For those who know us well, know we’re fast movers. We make decisions and we get things done!
This has all unfolded much faster than we anticipated but we
are on board and along for the ride – of a lifetime I think!
We said YES to this little guy in China and we couldn’t be more excited!
We will call him “S” for now, as we’d like his name to start
with an “S”, just like his soon to be little brother, Sullivan.
“S” was born with a medical condition called Bladder
Exstrophy – in simple terms; he was born with his bladder outside of his body. He has since had surgery to put his bladder
back where it belongs but will need further surgeries once he is here. Otherwise he is developing normally.
We can’t share pictures or video publicly for another couple
of weeks until we are pre-approved. We are pre-PRE-approved, but not
PRE-approved. However that all works! But he will be OURS, so long as everything
else works out. Which neither we, nor our agency have any current concerns over since we’ve been down this path
before.
I have been AMAZED at how much support and how many
responses we have had from strangers and doctors near and far! Dr. Gearhart at
John’s Hopkins in Maryland is “the man” from what I’m told in regards to this
condition. He emailed me personally after reviewing “S’s” file and gave me the
run down on his thoughts.
Dr. Skoog at Doernbecher in Portland also reviewed his file and called me directly and spent 30 minutes explaining what he sees from the
reports and before/after photo’s that were sent us. He was wonderful and I couldn’t be more
thankful for these physicians taking time out of their crazy busy days to discuss this with
us so we could make an informed decision and feel comfortable that we have
access to the type of medical care that “S” will need.
Dr. Takla, a peds urologist here in Bend also spent time
reviewing his file and labs and called me directly to give me her take. I’ve
also been included in several BE support groups which have helped us become
aware of what types of options little “S” will have as he grows up as well as
just all around support and love from the BE community of patients and their families! It’s a whole new world – really restores faith in humanity
when you see how people come together to help each other by sharing their knowledge and experiences.
Now the nitty gritty…
At the same time we were matched with “S”, we signed paperwork
to cancel the Ethiopian adoption through the other agency. They DID agree to
refund the donations that you all gave. Yay!!! It was a small fight,
(and luckily I’d saved EVERY piece of correspondence) but I made it happen. So you can all rest assured that you're helping bring this little guy home!
We
are still losing loads (and loads) of money but at the end of the day, we are
more ecstatic about bringing this little guy home than staying in a torn place
over the money we’ve lost.
Our new agency, Wasatch International Adoptions has been
WONDERFUL! They are quick to respond, quick to give updates (without us asking) and even requested and sent us new pictures and video of the little man yesterday!!
I so wish I could post…
Yet. J
So here we are again, mounds of paperwork waiting for us,
lots of money to save, things to do, passports to get (Sullivan needs one – who
knew a 5 month old would?!) and on and on. But we see a little face at the end
of this tunnel. He EXISTS this time! It’s
unbelievable and a wonderful feeling to know there is a little one, that we’ve
seen and fell in love with waiting at the end of all this.
Once I can share more about him, I will!! I will also need
some help in renaming this blog since “BringingHaileHome” is no longer. There
has been some grief over it, for all of us. It’s sad that we won’t get to meet this little
girl that my husband so dearly named right after we signed all the dotted lines, but we KNOW there is a little boy patiently waiting for us to become
his mommy and daddy (big sissies and little brother too) and help him grow and
prosper with all the love and care we have to give him!
Please pray, cross your fingers, send good thoughts
(whatever your fancy ;) that this process is successful, less frustrating and speedy. We want to get
this little guy home as fast as we can!
More to come…
~The Drakes xo
