the actual conditions were, I have NO idea. With the  language barrier, and different medical jargon..what we learned was Taya had a weak heart muscle and at one time an "extra stomach like organ" in her heart which had corrected itself over time, but they could not remove the diagnosis for 5 years. And a heart murmur. Seriously :( oye.  So my little girl when from a low stimulation environment to an EVEN  LOWER stimulation room :( my baby was in a crib for 6 hours of naps a day, plus bedtime from 8 pm -8am  at which time she was moved from her crib to a slightly larger crib with another child in it .
Can you imagine this  boring life for a child????

Benji's records indicated he had an extra valve in his heart which prevented him from running or exercising.Also a heart murmur. We were told not to let him run or breath hard :(  His groupa was very sweet  and the kids were very well cared for, but like most kids in orphanages, outside time was limited. 

Our Cardiologist, was very kind and was born in India and spoke some Russian ! Very cool. After several tests,  his conclusion is-

BOTH CHILDREN HAVE VERY HEALTHY HEARTS!!! Benji has a silent murmur which is nothing to worry about and sweet Taya's heart is FINE !
I am so happy for the kids, and yet so sad to think of all Taya has missed out on in her life, and all things she could have smiled over, if she had just been given a chance. HOW MANY of the children in the "laying down room" could actually be healthy children if given a chance? How many have mis-diagnoses ?? How many are withering away , as a form of neglect not a medical condition?? :(:(

Now after time home, to reflect , and after my anger and sadness over Taya's room as melted a bit , I realize that the caregivers are doing their best with the little bit they are given. I don't think any of them have any idea what these children can really do. Sadly there is a HUGE lack of education both in the institutions and in society about children with special needs. The caregivers in these rooms are given the least funds to care for the children. I only saw one lady being harsh with a couple children :( a couple ladies seemed happy, the rest seemed to be kind ,if a bit  detached. Which is probably from working in such a depressing room with many moaning , crying children, and such sad surroundings. I think it will take many years and much money to change things for these children. But maybe each time they see a family come for these beautiful kids, it will open their minds and they will learn these kids have so much potential!

  We have to keep advocating for these kids. I can not forget their faces and I DO NOT WANT TO. I  want to be changed forever.I want to feel sad when I think of the child with their little arms tied to their crib, crying to be freed, I want to feel sad for all the children banging their heads against the bars of the cribs for stimulation :( I want to remember the smells (as hard as they were) I want to know that my children are lucky, and so many are not.  I want to work for "the least of these" to make a difference in their lives. God calls us to care for the "widows and orphans" . Each of us if Christian or human :)  has a responsibility to help those  less fortunate than ourselves. If adoption is not right for you, that is OK. But you can help another family..by donating $5, $10 or more to their adoption costs. OR you can pick a child from Reece's Rainbow.org that you love and donate to that child's grant fund every month to help THAT CHILD FIND A FAMILY. $10 can make a difference when paid  forward :) by many families.
This is Anastasia 3G she is in Eastern Europe and I have signed up to be her Christmas Warrior. I am commited to trying to raise money for her grant fund so her family will not have such a large ransom to rescue her. She is 5 years old and facing a very scary mental institution very soon :(:( help me, to help her please??
Click on the link below and you will find her picture almost to the bottom of the page on the right.  If you click on a childs name it will take you to a paypal link to donate. Please consider a small amount :)





CLICK here to pick your very own Christmas angel
,    from the many orphans just waiting for a mommy :) donate any amount you feel OK with. Pray for these children, blog about them, print out their pictures and share it with friends and families. YOU NEVER know when you will show a mommy their CHILD'S PICTURE :):) they didn't know was out there. it has happened to me, several times and it is AWESOME.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers ! Pictures next time, Sorry, my husband has changed his password and I can not access my pictures :( :( 
HUGS!

3 comments:

KSL64 said...

Maria,

Praise God that Taya and Benji's hearts are healthy. What a great blessing. Also, praise God for your heart for children. You've touched many people I'm sure.

Enjoy Thanksgiving with your family.

Karen

"Are These Kids All Yours?" said...

PRAISE GOD that your children are heart healthy!!! That is AWESOME!

PRAYING with you over the many that don't have homes yet....but GOD can and is changing that!!

Anonymous said...

So glad to hear their hearts are healthy. Also just watched the video of Taya walking. Is there any way for you to send these videos to the orphanage so that they can see what the children are capable of doing? It just breaks my heart to know that they are given such little stimulation and that their caregivers probably don;t know better. My uncle had ds with heart problems and the doctors told my grandmother he would never walk and would not live past age 5. He did walk and he lived to be 35.

tnkerrry

"...Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls knows that we know, and holds us responsible to ACT..." Proverbs 24:12

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." -(Mahatma Gandhi)