Why Not a Local Kid?

I have had several comments on why I am not helping a local kid. Well, folks, the reality is that any person within the U.S. borders can walk into an emergency room and receive care. It is a byproduct of what we call the Hippocratic oath in this country. Regardless of some one's ability to pay, citizenship, color or religion, they are not denied medical care. Even though we are not a socialized country, we have a welfare system, social security and disability that pays for many of the essential needs of our citizens. It may not keep someone like a king, but it also doesn't pay so little that you are feeding your children patties of dirt and lard, which is common in Haiti (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/19/dirt-poor-haitians-eat-mu_n_168339.html). The little girl pictured above is 11 months old and weighs 8 lbs, 8 oz. My children were that weight about two weeks after birth. I would eagerly help any U.S. child with this degree of need. This little one was brought to a rescue center too late to be saved......

In Haiti, medical care is on a "pay only" basis. If you walk in a hospital you will receive care after you pay for it. You are also required to go to the stores that sell all of the supplies and blood you will need for the procedure and buy them yourself. You will then, maybe, be lucky enough to see an actual doctor, not someone who just says they are a doctor, cuts you open and leaves you to die. That is reality in many third world countries. The reality of Clepson's situation was that he lived with pain and continued infection in his eye from birth. He is now 12 years old. There was NO doctor in his country that could remove his eye and do the implant procedure. The technology simply does not exist. He lives in a society where many believe if he looks upon them he is cursing them because he looks different. He comes from a country where disabled children are starved or fed to the pigs because they are viewed as worthless. So, when you ask me why, the answer is because I cared enough.

The Pressures of Being Famous

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/255/story/966377.htm is the link to a great story in the Bellingham Herald about Clepson and the people who made his surgery possible. Journalist Kie Relyea did a super job! I love this photo that was on the front page of the Bellingham Herald. Clepson is not so impressed! He hates for everyone to see him so vulnerable and we won't even mention the muffin like hat he is stylin'! I tried to get a photo of Clepson holding the newspaper, but my camera batteries were dead. In fact, we have no batteries that are charged in the entire house. Clepson broke out in a big grin and said "alleluia!" See where the power of prayer can get you;) I am sure he will appreciate the photo and story one day, but this week has been very hard on Clepson emotionally.

We have spent the last two days struggling to keep the conformer in Clepson's eye. I finally resorted to doing some online searching and came across a wonderful website www.losteye.com and posted a plea on the discussion board for tips on keeping the conformer in. Most commonly the answer was "ask the surgeon to put a stitch in the eyelids to hold them together until the swelling goes down". One person suggested using some medical tape to tape his eyelid shut to hold it in. We have gone with the taped shut method with pretty good success.

Clepson had started to act very depressed. He was sitting, not talking and looking grim. I decided to take him off the big pain killers and go with Tylenol. I know some people get depressed on narcotics and his pain at this point mainly centers around his eye being irritated when we have to put the conformer back in.

We went to the long awaited movie theater trip today and Clepson loved it. He ate a Large bucket of popcorn which was a relief as he had eaten little for the past few days. Clepson has been missing home and asked if I could make some Haitian food. I am going to need some advice on recipes to make that happen!

Tomorrow Clepson has a visit with Dr. Mike again and wants to go to Sarah's house. I think he needs to feel more NORMAL and less isolated. Hopefully he can keep his activity to a minimum, but I am going to take him over for a short visit at least.

Finally we have Pizza and the Doctor does a Home Visit

Today started out fairly uneventfully. Upon waking, Clepson had some eye pain and we dosed him up on his pain medicine and I gave him a bag of frozen corn to hold over his eye. This helped a great deal and by noon he was able to open his eye much wider and was feeling pretty comfortable. I decided to try switching him off the big pain drugs and onto Tylenol during the day. At noon I gave him some Tylenol and left him watching a "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie fest! I was getting a migraine, so I went upstairs to take a nap and left him with instructions to have Zoe come get me if he needed anything.

