31 for 21, Day 21: Fatherless Friday

Day 20's post can be found on our adoption blog HERE.  There you can find an exciting update to our adoption process!! :))

I've been struggling the past couple days trying to think of topics to write about each day, but am still going strong with the 31 for 21 campaign- haven't missed a day yet!! :))  So YOU could really help me by asking QUESTIONS!! Anything and everything to do with Down syndrome, and I'll even open it up to Reece's Rainbow as well since they also advocate for other angels who do not have DS.  If I don't know the answer, the staff at RR are SO prompt in getting back to me about anything and everything.

Today, I'm going to share a little girl with you- one of the "other" angels from Reece's Rainbow.  Her name is Bethany.

December 2006
Osteogenesis Imperfecta
melx-15

From volunteers who met her:  This radiant girl lives in a Russian orphanage. She suffers from OI {brittle bone disease}, Group 3. She was bedridden for the most of her life; until she was almost 4 years old she could not sit and could not turn over. She had multiple bones broken by simply moving around in bed. Only one year ago volunteers found her in a cast from head to toe. They have begun raising money for her rehabilitation in the American Medical Center in Moscow. As a result, she is now sitting vertically first time in her life. The first time she was able to look out the window, she saw the bleak Moscow landscape of late November and there was no limit for her joy! She takes such pleasure in being able to see that the street cleaning guy has a “soft” hat and that birds are “fuzzy .” Despite having such a handicapped childhood, Bethany is unbelievably bright. At three and a half she knew all colors, 1 to 10 numbers, could recite many children rhymes, and she has a perfect music pitch! According to the nurses, Bethany radiates positivism and humor to such degree that children from the hospital gather in her room for a good laugh, a song, or a story. When it was time for her to leave the hospital and to part with the nurses, she broke down crying for the first time, despite all the physical pain of the hospital procedures. She desperately wants to belong, to be part of a family.

Update Sept 2011:  Bethany is extremely bright child…despite of the orphanage environment, her mental development is far beyond her age group. You should see how she responds to the questions and how she comments…she is so funny and so cheerful. She can sit without a help, but she is still not walking.

Sadly, there is no place for Bethany in her home country.  If she doesn't get claimed by a family, she will be transferred to an adult mental institution.  I cannot even think about her sweet, smart self withering away in such a place.

Check out this video of Bethany!  Even though it is in her native language, below the video is a partial transcript:

-          The journalist is calling her “Sweet little dove”, she says seriously “ Why you are calling me Dove? I am not a dove, my name is "Bethany"”

-          The journalist is asking her “ Do you like to sit in a armchair?”, she responds “ Of course, I like it. It is very convenient in general. You just need to put an extra roller for the back in order your back not to be curved”

-          The journalist is telling to the camera about "Bethany's" medical condition and she comments “ Oh…I understand everything what you are saying here about me…yes…it is truth!”

- When being asked to introduce herself, she is saying " My name is "Bethany" and I am very smart"

- The journalist is asking her " Are your eyes being bothered by the camera's light?", she responds " No, because the light is pointing directly to my nose".

What volunteers who have worked with Bethany say about her:

“[Bethany] sat for the first time in her life! Finally! She sat for ten whole minutes. It made me cry. Imagine, she finally saw things that she had never seen before – falling leaves, a yard-keeper outside. She noticed that his hat was “soft”. [Bethany] is now more mobile. She is crawling in her playpen and can move her legs. She is not afraid to roll over!”

“You've got to believe us, she is not only the most advanced of all the orphans we have ever seen, she is a true genius! She talks non-stop and knows a lot of things that even “regular” children her age don't know.”

“[Bethany] recited me a poem and I told her a story about two silly hamsters. She asked me why the hamsters were laughing and immediately answered that question herself. “Because they are kind and silly, and because they got their grain stash!” When it was time to go, I hugged her and she said that my hair was “tickly”

What a doll!!  She would add so much joy to any family.  For more information on brittle bone disease, go HERE.  

Does Bethany have a chance at living a "normal" life if she is adopted?  Absolutely!  Another child who lives with OI is Atticus Shaffer- you may know him as "Brick" on the ABC sitcom The Middle.  Early therapy and treatment is key, so the sooner she is brought home, the better.

Bethany's RR grant is just shy of $5,000!!  That is a nice chunk of change to get started in her adoption process.  Please share her story, contribute to her grant, send a prayer out for her, anything you can do to lead her to the family she deserves.

***UPDATE*** Not 30 mins after I posted this, Bethany's grant has jumped another $5,000!!! She now has over $9,400 in her grant!!! :))

***ANOTHER UPDATE!!!*** 10.28.11: 

Doctors at the European Medical Center have presented Bethany with a wheelchair, and Bethany moves herself on that wheelchair very dexterously, turning wheels with her little hands.
Bethany plays in a hospital’s playroom with a boy, the same age and OI stage 3 as Bethany, however that boy is walking, and Bethany is not. The only difference between them is that Bethany is an orphan, and boy is staying at the hospital with his Mom. The staff of the orphanage loves Bethany dearly but they can not substitute family’s effort to make a child walk.
The most ground-breaking news: Bethany CAN STAND now! She can stand without anybody’s help, holding bed’s post! Just imagine how happy Bethany was standing first time by herself on the floor! Hopefully, around New Year holidays, Bethany could start walking using orthoses, splints or walkers…
The personnel of the orphanage, who loves Rita very much and greets Rita every morning as their most beloved and important boss, already prepared a pair of special beautiful little shoes!
Bethany has a new nanny; today is nanny’s first day, but she already is under spell of our Asian princess’s charm.
Nanny says that Bethany is extremely smart and that is why it is so easy for Bethany to master geometrical forms, drawing, counting and so on: today they practiced counting backwards.
Currently Bethany can sit and turn in bed, can stand: her bones and back muscles are stronger, her legs are longer, she is growing rapidly, and, consequently, her body deformations are less severe.