Success Stories
Luke
In January 2011, Luke's mother gave us an update on how Luke is doing since his adoption. We know you will agree that he is one special little.
How is Luke doing now?
Luke is doing fantastic! We knew going into this adoption that there were a lot of unknowns as far as his health. Each and every Doctor visit has given us so much hope for Luke to be able to achieve anything and everything he wants in life. Luke is no longer in a brace for clubfoot. His orthopedist said that he is structurally perfect, just tiny due to his prematurity at birth. The Urologist cleared and released him. The Neurologist said that Luke is doing great and that he should start walking soon. We now have him up and walking all over with a walker. :) The Gastroenterologist and all her testing found that Luke had no significant abnormalities and was doing well following the surgery he had received while living in China. Luke is now able to eat anything and everything he wants and does so with gusto! Our little guy has gained over ten pounds(even has pudgy legs now) since joining our family in August. With that 13 pounds he has also gained the ability to talk non-stop. He greets me each and every morning with "Good morning MaMa, I wuh you, and each night with Goodnight MaMa, I wuh you!" Like music to my ears his voice is precious. We have every reason to believe that Luke will continue to thrive and grow to his fullest potential.
How was his transition into your family?
Luke's transition was very smooth. I believe he had been prepared by the caregivers at the House of Love to know and understand that he would have a family and that we would love and care for him. I think it has also been helpful in his transition that we are a large family. With nine children in the house Luke always has someone to play with and be silly with and boy does this kiddo play. At times it is hard for the others to keep up with him. Luke has formed a very close and special bond with his 4 year old sister Olivia who was adopted at the same time. He has blended into our lives seamlessly.
How were his medical needs met at the House of Love?
To be honest I do not believe my son would be alive if it were not for the House of Love giving him the help he needed. Not only did they repair his clubfoot but he also had his hernia repaired which allowed for him to finally start eating and not be in pain. They also provided something equally as important which was love, hope and nurturing throughout his time spent there.
What are his favorite things to do?
Luke loves to play outside! He was given a Buzz Light Year scooter (like the one at the House of Love) by a very special family who also heard of and came to love Luke while he was in the care of the House of Love. He rides all over the place on this scooter. He loves playing with cars and trucks, coloring, building with Legos and will even be seen happily playing house and pretend cooking with his sister Olivia. He enjoys going to the park, feeding the ducks and basically anything that involves fun and laughter, Luke is up for it.
What are your fondest memories thus far with Luke from your time with him in China and at home now?
My fondest memory was the night I tucked him into bed and heard him say "MaMa I wuh you! " I then turned out the light, shut his door and he went peacefully to sleep. Ever since that night Luke was aware that he was finally home. He knew that we were his family and would always be here for him. He has never shed another tear at bedtime.
Aiden (Ethan)
**We do greatly miss little Ethan here. But getting news from his mother and being able to see that he is thriving in his forever family fills our hearts with joy! Seeing this transformation is what we are all about. Read on to see for yourself how well Ethan, now forever known as Aiden, is doing in his new home.**
Some of our favorite memories of being in China were when we went to dinner in a restaurant by our hotel. Michael had ordered Spicy Szchihuan noodles and we had ordered plain noodles for Aiden. Well, Michael's came out first and Aiden pitched a fit to have some. Before his noodle arrived, he had eaten all of Michael's spicy noodles and had sweat pouring off his little head. But, boy, was he a happy little boy!
For me, it was the afternoon we were all playing hide and seek in the hotel of the White Swan. We were lucky to have an end room and we had the whole end of the hall to play in and we got to hide and run in an out of our room. To hear his full laughter and yell for DADDY was just a moment I won't forget.
Aiden loves to play with his sister and it doesn't matter what she is doing! He plays dress up with her, puzzles, colors in books, and listens to her read stories. He absolutely loves riding his bicycle! He also loves to swim and has started taking swimming lessons!
Aiden came home and acted like he had always been here! He takes everything in stride. He loves to ride in the car, pointing out trucks and airplanes. Dinner time is always fun as well since he wants to contribute to our dinner discussions. We have to laugh because 75% of it is in Chinese so we don't quite understand what he is saying but he still manages to get his point across.
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt he was well prepared for being with his family! We sent photo albums on several occasions to Aiden which were all returned to us with him. They were VERY well worn from all the use. He could open each page and tell us the names of all the people on the pages so I know the care givers at the House of Love spent time looking at these books in detail with him.
They also taught him sign language which helped us a lot in bonding those first few weeks. The ability for him to communicate regardless of language was a huge benefit. And last, he still has great feelings for all his care givers. When we show Aiden pictures of the care givers and the Trower Family on the Orphan's Wish website, he blows them kisses and knows them all by name. He calls them all Jie Jie which warms my heart. I know this means he was very well loved and cared for and formed deep bonds with them. The ability for him to know unconditional love his first 2 1/2 years has allowed him to understand we are his forever family and eased his transition.
last summer
at home today
Jesse (Gwendolyn)
**While we hate to say goodbye to our children, it is our greatest joy when they have their own families to go home to! The following are some thoughts from Gwendolyn’s (now forever known as Jesse) mommy after she has settled and THRIVED in her new home.**
My favorite memory of being in China with my daughter was when I got her. All the other children were screaming and crying, but not her. Her caretakers pointed to me and she looked right up at me and said, “Hi Mama!”
My daughter loves school! She is now in preschool and also in Chinese school on Sundays. She is very vocal and never stops talking! She has picked up English amazingly well. We are so proud of her! Her teachers at preschool told me that she loves art and is very creative. They said she is very smart and eager to learn.
She has adjusted to family life incredibly well! She loves her brothers who are 9 and 4 and bonded with them immediately. One of her favorite things to do with her brother is ride around in a little Jeep in our yard.
