You may remember from the Struggle and Battle Post that there is a 4-year-old girl at the same orphanage as Oliver. I'm going to call her "Violet". If you did not manage to plow through that extensive post (I don't blame you!), here is an excerpt telling about her:
"We came across a 4-year-old girl who is also at Bethel with Oliver. She had a heart condition that had been surgically corrected, cataracts that had been removed but still left her with low vision, and she is deaf. While she was listed with another agency who had received inquiries about her, it was our understanding there was not a family currently looking at her file. After researching the resources available to us for her care, we were ready to bring her home and determined to fight. Our agency contacted the other agency, an advocate contacted them, and we contacted them. No. No. No. They were not willing to release her file to our agency until roughly March. How is that in the best interest of this child?! When did they forget to be passionate about her having a family??? Frustrating, heart-breaking, to say the least. Our fight was fruitless."
Because of the technicality of her being listed with an agency other than our own, we were forced to move on. Waiting for them to release her file in late March would have caused Oliver to wait longer than we were willing to make him wait. Soon after this, our family found out we were to be blessed with the honor of having Kalli as our daughter!! We are so grateful and thankful!!
There will forever be a place in our hearts for this little one. It is dumbfounding how God brought us from being fearful of her condition, to being ready to bring her home. Since we cannot, we have decided to advocate for this child with all our might. Her family is out there - SOMEWHERE! Could it be you? Maybe parenting a deaf child seems frightening to you, but there are so many resources available to support you! We were delighted to discover that once she moves to the USA, she may be a candidate for cochlear implants! A cochlear implant is a small, complex electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf. An implant does not restore normal hearing, but it can give a deaf person a useful representation of sounds in the environment and help him or her to understand speech. We watched a video of a child who is deaf receiving her first implant. Witnessing that little child hear sounds for the first time made us weep!!
"Violet" is developmentally behind because no one knew how to work with her for a long time. She is currently receiving excellent care and therapies and making huge strides. Her potential is enormous!
Here is a link to a website with more info on this sweetie pie: Twenty Less Website
Bethel China is where "Violet" is currently living. You can read about this fantastic organization by clicking on that link. Her full medical file is available, as well as up-to-date and realistic information from Bethel with her fantastic progress in the last several months. I have some mothers of deaf children who have shared their stories with me, and would gladly pass on their contact info to give you encouragement that you CAN parent a deaf child!! Please contact us if you would like to know more. Please share this with anyone you know who might be considering adopting. Help us find her family!!
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