Recently I read
this on a fellow adoptive parent’s FB page…
“Just because a
family that has adopted says that it can be downright hard, does not mean that
with all of their might they wouldn’t do it again and again. Admitting the
hardship is not an admission of regret, it is evidence of the
resolve.................” (Katie Baron).
Life after
adopting Kai has been hard. We have been faced with dealing with more extensive
medical issues than we expected. The past 18 months has been a whirlwind of doctors
and surgeries. The 80,000 miles we’ve put on our vehicles in the past 18 months
proves just that. And then there’s information. Lots and lots of information to
process. I know more about the cardiac,
pulmonary, neurological, GI, endocrine, and genetic systems than I ever
anticipated. The human body is extraordinarily complex! Of course, the medical
intricacies are only compounded by his past trauma of being an orphan. I can’t
recount how many hours Chris and I have tried to calm Kai, inconsolable, crying
“I’m afraid you’re gonna leave me”.
It’s been very
hard.
But, it has also
been perfect.
His boisterous
personality has added so much vivacity to our family. This, in turn, has given
us an incomprehensible about of joy. Admittedly, his silly personality makes us
cringe sometimes, but he makes us continually laugh. We are in awe of the
skills he acquired since coming home. We admire how relatively well he adapts
to the challenges he faces. His upbeat outlook on life is commendable. I think
we’d be fooling ourselves if we said that we had the ability to articulate in
words how much he has changed us for the better. It’s simply not possible.
One
thing we do know for sure is that, amidst this journey, we have met many
extraordinary people/groups who have come alongside our family to support us.
One is Make-A-Wish Michigan. Kai was referred as a Wish kiddo just over a year
ago---and the rest is history. This organization, especially our MAW
volunteers, Trista and Sue, has been a provision throughout this last year…beyond Kai’s actual wish.
The
stuffed bear that Kai received after open heart surgery, appropriately named
Make-A-Wish Bear, is his “go to” comfort after a seizure.
He affectionately
refers to Hamilton High School as Make-A-Wish School after the Magical Wishes
5K was held there last summer.
During Kai’s last hospitalization, we had a
surprise visit from his volunteer to drop off a gift, a much needed
“pick-me-up”. Of course, this is all in additional to meals, flowers, cards,
visits—too much to even mention. MAW has not only
provided a “good” for Kai to look forward to, but it has worked relentlessly to
meet the needs of our entire family. I’m sure our volunteers are the “best of
the best”, but they have definitely been God’s hands and feet to us.
Likewise,
so have the construction crews that worked with us through Make-A-Wish. Mike, from Out on a Limb Playhouses, has been
a gem to work with. Without doubt, Kai knew that Mike would do anything to make
his wish perfect. And he did. In fact, he went above and beyond…from finding the perfect blue slide to painting the interior
“just right” to adding a special metal sign to the front of the barn. Not only
that, but during Kai’s last hospitalization, Mike called, checking in on how
Kai was doing. Knowing that Kai was not well, he, along with his crew, decided
to FaceTime our family. This gave Kai the opportunity to get a glimpse of the
building progress…along with the reveal of
the anticipated blue slide!
Through
Kai’s wish, we have also connected with Dan Vos, of Dan Vos Construction. The
initial connection started with discovering that the company had donated all of
the materials for Kai’s barn playhouse. However, we have also bonded with them
through the fact that his family also has 2 children adopted from China, one of
which has a congenital heart defect. We look forward to having the opportunity
to have their family come and enjoy Kai’s new playhouse.
Thursday
was Kai’s Wish Day when he received his barn playhouse. Make-A-Wish has given
Kai a fantastic playhouse that he enjoys immensely, but it has also given us
friends for life. It has strengthened the friendships we already had—we were blessed to have 70 supportive friends at our home
Thursday night to celebrate Kai’s Wish Day. This has given our family hope and
strength to face upcoming medical procedures. As John, VP of Dan Vos
Construction, told us Thursday at our reveal party, Kai’s adoption, medical
story, and wish are a “God thing”. That definitely helps give us the resolve to
do whatever Kai needs.
Click to watch Kai's wish reveal video:
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