Those Who Still Wait . . .

Those who have been following my blog for a while know that every few weeks, I try to do a post about children who are still waiting to be chosen by a family. Today I have the privilege of sharing with you that one of the children I have blogged about now HAS A FAMILY!

Remember Simon? He is the child that is living in an excellent foster care program but was about to be returned to his orphanage (which did not have a school equipped to teach him because of his visual impairment). He has a family! Which means he can STAY at his foster home until they come! One less orphan!

 

Simon will be such a blessing to his new family!

Now I'd like to tell you about another child recently listed on Reece's Rainbow. This little guy is known as Quinntavius.

Isn't he the CUTEST?
http://reecesrainbow.org/93916/quinntavius

Here is what I know about this sweet little boy. He is three years old. His only diagnosed special needs are a missing right hand and a droopy eyelid - both pretty minor issues. However, a recent update indicates that his skills are delayed in all areas, likely due to the orphanage environment where he lives. It appears that he may spend much of his time in a crib with limited interaction with people and toys. In his pictures, he appears to be pretty well-nourished; however, indications are that he is may be only bottle-fed with no solid food yet. In the video, he is shown crawling around a room (pretty well, too!) but when the caregivers in the room speak to him or try to give him toys, he looks scared and moves away. None of his recent pictures or videos show him smiling.

Does any of this sound familiar? This is very similar to what we found with our Kellin. A child with a special need that does not need to be limiting, but who is judged by caretakers to be unable to do things, and so is neglected and ignored. In fact, Quinntavius appears to have MORE skills than Kellin did at adoption - Quinntavius can crawl, he responds to voices, and he doesn't appear to be underweight. I mention this because, if you have followed this blog, you know that Kellin has made HUGE gains in the past 5 months. At his adoption, he was too weak to sit up, he had only ever eaten from bottles and was significantly underweight, he was uncomfortable with being held and touched, and he couldn't or wouldn't hold anything in his hands or play with anything. Now, 5 months later, Kellin sits, crawls, and walks. He drinks from a cup, eats from a spoon, and picks up some finger foods. He has gained over three pounds. He loves to be held and cuddled. He picks up all kinds of things, plays with toys, and has favorite toys. The love and attention of a family makes all the difference! I believe that Quinntavius has extraordinary untapped potential. There MUST be a family out there who would be blessed to adopt this little boy into their family! Please share, pray, donate, adopt - whatever you can do! Quinntavius needs OUT of his orphanage now!