An Opportunity for YOU to help

There are times that I write blog entries and leave it sit in "draft" form while I think and pray at times over what I wrote.  Seldom do I just type and hit "publish".  I have been sitting on parts of this blog entry, wondering what was appropriate to share...maybe more importantly WHEN would it be appropriate to share.  So, I feel now is the right time.

Written a few weeks ago:

So the purpose of reviving this blog months ago was to update people on Sadie as well as journal our days of raising a child with special needs. The good...the bad....the scary and the blessings!

This blog has given me the opportunity to share the struggles, our fears and our celebrations with so many! It has also brought people into our lives with similar stories, which is very encouraging to us! It has also allowed me to successfully advocate for some pretty special kids in Ghana waiting for their forever families to find them.

It has been an outlet for me working thru some feelings, emotions and stressful situations (better than therapy). It has been a source crazy support from people literally around the world.

It has come at a cost of some negative feedback, but what is put down here is nothing but truth. It is my opinion that if you don't like what is written here, choose not to read it.

After Sadie came home, we felt certain that she is the child that completed our family. The kids would ask if we thought we would ever adopt again or WHEN we would adopt again. My answer at first was a quick "NO WAY. We are good! Our family is COMPLETE"!

As time passed the question would come up from the kids and I would find myself saying "We never say no to God. If God is directing us towards adopting again, we can't say no...but I pray every day that He things we are good". Ryleigh's response "Well, then I will pray that we aren't done and ask Him to tell you to adopt again!"

Going back to my time in Ghana in November, I have said that that trip was life changing and I know I blogged about parts of that. It was healing for me, personally, on so many levels. I believe that trip also healed my heart and softened it a bit to the notion of adopting again.

A few months ago we were given the awesome opportunity to pursue the adoption of a sweet sweet girl in Ghana. She had some "special needs", however, now that we have Sadie, we look at special needs in a very different light. Her "special needs" actually were correctable and we were in l-o-v-e. Wheels were in motion and forms were completed and homestudy update was underway.

There were some hurdles along the way as we got things rolling. However, we prayed about each one and God made the path clear. Sadly, about a month or so ago we got word that an MRI confirmed that her "condition" was actually much worse than what they had initially thought. The choice to stop the process of this adoption was agonizing. Devastating really. If you have adopted or were ever matched with a child, you know the pain I am talking about. We are thankful that we had made the decision early on to keep this adoption on the "down low" until we got to a certain point in the process. Our kids didn't even know. They know about her, but think she is a child we have committed to praying for...not knowing that we were praying for her as if she was ours.

We DO believe that God opened up this relationship with ourselves and this special girl for a purpose, and now we know why.  We are to continue to advocate for her, but in a different way than we had first thought.

We learned recently that this sweet girl has a diagnosis of Myelomeningocele.

Email this page to a friend Printer-friendly versionMyelomeningocele is a birth defect in which the backbone and spinal canal do not close before birth. The condition is a type of spina bifida.

Spina bifida occulta, a condition in which the bones of the spine do not close but the spinal cord and meninges remain in place and skin usually covers the defect.

Meningoceles, a condition where the tissue covering the spinal cord sticks out of the spinal defect but the spinal cord remains in place.

In the United States, most children born with this would require surgery as early as within the first 24-48 hours of birth.  If not, extreme precautions are taken in caring for the child to not increase the risks associated with this condition, even as far as meningitis or other spinal infections.

This sweet girl was found in her village with people all around her...naked.  She had wounds so deep in her skin and so infected that months later she is still taken to a clinic DAILY for dressing changes. How her condition was not worse, or infected to the point of causing death is a pure miracle.

Her birth mother had passed days before she was found and no one in her family was willing/able to take on her care.  Praise God for putting the people in place to bring her to House of Mercy.

Here is a picture of on the day the found her and one taken just this past April.

Me, writing TODAY!

So, here is how you can help.

She needs surgery.  Soon.  The cost for this is $5,000 USD.  It is the decision of House of Mercy to not move forward with surgery until all funds have been raised.

There are two ways you can give!  Give now by clicking the paypal button on the top right of this screen and making a secure donation online.


Or you can mail a check to make a tax deductible donation to West African Mercy Ministries at;

WAMM
 953 Meadowview Lane
Mukwonago, WI 53149
Phone: (262) 347-7172

Friends, we have seen first hand how amazing it is when a community comes together to care for one another in the Princess Sadie Chariot Fund.  We are praying that we can find 1,000 people who hear her story, see her need and will give $5.00 to help care for her.

This sweet girls name is CHRISTABLE.  And just like her name CHRIST is ABLE.

Please contact me if you have ANY questions.  I am very close with the Directors in her care.

Thank you for caring enough to give to for this girl!!