An Explanation of Megan's Health Update

I posted a few days ago that Megan has an updated profile.  We love her new picture!  We also received some updated health information.  At first, when you read through these, it seems a little scary.  The good news is it's definitely not as serious as it sounds. 

I read a blog post today from a family that is adopting Victoria from Reeces Rainbow.  They wrote a letter to Victoria about Megan and her health update on their blog Rescuing Victoria.  I would like to share that with you on our blog as well because I think it gives excellent insight and perspective into Megan's health update.

Victoria,

As your Daddy and I read the information above about her medical records we both feel like they sound a lot scarier than they are. Just about everyone of the conditions listed are very common with children with Down syndrome, and in our minds and those of our friends, not a huge deal. I like to refer to them as the price to pay to be blessed with a child with Ds. Totally worth it! Of course we are not medical professionals, but we have been around the block with your little sister Kaelyn and are quite familiar with many of the terms. So here is our play by play of what each of the things listed are. (**Of course this is in our words/experience and we are not medical professionals)

-Down syndrome & mental deficiency - Learns at her own pace. We have learned with Kaelyn that she has her own time frame for reaching milestones and that is just fine with us. We are so proud of everything she is doing, regardless of when she gets there.

-deformation of musculoskeletal system - Not exactly sure what they mean here it is very common with children with Ds to have loose joints, thats why they are so flexible. Her's may be more complicated than that, not sure, but that is just what we have experienced with Kaelyn and her friends. She makes the Chinese splits look like a walk in the park :)

-day and night enuresis (incontinence)-Not potty trained. Very common, and something that can be worked on I'm sure, when the time is right.

-strabismus- Lazy Eye

-farsightedness- Needs glasses. Kaelyn is also farsighted, just not too interested in wearing her glasses yet. The eye doctor assured us that her vision is not worsening because she is not wearing glasses. She will just be able to see better at distances when she wears them. Until she realizes that, she will not leave them on for longer than 2 secs.

-Atrial septal defect & anomaly of aortal mitral valve- I'm guessing that she would need heart surgery for these, but not really sure. If she does it IS NOT as scary as it sounds. Yes open heart surgery is a big deal, but there are amazing surgeons out there that do these surgery's EVERY SINGLE day. Kaelyn's heart defects were even more complicated than this and she was home from the hospital 2 weeks after surgery. Her heart is doing great now and we just go into see the cardiologist every 6 months or so. Yes surgery and hospitalization are expensive, but they are covered through insurance.

-delay in physiologic development- Also very common with Ds and like stated above doing things at her own pace. Children with Down syndrome are most often smaller than children with out, and even have their own growth charts.

So what we are saying is that Megan needs a family and we don't want them to be scared off by the medical information on her profile. Kaelyn's medical history is far more extensive than this and we wouldn't change a thing if it meant we could not have her here today. Having her as our daughter and the joy and happiness she has brought into our lives, far outweighs the 140 days/nights she has spent in the hospital. We mean that with all our hearts and hope that someone will open their hearts and home to this sweet little girl Megan. Please help us spread the word about this little angel and pray that her family will find her SOON!

Love Mommy & Daddy

Updates About Megan

Megan's profile was recently updated on the Reece's Rainbow website as well as a new picture! We're very excited to learn more about Megan and to see a more recent picture.

I have to be honest, when I first read through the new info, my heart ached for her. Her health profile is not as positive as in the past. I know that the years of living in an orphanage and not having a mommy and daddy taking care of her has taken a toll.

The other piece of new info is that she has been transferred to an institution. I'm not aware of the specifics on this, but from the update, it sounds like it's not a good situation at all.

I read her new updates a few days ago so I've had some time to think this over. I felt a little down at first, but after really thinking about it, I know that all will work out for the best. We will continue to share Megan's story and I know there are many others doing the same. I feel comfort every time Brynlee, my 6 year old says a prayer. She always remembers to ask Heavenly Father to please help Megan and Eli find their family. Andrea and I continue to pray not just for Megan and Eli to find a family but that they will be safe in their current circumstances.

Here's the new info listed under her profile on Reece's Rainbow:

UPDATE, January 2012:  Sadly, we will not be able to get anymore photos of Megan.  She has already been transferred to the institution, not a good one.  However, we were able to get more thorough medical information about her, and she REALLY needs a family. 

FROM HER MEDICAL RECORDS:  Down Syndrome, mental deficiency, deformation of musculoskeletal system, day and night enuresis (incontinence), strabismus, farsightedness, Atrial septal defect, anomaly of aortal mitral valve, delay in physioligic development.

PLEASE HELP US FIND A FAMILY FOR MEGAN, She has nearly a full grant for her adoption.  Single moms welcome.  Families should be home study approved to commit for her now that she has been transferred.

Updates

Well, we've been at it for almost two months now.  It's weird that it's only been a short time since Andrea and I were introduced to Reece's Rainbow.  In a way, I feel like I've been a part of it for many years.  Anyways, I wanted to post some updates on the good, the bad and the ugly.  Well, there's not really anything ugly, but I thought that's what you're supposed to say. 

First off, the good!  We've raised almost $40,000 for Megan and Eli!  The other good part of that is we are in the process of planning a few major events for 2012 that could exceed what's been done so far.  Thank you everyone who's donated and spread the word!  This success is all because of you and your generosity! 

