For the first two years of his life, he had nearly the exact same routine every day, in the same place, with the same people. Weeks went by, and one by one, his little mates left with their forever families. For two years, no one came for little Hou Dong Guo. Then, two years ago we met a very scared little boy in an orphanage a half a world away. To him, we surely looked funny, smelled funny, ate strange food and took him away from the only place he ever really knew. He trembled with fear and cried his little eyes out until he fell asleep in my arms in the cab on the way to the hotel. He woke up and we were still there and he was still scared. He clung to me day and night for a few days and then began to open up.
He came home and was embraced lovingly by his new siblings. After being home for a month, he enjoyed the miracle of hearing with the aid of his BAHA. His speech blossomed with his personality and he meshed so well with our family it was clear he was always meant to be with us. He gained 10 pounds the first year home as the night terrors dissipated and he came to realize that we are here for him no matter what. He has brought our whole family great joy as he was baptized and experienced Christmas, Easter, the Fourth of July, Halloween and other American traditions for the very first time.
His second year with us has been filled with surgeries, recoveries and healing. His language skills have progressed to above average (which has been amazing to witness) as he learned his colors, shapes, ABC's and essentially caught up to be a typically developing 4 year old. He loves his brother and sisters and is full of boyish mischief. He loves camping, swimming, reading books, Thomas the Tank Engine and Lightning McQueen. Together, we scared away monsters under the bed, learned to jump off the diving board and finally, finally (as of this week) pee in the toilet (HOOORAHHH!). He has a fabulous smile, an infectious laugh and heart warming hug. And, maybe most importantly, because of two very talented surgeons, Jack no longer needs his BAHA and has two ears that can hold up a pair of sunglasses and allow him to listen to music through headphones. We are forever grateful to everyone who has helped Jack on his journey, from the nannies in the orphanage, to his speech therapists, to his surgeons and their incredible and caring staff, to our friends and family. It truly takes a village!
Jack has been so very brave and has brought us much joy and a our fair share of tears. We didn't really know what we were in for two years ago when all this began. It seemed simple enough, the little boy in the picture tugged at our hearts. Who knew what the Lord had in store for us? An amazing journey that has barely just begun....
Little Jack, we love you!
1 comment:
You should post "then" and "now" photos in the same posting so we can enjoy them again and really SEE how far he has come in those two years!
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