A couple hours later (sheesh, that was a serious nap, but headache is gone!) Zoe came up to get me. She said, Clepson wants you..... I came down expecting him to need some food, water, something minor.... and he said "it is coming out".... Yikes, the conformer (plastic shield over his new "eye ball" was sliding out of the bottom of his eye. I washed my hands and put some antibiotic ointment on it and tried to slide it back in.... NO LUCK. I called Dr. Ford and he gave me additional instructions and said to call him back if I couldn't get it in. NO LUCK. So, back on the phone with Dr. Ford who actually left his office early to get a smaller conformer at the Surgery Center and came over to put it in for us!

Dr. Ford pushed a bit harder than I had and was able to get the new conformer in Clepson's eye. This was, of course, a bit painful. Not five minutes after Dr. Ford left he called to make sure that Clepson was ok and apologised for hurting him. He is the kindest man and seemed genuinely disturbed that he had made Clepson cry. All I could think was WOW! To not only donate his skills for the surgery, but to actively care about his patients feelings is so rare and wonderful.

Dr. Ford and his wife are friends of mine. They are very good people who have suffered great difficulties in their own lives recently. For him to take time and make sure that Clepson has the very best care possible is wonderful to me.

Type A+

I have decided that I am not type A, I am type A+. While Clepson was in surgery I spent my time editing old photos like this....

I suffer from an excess of capability... I think I am can do anything. So when you need custom appliqued baby clothes, gardening, horse training, remodeling or a special Telly Tubbies blanket, I am your gal. As a realtor, I just look at all the options for spending money on technology that are available and think..."I can do that".

My latest project has been making individual web pages for my listings. I wanted to include a video tour of the properties. NOT JUST A SCRAPBOOK, but an actual video of the property. So here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-vFXgufzbA

My first video tour! I'll unveil my web page to you all and if you want to know how easy it is to do yourself, drop me an email and I'll share the info!

Lessons from the Hood by the Blonde Chick Zoe

Zoe has become a mentor to her little cousin Angeline. Angeline was one of the major inspirations behind the Medical Advocacy Team. She was our first Haitian Sensation and is simply fabulous. Angeline has spina bfida and has no movement from the knees down. She walks with a walker and does a wonderful job. She is so capable!

On Tuesday Sarah took the kids strawberry picking. When she pulled up at the strawberry farm there was a small boy playing in the dirt. He was throwing clouds of dirt in the air. His mother sat nearby holding a baby. Sarah ignored the boy (which shows unusual restraint on her part!) The little boy saw Angeline walking with her walker and went over to talk to her. Sarah didn't think much about it, since most kids have a curiosity for what they do not know. Angeline came over to Sarah upset.

She said "he says I can't walk! That boy says I can't walk!"

The mother just sat and said NOTHING.

Sarah told the boy, "She CAN walk, she just uses as walker".

The boy smarted back, "She CAN'T walk! She can't walk without her walker."

Still no reaction from the mother.

Sarah then said, " your mother wears glasses, does that mean she can't see?"

The mother sat and did NOTHING!

Angeline was upset all day. She may be three years old, but she totally got that her walker was a "bad" thing. She refused to use it and crawled around.

My Zoe stepped in and said, "Angeline, this is what you say to the mean boys....."

Hand held outstretched, palm up, head tilted, Zoe said, "Hey DUMB boy, don't talk to me!"

HAIR FLIP, HEAD TOSS, and a "HMPHH!"

Angeline LOVED it! She practiced the head toss, she practiced the hair flip (impressive even without the flowing blond locks) and even mastered a fairly good "hmphh".

Zoe spent an entire year at a new school where she felt continually bullied. We talked with her teacher, we talked with the principal, nothing was resolved. We gave the new school a good shot. We focused on how learning to get along with difficult people would get Zoe far in life in the future. We assured her that she would NOT have to return....I saw a lesson learned in action and was proud. My kids don't see differences, they see strengths. The have been raised with open eyes to all cultures, religions, races and differences in physical abilities. They do not turn and cringe or make fun of others. They are sensitive and strong. I have hope that they will not turn from the difficult situations in life, but will thrive.

P.S. Parents, PARENT your children... don't allow them to be rude, don't raise bigotry!

The Bandages are OFF

Clepson slept well last night and woke to some homemade biscuits. He spent all day resting on the couch watching videos with Noah and playing a driving video game. We went in to see Doctor Ford at 2:30 and Clepson was pretty scared by that point to see what his eye looked like. He was very stoic as Dr. Ford removed the bandage and poked and prodded at his sore eye. One big tear ran down his face and it just broke my heart to see him trying to show no fear or pain. Sherry (at Love a Child) says it is very important for Haitian culture that he not show fear or pain. It is hard to imagine that control on a boy so young. What has he seen, what has he endured prior to coming to the loving care at Love a Child?