Another "good" is what I've learned in the past few months.  I've learned more about the adoption process and what family's go through in order to bring their child home.  It's been eye opening.  There's a lot of hoops these family's need to jump through which is good because it helps make sure the children are protected and go to a good home.  On the other hand, I definitely feel for the family and the looooong wait they must endure before their child is home. 

Now a little of the bad.  Well, the only bad thing I can think of is Megan and Eli have not been chosen by a family yet!  I really thought that when their dollar amounts go around the $20k mark that they would be chosen quickly.  Then again, it's only been about 3 weeks (patience hasn't ever been a huge strength of mine).   At the same time, I know there is a special family meant for each of them and I know that in their own due time they will find them.  In the meantime, Andrea and I are talking to everyone we can about them in hopes that we may be able to find their family in our own little place in the world.

In moving forward, our intention was to start to focus on fundraising for another child and/or a family this month.  I go back and forth on doing this with neither Megan or Eli having been chosen yet.  I'm open to suggestions from anybody with an opinion on this. 

Thanks again to everyone who continues to follow our blog, post links on their blog and simply share the Reece's Rainbow message in their circles.  Together we shall conquer!

A Golden Opportunity!

In an effort to find additional ways to help the orphans on Reece's Rainbow find a home an idea came to mind!  I work with a great company with excellent employees.  Our headquarters is here in Boise, Idaho.  We are very fortunate to have 3 employees, including me, that have children with Down Syndrome!  I love meeting families that have children with Down Syndrome and it's even better getting to work with them every day!

So on to the idea.  As a company, we have set our goals and objectives for 2012.  In setting these goals we felt it important to give back to the community and be of assistance to others within our community.  We tossed around the idea of providing a scholarship or looking at different service projects we could do around the community.  Then it hit me.  Why not find a family who would like to adopt a child with Down Syndrome from Reece's Rainbow, but may not currently have all of the financial means necessary to do so!  I immediately called our company president and presented the idea.  He loved it! 

During the next day, we were able to secure enough to cover at least one-third of an adoption that we'd be able to contribute during 2012.  In addition, we're in the process of working with some other potential resources where the goal will be to take care of two-thirds of the total adoption cost!  This will be a great start to giving one of these children a chance at life!

Now the part where you may be able to help.  We would like to sponsor a family from the Boise, Idaho area if possible.  I feel strongly that there are many family's out there right now who may want to adopt but I don't have any way of knowing how to get a hold of them.  If you are aware of a family that may want to adopt a child with Down Syndrome and that lives in the Boise area, please put them in contact with me.

This was another reminder to me that if we have sincere desires to serve, the ideas will be given to us about how we may be able to do so!  I'll keep everyone posted on our progress towards finding that special family!

Operation Orphan No More

As I become more involved in the adoption community I continue to learn and experience new things that I can't say I really was prepared for when we started our blog a few months ago.  The one surprise I've really enjoyed is meeting new people who are very passionate about the cause of adoption and the blessing of Down Syndrome.  It's one of these people I'd like to write about tonight.

Katrina heads up the blog Operation Orphan No More.  Katrina's family is currently in the process of adopting Carlene, a beautiful little girl on Reece's Rainbow.  They have quite a remarkable story on how they were led to Carlene and some of the challenges they have faced.  They are getting so close to bringing Carlene home.  I feel very fortunate to have learned of this great family and can't wait to see some pictures of Carlene with her forever family!

This is one of many examples of good people putting their regular lives on hold to act on the call of action to help.  Thank you Katrina for your example and your willingness to go above and beyond to give dear Carlene a chance at life! 

A Few Pictures...

I thought it might be fun to put a few pictures of Nash with his brother and sister.  They are such good kids!

Prayers For Megan

This morning I found myself on our blog and started to follow a few links that led me to nothing less than what I consider a tender mercy from a loving God.  Because of wonderful people using their unique talents and abilities we have seen Megan's adoption account increase dramatically in the recent past.  Once again, someone heard the story, received a specific prompting on what they could do and they ACTED!

This brings me to my experience this morning.  I found 2 blogs in particular that are dedicated to Megan and are currently raising funds and awareness for her adoption.  The first was started by an individual who signed up in November 2011 on Reece's Rainbow to be Megan's Prayer Warrior (someone who focuses on being an advocate for a specific child).  I could feel her genuine desire to help Megan as she used her unique talents and abilities to do all she could to raise funds for Megan.  I believe that it was her prayers on Megan's behalf that played a major part in leading Andrea and I to choose Megan less than 1 month after she started her BLOG. 

The other blog I found today was created by a 20 year old girl in England.  She has been advocating on behalf of Megan for over a year now!  Upon reading her BLOG, I could also feel her sincere desire to help Megan find her forever family!

It is humbling to know that there are individuals from around the world who are doing all in their power to help Megan.  I urge each of you who read this to act on the promptings you have received on how you can help these special children find a forever family.  I feel we are close to finding Megan's family.  Maybe it would be more appropriate to say that Megan's family is close to finding out that they are going to be Megan's forever family! 

Thank you all once again for the prayers, the donations, and everything else you have done on behalf of Megan!