Jeanne,

Welcome to the list.  My wife and I werre foster parents, so we understand
the difficulty you have letting kids who are in bad situations go.  We
finally had to stop fostering after one teenager who was placed with us
seriously injured Janet.  In the description of the two little ones placed
with you (Addison and Aiden), you mentioned Aiden had had brain bleeds.  I
don't know if he's been diagnosed with hydrocephalus, but if so, let me
know, and I'll send you contact info for an online support group for people
with hydro, and those who's lives are affected by it.


On 9/22/07, jeanne madrigal <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> My name is Jeanne and my husband and I have three natural children ages
> 21, 18, and 14, about three years ago we got a wild hair and thought we
> could foster children,  in those three years we have had 9 children placed
> in our home, out of the nine children we have adopted 4 of them,  if it were
> up to us, it would have been all, if they were available, so needles to say
> we are not very good candidates for fostering. We have a very difficult time
> letting these kids go.
> They delivered our first adopted child Abraham at 3 days old 6-weeks
> premature and a whopping 4lbs. This was very scary to us since our 3
> natural  children were just around 10lb. one being almost 11lb.  We were in
> utter shock when they delivered him  I could not understand how he could be
> released so soon, but they assured us that he was doing well.  I noticed
> some delays right away and different things that would concern me but he was
> eating well and gaining weight weekly. At 3 months  old he woke in the
> morning and when I went to get him from the crib he was  bent sideways like
> a half moon. I changed his diaper and tried to relax him but couldn't.Wewent to the children's hosp. and he remained that way for about 8 hours but
> with no pain. After a stay in the hosp. and some testing MRI he was
> diagnosed with cerebral palsy and dystonisia.
> His natural mother was a drug user and the neurologist believes this is
> were the damage transpired. He is 2 1/2 now and has been recently been
> diagnosed with a new illness as well (cyclic vomiting syndrome)as if he
> doesn't have enough.
> But with early start programs, occupational therapy, and physical therapy
> he is doing wonderful. When Abraham was 5 months old we were told by social
> services that his biological mother was expecting again by the same
> biological father and that she was carrying twins. They were born 8 weeks
> premature at 3lbs. and 1 1/2 lbs. The older one Addison was hospitalized for
> two months and did much better than the smaller one Aiden, he had two bleeds
> in his brain and a severe infection that he nearly didn't pull through. They
> have also been diagnosed with cerebral palsy one being hypertonic and one
> hypotonic .
> They have had services since they were released from the hospital and are
> also doing well. It has been a tough road but we are so blessed to have them
> in our life. My older children have had a very eye opening experience of a
> not so wonderful side of our world but they have been a blessing in the
> support and nurturing of these little guys. We love them very much and can't
> imagine a world without them.
> Everyone is officially adopted as of Christmas 2007 including Melissa a
> nine year old who came to us the morning after Abraham.
>
> Sincerely,
> Jeanne Madrigal
> --
> Kendall
>
> An unreasonable man (but my wife says that's redundant!)
>
> The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
> persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress
> depends on the unreasonable man.
>
> -George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950

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