Clepson struggled a bit this afternoon with not being able to feel if he was opening his eyelid. He felt much better after talking with Sherry and her convincing him that this was normal and would not stay like that. Hopefully he will begin to regain some of his humor and high spirits. No pizza tonight, not quite ready for that yet, but he did manage to down a HUGE vanilla ice cream cone form Dairy Queen.

Eye Implants

Eye implants have come a LOOONG way since the day of the "glass eye". When Clepson woke up from his surgery he thought he would have a brand new eye that looked just like his other eye. EVENTUALLY he will (with a bit of luck and much hard work on some great doctor's and oculists part!)

During his surgery yesterday, Clepson had his damaged and painful eye removed. The ligaments and muscles controlling the eye were then attached to an orbital implant. The orbital implant looks like this:

Clepson's own tissue covers the implant completely. His eye is very swollen at this point and he has a conformer covering the visible portion of his new "eyeball" so that there will be room to put the prosthetic eye piece in. The next step (after healing a bit) requires a trip down to a wonderful and talented oculist who has donated a custom eye for Clepson. Clepson will first be fitted with a custom conformer (which will be more comfortable than the one he has in now).

The oculist will then get busy making a prosthesis for Clepson that will match his "good" eye. The prosthetic eye should look like a real eye and will move with his muscles that are attached to the implant. Pretty darn cool, if you ask me! The link below is to the great oculists who are donating their talents to making Clepson's new eye.

http://www.ericksonlabs.com/artificial-eye-process.html

OUCH!

This is a photo of a sleepy Clepson putting his shoes on in preparation for leaving for the Surgery Center. I ended up letting Clepson sleep until about 8:00 this morning, so that he wouldn't have much time to think about what was coming and also wouldn't have time to get too hungry!

Clepson was quiet and brave on the ride to the Surgery Center. He was brave when the nurses took him back to change into a gown and get his IV. I was SO proud of him.

I told Clepson the story of a much younger Noah running from us down the halls of the hospital because he was afraid to have a blood test. Clepson found that very funny and it lightened his mood a bit. The staff and doctors at the Surgery Center were great. They treated Clepson like he was a prince and were very supportive and reassuring.

The reporter from the Bellingham Herald was the same reporter who did the super story about the Medical Advocacy Team last summer. The photographer clicked photos as Clepson was hauled into the surgery room.

Then the waiting began....... 75 minutes into the surgery, the coordinator came out. She was very quick to say that Clepson was doing well and that Dr. Ford wanted me to know it would be about another 1/2 hour.

As soon as Clepson was in recovery they came and got me. I sat with Clepson as he woke up and he was VERY frustrated about the bandages on his eye. He was desperate to see what his "new" eye looked like. The pressure bandage puts a good deal of pressure on the orbital implant which keeps it in and stops the bleeding. Dr. Ford and I convinced Clepson that it would be best to leave the bandage on and it will come off in our post op visit tomorrow.

Clepson had no nausea and ate his crackers and cola. He dozed on and off due to the large dose of pain medicine they gave him in his IV. After a couple hours they pulled the IV and let us leave. Clepson was desparate to see Noah and asked if we could go up to Sarah's house. I told him he would just be sitting on the couch and he was fine with that. I suspect he wanted the "guys" to see his dramatic bandages.

by the way Sherry, this sad look is for you! Clepson wants you to know how brave he is being!

We are home now and watching "So you think you can dance". Clepson has had a big dose of pain meds and is resting on the couch. Clepson gets to sleep on the couch tonight with pillows bolstering his head. The airplane pillow I have will stay behind his neck and help keep his head upright. This should lessen the amount of swelling he gets.

Clepson needs to spend the next two weeks at rest. We have waived all TV rules and he gets unlimited TV time, for which my children are eternally grateful!

Thank all of you for your well wishes and prayers. Clepson is relieved to have the worst of his trip behind him. I have promised pizza for dinner tomorrow night if his tummy stays well.

