Hidden Angels: A story about the adoption of a girl with Down syndrome
Tucked away behind the white walls of an orphanage in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, Kareen had no inkling of the life that awaited her.
At 4 years old, her fate was seemingly sealed. Within a matter of months, Kareen was scheduled to be transferred to an adult mental institution, where she would live out her life with no hope for a family or an education.
But one picture on the Internet of the little girl with Down syndrome was all it took for a 30-something Utah couple with three daughters at home to fly across the globe to bring her home. They knew virtually nothing about her, except the life of neglect she likely faced if left in her native Ukraine.
"Her eyes were really what spoke to us first," Kecia Cox said of that picture she found on the Internet. "They just grabbed us, and we just knew that she was saying, 'You're my mom and you're my dad, and you're supposed to come get me.'
Children with Down syndrome in Ukraine are often abandoned at birth, deemed worthless by a struggling society that praises appearances. Institutionalizing these children at 4 or 5 years old alongside adults with severe mental illness is a common and accepted practice.
Article and Video thanks to ABC News
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Opening Post
Come one, come all! Welcome to my first official post on Natalie's blog!
First and foremost, I want to thank Amy Kosmalski! She was my inspiration to start this blog about Natalie's journey of having Down syndrome. Her daughter Kayla, who is now five, was born with Down syndrome. For the past year, Amy has kept a blog, or more so of what I like to call an online scrapbook of Kayla's journey with Down syndrome. For more on Kayla, click here!
Natalie was born January 28th and was a complete surprise pregnancy. Doctors also noticed she had a heart condition that would require surgical attention after birth. However, when she came, the doctors wanted to wait a little before putting her under. And I'm not talking hours or days, I'm talking months. The details of Natalie's first few months of her life a fuzzy so don't rely on me 100% that what I'm about to say is all correct. Fast forward hmm maybe about two months after birth. Natalie went on a feeding tube, she was yellow, so to A.I. DuPont Children's Hospital she went. It seemed like we were in and out of there for two to three months. I remember this specifically, it was the evening, I had just started spring break so it had to be March. I was at my sisters house and the phone rang. Normally we'd just let it go, but something inside me told me to answer it. So I did. And boy was I happy I did. It was a nurse. After her words of saying "Hi, I'm nurse such and such from somewhere" I handed the phone to my sister without even telling the nurse to hold on. I immediately handed the phone to my sister and she began to cry. After they hung up she told Ben, her husband, they needed to rush Natalie to the hospital. Why? I don't remember. But my sister seemed to be forgetting she had another little kid as she was about to rush out the door without thinking of Hannah. But have no fear, Auntie Kelly to the rescue. I had off that whole week so teen mom for a week here I come!
Flash forward to I don't know when, it was time for heart surgery. Yeah, I know it's scary to have your child go under and have her HEART worked on, but these doctors were the best! Honestly, I had no fear but I know Natalie's parents did. Now flash forward several months! Natalie has recovered extremely well. Her heart is doing great and she continues to grow and learn everyday! It isn't known why, but people with Down syndrome develop more slowly than typical children. Natalie is eleven months and is just getting the hang of sitting up by herself. But if she turns her head too much to one side, she topples over. Wheebles wobble but they don't fall down...that's not true in her case. Natalie develops slower than others, but that makes each milestone even more worth while!
First and foremost, I want to thank Amy Kosmalski! She was my inspiration to start this blog about Natalie's journey of having Down syndrome. Her daughter Kayla, who is now five, was born with Down syndrome. For the past year, Amy has kept a blog, or more so of what I like to call an online scrapbook of Kayla's journey with Down syndrome. For more on Kayla, click here!
Natalie was born January 28th and was a complete surprise pregnancy. Doctors also noticed she had a heart condition that would require surgical attention after birth. However, when she came, the doctors wanted to wait a little before putting her under. And I'm not talking hours or days, I'm talking months. The details of Natalie's first few months of her life a fuzzy so don't rely on me 100% that what I'm about to say is all correct. Fast forward hmm maybe about two months after birth. Natalie went on a feeding tube, she was yellow, so to A.I. DuPont Children's Hospital she went. It seemed like we were in and out of there for two to three months. I remember this specifically, it was the evening, I had just started spring break so it had to be March. I was at my sisters house and the phone rang. Normally we'd just let it go, but something inside me told me to answer it. So I did. And boy was I happy I did. It was a nurse. After her words of saying "Hi, I'm nurse such and such from somewhere" I handed the phone to my sister without even telling the nurse to hold on. I immediately handed the phone to my sister and she began to cry. After they hung up she told Ben, her husband, they needed to rush Natalie to the hospital. Why? I don't remember. But my sister seemed to be forgetting she had another little kid as she was about to rush out the door without thinking of Hannah. But have no fear, Auntie Kelly to the rescue. I had off that whole week so teen mom for a week here I come!
Flash forward to I don't know when, it was time for heart surgery. Yeah, I know it's scary to have your child go under and have her HEART worked on, but these doctors were the best! Honestly, I had no fear but I know Natalie's parents did. Now flash forward several months! Natalie has recovered extremely well. Her heart is doing great and she continues to grow and learn everyday! It isn't known why, but people with Down syndrome develop more slowly than typical children. Natalie is eleven months and is just getting the hang of sitting up by herself. But if she turns her head too much to one side, she topples over. Wheebles wobble but they don't fall down...that's not true in her case. Natalie develops slower than others, but that makes each milestone even more worth while!
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