Adoption: A Family Choice

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KARLA

Karla is 16 years old. She was born weighing only 1 pound 4 ounces!!! Below is a copy of a picture that was taken where her body fits in the palm of someones hand, with her skinny arms and legs just hanging over. She, too, is totally blind, and very ADD/HD, and probably has an attachment problem. She absolutely loves babies, as the above picture shows. Here she holds her neice. We are blessed to have continued contact with her first foster parents. She calls them Grand-dad and Grandma. Karla lived with them for several years, while she was teeny tiny, and through the difficult times where her personality was...active, ha, ha. Their love for her is as strong as her love for them. It is so interesting to listen to their conversations...Karla loves to hear all the stories about her as a baby. What a blessing they are to her!! She was placed in another home for adoption, with a single parent who was also blind. But...this little ball of energy needed the strength that only a two parent family has, so she came home to us 2 or 3 years later.



"A gift from heaven. Oh, so sweet." The above picture is of Karla, when she was about 2 weeks old, and had slipped down to 1 pound 1 ounce!!

Here are a few things her foster mom wrote to/about her: "One look at this frail little darling and she stole our hearts. She was such a brave fighter to have come this far. She needed very much tender loving care and we were so blessed that God saw fit to let us be the ones to help this little one to thrive...At the time you were born, you were so very tiny-born 16 weeks early and weighing just a little over 1 pound. You required very much oxygen to keep you alive. The great amount of oxygen was necessary, but it also caused a deterioration of the retina in your eyes.

During your 1st three years, nine operations were done to try to give you some sight, but they were not successful. You stayed in ICU until you were 4 1/2 months old...It took a long time for you to grow and to get big enough for us to work with your muscles to make them strong, so that one day you could sit up and walk, and run and play. We didn't know if you would ever know anything, or even be able to do any of those things, but whatever you did or didn't accomplish, we knew right from the start that God had a special place for your life, and whatever that plan was, we wanted to help you get ready for whatever He had in store for you. And Karla, how beautifully you grew in mind and body and spirit. You are certainly one of God's miracles. Every accomplishment not only amazed us all, but always thrilled us to no end..."

Isn't this young lady pretty? She has the most gorgeous smile!! Karla has had a rough time in life. Being born only 1 pound 4 ounces, causes lots of problems. In order to survive, oxygen had to be given at levels that caused her to be blind. For weeks she was in the hospital, no one knowing if she would live or die. Her wonderful foster parents, spent months loving this little one, until finally she began to develope a personality.

But...as time went on she showed her true colors...lots of energy, often uncontrollable temper tantrums, and yet her inner desire to live enabled her to grow and thrive. We had her on Ritalin for ADHD. She needed some inner control in order to be accepted by other kids. Her hyperness turned kids away from her, and affected her self-esteem. As time went on, we found that she didn't need to use it at home (like during the summer or on weekends). I guess the stress of having to perform in school, was more than her body could take, ha, ha. Now, as a teenager, she chose to try life without Ritalin, and it has worked for 3 months so far!!

We found that having resources for her to expend all the energy really helped her to calm down. She absolutely loves to swing, as high and as fast as she can possible go, and for as long as she can get by with it...kids will finally come in and complain that they haven't had a chance to use the swing for the past hour, ha, ha.

Our local Lions Club, always has a special Easter Egg hunt for kids who are blind. They have eggs that beep, so that all the kids have an equal chance to experience the excitement of finding their own eggs all by themselves. The group has snacks, and the Easter Bunny also pays a visit. They have the siblings who can see, go to another area to search for those yummy eggs. Some eggs even have prizes beyond the candy. Sometimes, they have special music also.

As I said, Karla loves babies. If she can have a job just holding babies all day, she would be the happiest person in the world!! As soon as either of our older daughters drives up the driveway, Karla will rush out to ask, "Where is Melody? Can I hold her. She is sooooo cute." She made up a song, even the music, for one of her neices. She sings it so much, that we get kind of tired of hearing it, ha, ha.

This little beauty is Karla, all dressed up for the prom at her school. She loved the dancing, and especially the music. They played songs from some of her favorite singing groups, like N-Sync and Backstreet Boys. They even had a live band. This was her first prom, but not her last!! It is amazing how fast these kids grow up.

Again, Karla loves babies. While Janice was singing at the 2001 Radio-athon, Karla loved holding Bills's baby girl. Bill is one of the music directors at our church, and he played the keyboard while Janice sang.

Karla absolutely loves the ocean! Actually, our whole family loves going to the coast. It is only about 1 hour away, and we go there as much as possible. There are seveal camp grounds that are our favorites, and we try to stay there a couple of times each year. The coast is so beautiful, that we love it rain or shine. Here is Erin, Bea, Karla and Doug (Martha is in front).

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