The Night Before Surgery

Tonight is Clepson's last sleep with his "old" eye. He is quite worried about his surgery, but trying to act like a little man. Clepson had a fun filled day over at my sister Sarah's house. Her house is loud, bright and often silly. Clepson spent hours playing in the pool, riding bikes and watching movies. We had cake and ice cream for Noah's birthday and Clepson was excited to watch Noah open his presents.

At one point Sarah showed Clepson her son Isaac's photo. Clepson told her how to say Isaac in Creole and asked why he was still in Haiti.... That is the million dollar question. Why is Isaac in Haiti almost 3 years after his adoption proceedings began. Why does his file sit in MOI while he languishes in an orphanage without the love of his waiting family. The longer he lives in the orphanage the greater his new family's work will be. Attachment issues, behavior issues, the list grows longer by the day and don't forget the health issues. A waiting baby died just weeks ago from Meningitis in Isaac's orphanage.

I joked with Clepson that Issac only got lambouie (spelling) three times a day at his orphange, not like Love a Child. Clepson had quite a bit to say about how proud he is of his home at Love a Child.

Sherry, this boy knows he has been chosen to be at Love a Child for a reason and sees the value of the work you do. Clepson appreciates the gift of education and health living at the Love a Child orphanage has given him.

Clepson went on to explain that many of the orphanages are fed with food from Feed My Starving Children that is distributed from Love a Child.

We ended the night at Sarah's with all of her children wishing Clepson well in his surgery and saying they would be praying for him, and they will be! With all the prayers floating around for Clepson tomorrow, I know he will do well in surgery.

Clepson is currently showering and will do so again in the morning prior to going to the surgery center. They asked this to help reduce his chances of getting an infection. MRSA is fairly common at most surgical centers and hospitals, so we will try to NOT develop a superbug!

Clepson will have another snack before bed as he is allowed nothing after midnight tonight. We are to arrive at the surgical center at 9:00 and Clepson will go into surgery at 10:00. There will be some consultations with the anesthesiologist and doctors. The surgery is 90 minutes or so and then we will have a bit of time in post op until Clepson feels good enough to walk. I am not sure if we will just come home or go to Sarah's to get Noah and Zoe. Terry will be in Seattle tomorrow working and Sarah has doctors appointments in Seattle with Bean and has to pick up our Mom and niece Libby at the airport. In all likelihood they will be back to Sarah's before we leave the hospital.

I will pass on any well wishes posted to Clepson directly!

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

Eleven years ago my first baby was born. How quickly time passes. Noah has been a JOY to have as a son. He is kind, sensitive and brilliant. Noah has the best (and some of the worst!) attributes of both Terry and I. He definitely got the arguing gene from Grandpa Pat! We love you Noah and look forward to another great year being your parents!

Destiny and Gluttony

Tonight we went to church services at Cornwall Church. Cornwall is a VERY large non-denominational Christian church in our town. Saturday night service has a pretty good Christian Rock band and the Minister is pretty charismatic and captivating.

Noah and Clepson are too old to go to the "Sunday School" and attended the regular service with the adults. Noah and Clepson sat with the older Cousins and Clepson kept asking David questions throughout the service. I walked over and gave David a "flick" on the head (you mom's know what I mean!) so that they would be silent and listen to the sermon. Noah seemed pretty captivated. The service focused on the story of Esther. The sermon was relating the choices we make to living up to our Destiny. I asked Noah what he thought about the sermon when we got in the car. He said that he didn't think it really applied to a 10 year old. I said I didn't agree, that the decisions he makes now will affect his future and the path he takes. He thought for a while and then said "yeah, like when you go and cut up your baby pictures". I had forgotten that I told him the story of when, in a fit of anger I cut up the baby photos my mother had of me! I have lived to regret that decision.

The sermon hit a little closer to home for me. I felt when I was a child that I had a responsibility to do something that would leave a positive impact on the world. I studied hard and went to school for many years to become a lawyer. Along the way I lost sight of the dreams I had of improving our world. I made decisions out of fear of failing and focused on personal gain and security. Over the last few days I have been thinking about how I could make a change that might send me on a different path. This journey of personal discovery has been largely due to seeing my life and the lives around me though Clepson's eyes. I am so thankful for the opportunity to grow as a person. I don't yet have a fully formed plan, but I feel a push to move towards living a life that has a bit more meaning.

