About 18 months after I had brought Musa, Ibrahim and Sorie home, I decided that I had the bandwidth to bring some more children home to join our family. I was quite burdened for the orphans of the world (and still am). Sierra Leone adoptions were stalled due to various factors, so I looked at a few different countries before settling on Liberia. Liberian adoptions were still in their fledgling state, but I worked with an agency in Wisconsin that was having some success with adoptions from there.
I was told of two boys - one of whom had club feet quite badly, and the other had developmental delays. I figured, why not? And so, the gestation period of paperwork began again. It was not as traumatic this time around as I understood it and knew when to push, to panic or to be patient. Due to some unforseen but welcome circumstances, I was told at the end of January that my boys would be escorted to Chicago as a group of 12 boys, and could I be there on February 16th to meet them?
I had a great support system at home and was able to take a red-eye to Chicago and wait there for about 6 hours until they arrived. Unfortunately there was a snow storm, so we were delayed for a few more hours in getting our flight back to San Francisco, but we eventually made it late that night.
Adam was stoic and quiet, and Coleman was somewhat wild. Adam had trouble walking long distances at any speed so we availed ourselves of a wheelchair and an escort on a powered golf cart in Chicago and San Francisco airports which helped enormously.
Soon after Adam arrived, we started rehabilitation on his feet via the Ponseti method which was less invasive. Surgical options were riddled with risks of repeated operations that may not have been successful. The Ponseti method was practiced by one doctor in the Bay Area through Kaiser and it was about 50+ miles away. Every two weeks Adam and I drove over there and had his left foot cast into a new position, and then eventually his right foot also. Poor fellow was on crutches for about 5 months with casts on both legs simultaneously. Then he had a minor operation to move some front tendons and lengthen his achilles tendon so as to help the feet stay in their newly straightened position. It is amazing to see him walking around now compared to when he first arrived.
Adam also had passive tuberculosis and so like Musa had to have 9 months of antibiotics to neutralize the disease.
Coleman has been in Special Education classes since pre-school and enjoys learning, tries hard, and makes friends quite easily. His speech is very hard to understand, though he understands everything that is said to him. He has made huge strides physically, and mentally, but will always need some kind of supervision. He is nearly always happy with a smile that will warm your heart.
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| First meeting in Chicago, Feb. 2006 |
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| Adam at schoolyard |
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| Coleman in Liberia before leaving |
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