Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Poco a Poco

It has been a while since my last post. There are several reasons for this, but the primary one is that I have been sick. I would like to say this is a new illness, but it is actually a continuing saga that began about six or eight months ago. The last two weeks have seen a worsening in the severity, so your prayers would be appreciated.

The timing of this downturn in health has been pretty good, though. At the same time that I have been out of commission, so has my truck. About two-and-a-half weeks ago I took my truck into our mechanic because it had been making weird noises and losing power (just as I had with my illness). I was hoping for a quick repair, but it was not to be. The repairs were extensive and expensive. But when I got it back on Friday it felt like a new truck and, since it practically had a new engine, it should have. The total bill was Q.5100.00 (about $660.00 US). Considering the work would have cost 4 or 5 times that in the States I felt pretty good about it. My power has increased significantly and so has my gas mileage. And hopefully it will give me tens of thousands of miles of trouble free driving now.

In this blog I believe I do a pretty good job of keeping all of you notified regarding big news and special happenings in our home and ministry. However, I have not done well at updating you on the children in our home. So today I wanted to take a few minutes to do so. This is not an update on all the children, but rather a highlight of happenings in a few of their lives.

Geovanni - The newest addition to our home, Milton Geovanni, is doing well. His first few weeks were challenging, as he was prone to temper tantrums and aggressive behavior, but he has settled in and is doing well. The courts do not have access to any records for him, and his mother has not been willing to share any information regarding his age, birthday, medical history or last name. As a result, we had to take him to an appointment with a forensic doctor. Using numerous physical indicators, this doctor determined him to be around 18 months old. Based upon that determination the court assigned him January 23, 2013 as his birthday. They also assigned him a last name, and we are waiting on a copy of his birth certificate.

When Geovanni came to us, we were told he could not walk, but when he arrived we realized that was not true. He could walk, but would not. Fear kept him from standing or walking without assistance, so he would sit down the second our hand left his. However, after two weeks of working with him, he suddenly realized that he could do it and proceeded to walk all over the house laughing. On the downside, now that he is walking we are wondering why we wanted him to so badly. It just helps him get into more trouble in more places more quickly.

We took Geovanni to our pediatric neurologist, and he has confirmed the diagnosis of microcephalus. This has resulted in cognitive and physical delays. We recently took him for an MRI, ultrasound and extensive blood tests, and we are awaiting a follow-up appointment with the neurologist for him to give us the results and prognosis.

Angelita - This little girl truly lives up to her name as our little angel. While hydrocephalus has severely limited her cognitive and physical development, she still has the divine spark of God within her. Much of the time, she is non-responsive, but we have recently seen some signs of progress in her. On a regular basis she will now turn and follow movement. And, most exciting of all, we have seen her begin to smile and even laugh with regularity. And when she laughs, the room lights up!

I believe that the changes we are seeing in her are a result of living in a home that is filled with love instead of an institution. Every day she receives hugs, kisses, music, stimulation, caresses and more. She has moved from a nearly catatonic state to one of joy. It is these kinds of changes that remind our hearts what our heads already know...that what we are doing is worthwhile and brings pleasure to both the children and the God who created and died for them.

Christian - When little Christian came to us almost a year ago his parents were at their wits end. His autism resulted in numerous melt-downs all hours of the day and night, and they were understandably exhausted and discouraged. In his early days in our home, he would go into uncontrollable screaming fits four of five times a day and two or three times a night. But as time has passed, he has settled down. We have learned how to spot the meltdowns early and how to soothe him instead of escalating him. Most evenings he sleeps through the night and only has a meltdown about every two or three days. He smiles and laughs a LOT these days.

In addition, he has made progress in his eating and drinking. At first, due to his sight and hearing impairment, he had no sense of connection to his body. He did not know how to hold a cup, bring food to his mouth, or play with toys. Now he will hold and drink from a cup and, at times, feed himself when food is placed in his hand. He will also hold and play with balls or small toys occasionally.

Olimpia - Our little Olimpia came to us at 5 1/2 months weighing 5 1/2 pounds. She is now up to 8.1 pounds and actually has some fat on her bones. In addition, her hair that was dry, brittle and very thin due to malnutrition has thickened and started to shine. Her energy has increased and she can now hold her head up and turn herself over. She has also started to manifest her strong will and stubborness in VERY significant ways. (As her body has increased in strength, so have her lungs. Her cute little cries have now become ear-piercing screams when she is fed up with us.) In addition, her eye/hand coordination has increased significantly and she is now able to manipulate toys and objects much better than even a few weeks ago. As an 8 1/2 month old, she is severely delayed, but she is beginning to pass some milestones and make progress.

Yenifer - After a severe bout of seizures triggered by a virus in July, Yeni has sprung back to her old self. She is friendly and outgoing and has no concept of personal space. She loves to get about three inches from your face to chat.

One of the big changes we have seen in her is verbally. She speaks much more now and uses a lot more words. She is also contagiously happy and tends to spread smiles wherever she goes.

Yeni recently had an audience with the judge to determine her long-term placement. As expected, the judge asked us to keep her indefinitely and, of course, we agreed.

Alejandra - This young lady recently got a new set of wheels from our friend Dick Rutgers. Her electric wheelchair has given her a true sense of freedom and independence that she never had before, and she loves it. And, aside from a few smashed toes, so do we.

She is doing well in school and is a favorite with the kids there. We have been working on her mouth and tongue control, particularly chewing and swallowing. We are also helping her to develop language skills by focusing on rudimentary sounds. She is truly one of the happiest and most loving people I have ever known.

I could continue from here and give you complete updates on the rest of the kids, but this is getting long while the day is getting short. So let me give you one final update of the child for which we are waiting...

A few weeks ago I wrote about a little guy of undisclosed name and age who needed a home. His needs are severe (microcephalus, after effects of encephalitis, severe seizure disorder and more) and he had been placed in a home in Guatemala City which does not know how to care for him. We expected him to come within a week, but that has stretched into weeks due to a court system that tends to move slowly. A friend of ours who is a social worker with the courts is now intervening on his behalf to try to arrange an audience with the judge for him to sign the necessary papers. Please pray that this happens soon.

Well, that's all for now. Blessings from Guatemala!

Daryl, Wanda and the Crew