On a completely more humorous note, after church we decided to go to the big buffet restaurant. Sarah asked if I thought it might be a bit much for Clepson. I thought he would do fine. All of the preteen and teen boys in our big group ate plate after plate of food. Chicken, Fish, Pork, Beef and Shrimp.... Pizza, Rolls, Fries, Salad. Clepson ate FIVE FULL PLATES of food. Then he hit the dessert buffet. He came back with TWO vanilla ice cream cones. All I could think was "do I need to run into Target and buy a BUCKET in case he blows up in my new car?" I just kept saying "Clepson, you may have all you want to eat, but please don't make yourself SICK!" I must say Clepson (and Noah too!) got their $5.00 worth of food and MUCH MORE.

After dinner we walked around for about an hour before I would allow the kids in my car. We arrived home without any mishaps and are looking forward to making Terry breakfast in bed in the morning.

Days with Clepson

Clepson has really settled in. He has been having some fun, some work and loads of together time with my kids. You can check out a fun story about Clepson on my sister's blog http://www.ourhaitianjourney.blogspot.com/! Clepson eagerly anticipates watching "So you think you can dance", my kids are not too into it. Clepson said, "Noah, come watch the dancing, it is so good!" Clepson also has an amazing affinity for soccer. We saw a game as I was flipping through the channels the other day and Clepson was right into it. We know nothing of soccer in this house, so it was fun to hear him say "good play" and know what was going on. Clepson went to play racquetball with Noah and Cole (one of the cousins) and loved it. He loves bike riding and singing Haitian songs for us.

I have promised a trip to the cinema soon and every day Clepson asks me about it. Unfortunately work and visits from relatives have prevented our making it to a matinee, so we will try again this weekend! We are going to watch "Night at the Museum" tonight and will try to go see "Night at the museum 2" this weekend. Noah had the bright idea to ask Clepson if he had been to a museum, the answer was "NO" so I guess that can go on our list too.

The local paper plans on doing a big story on Clepson. They will be at the surgery center with us and I want to be sure to give credit to everyone who has made Clepson's surgery possible. I am hopeful they will give links to Love a Child and the Medical Advocacy Team in the article as well as the surgery center and doctors involved. Any time I can let people know about Clepson's journey and hopefully make more journey's like his possible I will! The photo is of Sophie and Minky who came over last year from Haiti for Cleft Palate surgery! The Bellingham News paper did a wonderful story about it with super pictures.

Authority

Zorro and I have "issues with authority". What a phrase!

The issue we have is that we sometimes believe that those in authority do not deserve our respect.

When respect is lost we are impossible to control!

Once respect is earned we are very easy to get along with.

We are stubborn to a fault and will take down those in our path that stand in our way.

We are small but mighty.

We are righteous in our beliefs and sometimes we feel a strong need to kick out in anger and frustration.

Do not lie to us, do not try to make us lie.

Addendum...

I just wanted to add that I do often give food to panhandlers. I pass out homemade cookies and girlscout cookies. I buy an extra meal when I go through a drive through and hand it to hungry looking beggars. I sometimes wonder though, how so many have money to pay for cigarettes when they have no money for food!

The Politics of Panhandling....

There is no law in Bellingham prohibiting panhandling.... A variety of people stand on street corners asking for a handout. Some need the help. Some, well, let us say NOT SO MUCH! Today as I drove Clepson to our first riding lesson we passed a clean cut woman and her little boy begging for a handout. This lady occupies this particular street corner most days. I have seen her with her young boy and with a baby in a stroller and her husband. They have been panhandling for several months.

The lady on the street corner makes me ANGRY! She holds a sign that says her family lost all to a fire and needs money. In the US we have many programs to help people in crisis. A family of four can receive food stamps, welfare, counseling, job training and child care. They have access to free medical care (a medical card or medicare). Able bodied people can also do things the old fashioned way and GET A JOB. I often work over 40 hours a week. My dear husband Terry is up by 4:00 most mornings and rarely gets finished working until 10:00 in the evening. Terry works on weekends and on his vacations. We work hard to be able to afford to feed our family and have a home. We have luxuries like cable tv and cell phones. We have pets that need vet care that we work hard to afford. It makes me LIVID to see able bodied families asking for a handout on the street. WHAT ARE THEY TEACHING THEIR CHILDREN!

