It's been a tough transition. We are fairly certain he never had a book read to him til we showed up a year ago. He had never held a crayon. I'm not even sure he had regular access to toys. So it is honestly a miracle that he is doing as well as he is. I will promise you that you can love and protect an adopted child with the same fierceness that you can love and protect your biological children. You can fight for them, scream for them, cry for them and defend them with the same zeal you can your biological children. To me, there is no difference. He is my child. I am his advocate and mother. I am honing my skills.
In the past three and a half weeks, he's learned that school is safe and fun. He's learned that we come back to get him. He's learned that he gets a tasty snack each day and time on the playground. He's learned the IA, the PT and OT are all nice people who are trying to help him. He's learned that the school is full of people who genuinely care about him. He's learned to be secure in another situation, even when his family is not there. That's a big step outside his comfort zone and it takes a lot of trust on his part.
Overall, Seth has made remarkable progress. In a casual assessment today, I realized he's developed cognitively by two years in the past 11 months. He's catching up, and he's catching up fast. He's showing us that he's an eager learner and that he has a curious and inquisitive mind. His speech is picking up a bit. He's making more and more approximations all the time, and most days, he speaks at least some, even if we can't always understand him. Seth is in line to get all the support he needs to get an excellent education and we feel blessed with all the resources that are at our fingertips. I feel blessed with a team of therapists, both in and out of school, who understand Seth, who call him out when necessary, and who are unwilling to easily let him off the hook.
Seth is also making amazing progress physically. He's started bearing more weight, standing with less support, using the counter tops for balance only. He's side stepping now, and learning to get off the toilet and out of his chair at the table on his own. He's learned to get himself into the tub and using his walker more and more.
So what's the downright ugly? The downright ugly was his starting point. How ridiculously delayed he was when we brought him home, and how that didn't have to be the case. The downright ugly is that this bright, happy, energetic, sweet little boy spent 6 years wasting away in a playpen when he could have been learning and growing. The downright ugly is that there are so many kids just like him in Ukraine right now. Just waiting for a family to open up a world for them and give them access to love, books, a home, therapy, education, and health care. Kids just like Seth. But still in a crib. That's the downright ugly.
How do you help? Well, adoption, of course, if you can. But if not, you can donate to a family in process of adopting.
Or you can contribute to Helping Hands USA and assist in the distribution of humanitarian aid to orphans, to make their life a little brighter and more bearable.
Or you can vote for Francis on the Angel Tree. A simple vote. A simple click. It helps him. It could help him find his family. So that he can have the same blessings and opportunities that Seth has. Will you click?
However you choose to help, just do it. Click. Donate. Give. Advocate. Adopt.
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