[kcpetty]

We brought our DD home last Sept at the age of 7.5 months old. She was put into foster care at the age of 4 days old and remained there until one month prior to our trip to China in Sept (as is common practice in China when children are in foster care - they tend to go back to the SWI in an effort to "acclimate" them to change for the adoptive parents who are coming.) With all that said, our DD had a host of medical ills - she was in and out of the hospital before we arrived and while we were in China. Both DH and I were asked for four days in a row if we "were happy" with our child and if we wanted another. As a matter of fact, any of you who followed our story may remember that on Metcha Day, we were a travel group of twelve families (all to be matched with one child) and thirteen children were brought into the Civil Affairs Office. I did not see the 13th child but my DH did. That 13th child was to be our DD's "replacement." (Please forgive the harshness of that word - I'm just telling the story in the best way I know how.) We made the choice to stick it out with our initially referred daughter as, to us, she was our daughter. It doesn't make us heroes or saints - it just means that's what our decision was. It was agonizing and it's still and always will be heartbreaking that that 13th child went back to the SWI while our daughter came with us. I will never know what came of her - it is my greatest hope that she was adopted but again, we will never know. I type all this to say that a fostered child doesn't necessarily guarantee a healthier child. Gwen (our DD) was treated for pneumonia in China, severe dehydration and at 7.5 months on the day we arrived back in the States, we left the airport and headed directly to the hospital where she was diagnosed with RSV (severe respiratory virus) and weighed in at an astonishing 8.2 pounds. Gwen has had some issues in the past nine months that she's been home with us but we are dealing with them head on. I tend to believe every family has issues of their own to deal with. I haven't read the blog in question but I did want to offer our first person perspective of the difficulties of a sickly child. Who, by the way, is thriving and growing more and more each and every day. For comparison's sake, I am posting two photos of Gwen (which I rarely do on a public site.) The first is of her in China, the second was taken a few days ago on a family trip. In my experience, time, love and pure grit and determination come overcome so very much.

Regards,
Karen