I can understand a mother not wanting to put their child in daycare. I quit a lucrative career as a lawyer to stay home and raise my children. I still managed to work. I packed my infant boy in a frontpack and taught riding lessons. I sat him in a swing while I rode training horses. I was not an absentee mother and I think every mom should be able to raise her own kids. BUT, if push came to shove I would have done what I needed to to take care of the needs of our children. We would have moved our family home to our parents house, we would have taken advantage of social services. I would have worked while they slept at night! I would NOT STAND WITH MY HAND OUT ASKING FOR CHARITY.

This hits so close to home when I am seeing this family through the eyes of Clepson. He sees a well dressed "Blanc" standing with a cardboard sign as her child plays with a new toy at her feet. She does not look like she has missed many meals. Her son looks well clean and well fed. Clepson asked "they are hungry?". I said "NO". He said "they ask for money?". I said "yes, they ask for money they do not need".

I tried to explain about the available social services. I tried to explain why a family would beg for money they do not need for survival. If this family could see real suffering for just one day.....

The Nanna is Coming, The Nanna is Coming....

It is that exciting and stressful time of year... My mother, known widely as Nanna, is coming for her annual visit. Nanna is delightful, Nanna is the favorite of all of her children, Nanna is the favorite of all of her GRAND children, BUT...... Nanna can be a bit bossy. Point if fact, two years ago the Nanna told me I needed to MULCH MY FLOWER BEDS and STAIN MY DECK. Last year, I just avoided the fact that we had been to busy or lax to get these chores done by seeing Nanna at my Sister Sarah's house (www.ourhaitianjourney.blogspot.com). Of course, my Sis, mother of 14, has not trouble keeping on top of her house and yard! I am determined this year to have the deck stained and the beds mulched! I have in fact been running myself RAGGED trying to get the extra work done! Add to this two part time jobs, end of school activities and Clepson's doctors' appointments and you get a cranky Nina.

Yesterday I decided a new policy. If I AM WORKING, THE KIDS SHOULD BE TOO! Zoe hopped right in to help me outside (she is my little gardener), the boys remained inside and were in charge of general pick up and cleaning the bathroom they use which had begun to smell a bit like a urinal. The boys did a fairly good job cleaning, but the bathroom was still stinky. I pulled out the cleaning products and gave a tutorial on scrubbing the toilet and floor. How Noah has missed out on this fun chore in the last 11 years is beyond me! Clepson is now a certified toilet scrubbing champ!

Today was a long work day. Clepson came with me on several horse training jobs and we got home just as Noah and Zoe got off the bus. We had a snack and then I was back out side painting and putting the first coat of blue paint on the deck. I had warned the kids and Terry NOT TO LET THE DOGS OUT. Terry somehow forgot and opened the door and my sweet Kiwi dog came running across the fresh paint. I spoke some seriously foul words only to see Terry holding the phone out to me----YIKES! I said I couldn't talk right now and Terry then failed to find out who was on the line so I could call back and apologise! Zoe caught Kiwi and sent him in through he window to Clepson who washed off his paws. Of course we now have tiny pawprints across the deck and blue pawprints on our fancy stone patio! ARGH! I am sure I will see the humor someday.....

PRE-OPERATIVE!

Clepson went for his preoperative visit with Dr. Ford today. Clepson was very nervous! I explained to him before we went that Dr. Ford was only going to take a look at his eye again and would answer any questions about the surgery we had. Dr. Ford explained that the surgery would remove Clepsons' blind and painful eye and that he would place a orbital implant in the eye. Clepson will be under general anesthesia for the surgery and we told him he would feel no pain. When Clepson wakes up he will possibly have a headache and some pain. We will control this with pain medication and ointments. Hopefully any pain Clepson experiences will be quickly under control and he will heal well. Clepson was pretty quiet during the meeting. We went to Dairy Queen for an ice cream cone after and when we returned home I showed Clepson some photos of other children "before and after" their own eye surgeries. It will be several months before Clepson is healed enough to get fitted for his "new eye". I can't wait to see him with a normal looking eye that gives him no pain.

In the US the prosthetic eye is polished and checked twice a year. In five years it will need to be replaced. This worries me as there are no oculists in Haiti. We will have to pray that a solution to this problem is found!

A Walk in the Park or When we LOST Clepson!

Much paperwork, networking and prayer has gotten us to the point of bringing Clepson to the U.S. for this surgery that will change his life. Today Clepson spent the morning at my sister Sarah's house (http://www.ourhaitianjourney.blogspot.com/) . I know that Clepson has been lonely when my kids are at school from 8-4 every day. I brought Sarah's 10 yr. old son Dom home to keep Clepson company this afternoon and tomorrow while the kids are in school. Sarah has been homeschooling her children this year and Dom is almost finished with all of his curriculum, so he will work on math tomorrow while Clepson works on math and french.

Everything was going well today. The boys helped me clean the car and I was working in the gardens when Dom asked if they could ride bikes in the spectacular, LARGE park behind our house. This park has MILES of trails, a HUGE waterfall and pond and river. It is a fun place to play, but we have MANY rules to keep the kids safe while they are there. Our town is a safe place to live but I have seen too much Oprah and like them to always stick together when they are out of my sight. I also asked Dom to keep on our side of the creek, which only gave the boys a 1/2 mile loop to ride the bikes on and they would be within yelling distance if there were any issues or I wanted them home. About 15 minutes went by and Dom came riding up on his bike. He asked if Clepson had returned home and my heart DROPPED!

The answer to that was a big NO and I began to pray as Dom and I searched the park for Clepson. Clepson had wanted to ride ahead of Dom (who is VERY little for his age, more like a 6 yr. old than a 10 yr. old in size) and Dom had told him the rule was "stick together" at all times. Clepson may have misunderstood, or may have thought Dom was joking, or may have thought this "little" kid didn't know what the rules were, but he took off on the bike without Dom.

The fifteen minutes we searched seemed like HOURS. I kept thinking, why didn't I make Clepson memorize our phone number and address! Did Clepson know our last name? How would he find his way home?

Dom found Clepson who was promptly sent for a shower and bed (at 3:30 in the afternoon). I gave him some time (he took a nap) and then sat and told him "what would I tell Mommie Sherry" (http://www.loveachild.com/) if I lost her Clepson! I explained the dangers of being alone in the park and that he had scared me. I also told him his punishment was no different than I would treat Noah and Zoe and that I wanted to treat him as my own son while he was with us.

All is well now and Clepson will hopefully limit his adventures to the healing sort that he came for!

A Chance to Dress Up!

On Tuesday we had the opportunity to dress up. It was the 5th grade strings all town concert. Noah had said last week before Clepson arrived that he needed some "dress" clothes. We are a very casual family living in an equally casual town. Noah has NEVER before worn a tie and hasn't worn a dress shirt in several years. I hit the local thrift store and was able to find some wonderful dress pant, shirt, tie combinations for Clepson and Noah and some wonderful dress shoes too! The boys were so excited and Clepson helped Noah tie his tie. Clepson was actually better with the tie than Terry;)

Of course, miss Zoe has loads of dresses that she will wear at the drop of a hat! The new school the kids go to has been disappointingly casual for Zoe's taste. It was fun to get some photos of the crew all dressed in their best. We enjoyed the concert and then headed to the Dairy Queen drive through for some ice cream in "cups" (aka cones). Clepson was very excited. His favorite foods so far are Pizza and ice cream. He would gladly eat Pizza every meal!

Inspiration

Tonight I am watching one of my favorite shows with Clepson. So You Think You Can Dance is on and I love to watch the dancers compete in an area I could never master. Clepson is very musical and also says he is not a good dancer, but loves to watch the dancing. I had forgotten that one of the finalists is from Haiti. Vittolio is a young Haitian man. He is an amazing dancer. In fact, he looks a bit like Clepson. Clepson was sitting waiting to see that Haitian dance. They did a short background piece on Vittolio. It turns out he grew up in a Haitian orphanage! Clepson's was amazed! To see another boy who grew up without parents in an orphanage on American TV excelling in his career and competing for $250,000 is quite inspirational.

WHOA!

It struck me today, as it does from time to time, how unreal my life is. I have healthy children, a wonderful husband and work finding people new homes and training horses. I was out training horses today and brought Clepson along. Seeing the stables through his eyes made me stop and ponder. My average client has spent anywhere from $20,000 on up for a horse. They pay me hundreds a month in training and it costs them upwards of $400 a month to keep their horse stabled and fed.

Our horses are better fed than the average Haitian child. They get regular dental work and veterinary care. They have clean beds to sleep in and fresh, clean water. They wear special clothing to protect them from sun, cold, rain or flies. It is all a bit insane when you look at it form the outside in....

They have three horses at the Love a Child orphanage. Clepson said he sometimes gets to ride the horses.....but they kick and sometimes don't want to be ridden;) of course if I was a horse and 60 children wanted to ride me I might kick too! Clepson helped me brush the horses and watched while I rode my training horses and gave a lesson.

What Says the Doc

Clepson had his first meeting today w/ Doctor M. Doctor M dilated Clepson's eyes and gave him a thorough exam. Clepson has no vision in his bad eye and will have it enucleated on June 25. This is a VERY scary thing for Clepson and we could use all the prayer and support we can get! Clepson will be fitted for a prosthetic eye about four weeks after surgery. If all goes well he will be on track to return home in time for the start of school.

Clepson was very frightened before we met with the doctor. I don't know if he thought something might be done today. The eye dilation made vision in his good eye fuzzy and this seemed to scare Clepson too. It would be a very scary thing to have reduced vision when you only have vision in one eye to start with.

Clepson missed the other kids today when he was home alone with me. He spent time working on math work and french and riding the scooter outside. He is settling in pretty well and his behavior has been very normal preteen boy! What a wonderful job they have done at Love a Child! Clepson has wonderful manners and has not objected to helping Noah and Zoe with chores. He does seem very intrigued with television and video games, unfortunately we try to do as little gaming and tv as possible;)

Clepson tried pizza on the plane and wants to have it again soon. Mexican food was not a big hit for lunch, but he loves cold cereal and seemed to appreciate my attempt at Haitian beans and rice tonight. Clepson loves salad and turned down the cinnamon sugar chips served with his kids meal at lunch.

Clepson is HERE

After much anticipation and paperwork, Clepson has arrived. He is truely one of the "lucky" children in Haiti. He lives in a wonderful orphanage that stresses all of the skills he will need to be successful and happy in his life. Clepson lives at Love a Child orphange in Fond Parisian, Haiti. You can check out his home at www.loveachild.com. Clepson will return to the orphanage after his surgery and recovery time here in the U.S. He is provided a wonderful varied diet by Haitian standards and has been given an invaluable religious education. Clepson also attends school and will hopefully one day attend university either in Haiti or the U.S.

Clepson has a super doctor here in the U.S. who we shall call Dr. M. Dr. M has donated all of his time and skills to provide a lifechanging eye surgery for Clepson. Dr. M arranged with the local surgical center for them to donate the use of their facility at no charge. He went one step further to get a custom prosthetic eye donated. Not only will Clepson be out of pain for the first time after his surgery, he will look "normal". While the U.S. has made some strides in accepting people with disabilities, it is just not so in Haiti. Haitians are driven largely by superstition and fear and Clepson's eye has been viewed as a curse or sign of evil. More doors will be open in Clepson's future when he looks more normal.

I must say that lack of vision in his eye slows this little boy down not one bit! Clepson is a wonderful soccer player and bicycle rider and all boy. Clepson has spent much of his day today working on math skills (I have underestimated his level of work!) and has done a few pages in a french primer. A dear friend will be loaning us some kid appropriate novels in French and Clepson will spend at least an hour a day reading. My own kids are still in school and it is a house rule that no kids do anything "fun" while the others are in school. Once school is out of session Clepson will get more play time, but will still need to work on his Math and French skills. My own kids to 1/2 to 1 hour of math and at LEAST 1 hour of reading. Zoe loves to read and will read for hours if allowed!

I am sure Clepson thought that visiting the U.S. would be more fun, but I want him to learn while he is here and know how Blessed he is to live in such a wonderful home in Haiti.

We met with Clepson's doctor today and scheduled his surgery for June 24. His preop is one week earlier at which time he will find out in detail what his surgery entails. Please pray that he accepts that the loss of his eye is inevitable and will only improve his life!