My daughter is incredibly kind and loving and I know that has to be because of the treatment she received from the House of Love. She is open to new things, very flexible and friendly. I think that is amazing considering her circumstances and she inspires us every day. It seems she got not only the medical care for her heart that she desperately needed, but also the emotional care to help her grow into a loving young lady. We are incredibly lucky to have her.
When I first started the process of adoption, I never considered special needs because I was scared. The more my family thought about it, the more we realized that our hearts were just open to a little girl! Our family is now complete! We are eternally grateful to the House of Love for raising money for our daughter’s heart surgery and saving her life.
A Farewell to our 1st Clubfoot Patient--Cris
This is a beautiful foot… 
…but this is not what it looked like when Cris came to our Clubfoot Unit.
Cris was the first child to arrive at the Clubfoot Unit when it first opened on June 22nd, 2009
Since she was already walking on her feet when she arrived, she had large callouses on the sides of her feet.
She co-operated so well with casting that her feet were corrected in 8 casts.
She remained very active with her casts on and also during her full-time bracing stage.
She has been out of fulltime bracing since earlier this year, but her SWI asked if she could stay with us until her upcoming adoption.
We have seen this little girl transformed during her stay here. She arrived frightened and not trusting – she is now a happy, trusting, and caring little girl.
Cris will meet her Forever Family on the 8th November~! Thank you to all of our sponsors and contributors for taking part in changing a precious little girl’s life.
We wish you many blessings as you meet your new family and begin your life anew. We pray those precious feet carry you well on your journeys.
Farewell sweet Cris!
Farewell, Preston!
February 2009… Here is Preston when he arrived in our Special Care Unit.
He was only six weeks old.
Here he is at seven months old… look how incredibly well he has grown!
Here he is in April of this year… what a handsome little guy.
He has captured us all with his sweet smile and wonderful personality.
And lastly, here is Preston in early August just a few weeks before we said goodbye to this precious little guy. In late August, Preston left us to join his new adoptive family.
What joy this brings to all of us, seeing one of our children placed with their forever family!
To Tai, From Mama
Tai was adopted from China in 2009 and was cared for at the House of Love, the Unit in China supported by An Orphan’s Wish. His story is shared by his mother, Tracy, as she reflects on Tai’s time in China, and his adoption one year ago.
One year ago today, I was sitting cross-legged on the dusty floor of an abandoned hotel in Nanning, China. You, my new 3-1/2 year old son, had just been handed to me by a nanny. You cried and clung to my neck so tightly that I’m sure twenty minutes passed before I was able to separate you from me just long enough to get a look at your face. You were gorgeous. Tears rolled down both of our streaked faces as we sat on the floor and rocked in the sweltering heat, our wet hair matted to our heads.
There are so many unknowns, anxieties and sad realities with adoption. Hard questions and conversations are in our future. No, I don’t know who your China mommy was. No, I don’t know why you were abandoned. I’m sorry I don’t know when your ‘real’ birthday is. No, I don’t know what happened to you during the six months prior to your abandonment or during the next two years you lived in an institutional orphanage. (Yes, I do know why the back of your head is flat.)
But the moment you were in my arms, the “what if’s” and “I don’t knows” were drowned by a tidal wave of the “what will be’s” … and finally, gratefully, some “I knows”. See, I do know the history of your life the last year you were in China.
You lived in an amazing, joy-filled place called the House of Love, where you were showered with love and with opportunity. The other kids there had special needs, too, and you fit in and were accepted. You shared a bedroom with three other toddlers whom you considered to be siblings. You still know their names and delight when you see their pictures. A “guard” nanny was posted outside the bedroom door for when the mischievous four would get out of bed, pull all of their clothes out of the dresser and laugh hysterically way too late into the evening. I know you jumped on a trampoline in the yard and that you rode around on push cars. I know the standard rice and broth diet subsidized by the orphanage was augmented by milk, fruit and meat bought by the House of Love (and you had the heft to prove it!).
I know that Chinese public schools won’t admit children with special needs, but that the children at House of Love receive a formal education on the property. I know that all the kids would periodically pile into a bus and go on outings to get haircuts, shop in the mall, or eat at McDonalds. I know that much thought and time went into completely preparing you for the transition into your new family (a bonding that took all of, oh, I don’t know, 4 hours). I know you proudly waved goodbye to your “sisters and brothers” before boarding the bus to Nanning, telling them that you were going to meet your Mama and Baba.
Miraculously, you DO understand the concept of “forever family”, even though you’ve never experienced permanence, this being your fourth home in four years. It’s so obvious that you know – I mean, down to your core – that you are forever grafted into this family. The only reason that’s true is because at the House of Love you were introduced to the concept of family, you developed the capability to trust, and you knew without a doubt that the person who tucked you in at night would be there in the morning.
Your life was radically changed by the House of Love.
You have radically changed me.
Ruth
Shared by Paula, Ruth’s mother
Ruth, who was known as Addison at An Orphan’s Wish, arrived at the SWI just a few days old. She had congenital missing left hand and left leg below the knee. She remained in the care of the SWI for nearly three years. We are extremely grateful for the carers in both programs she was part of for the first few years of her life, but especially the House of Love — her residence and ‘foster family’ for the last eight months of her time in China.
At adoption, not only was Ruth’s development surprisingly age appropriate in all areas, but I could tell she had been well prepared in many ways for the transition into our family. A couple months before we traveled to adopt her, we sent a small care package with labeled photos of us, a bilingual board book of colors and a stuffed animal just hoping that she would be allowed to keep at least one thing as a familiar comfort object for the trip to America. Were we ever surprised when she came with a backpack of not only those items (which were tattered and well used) but extra clothes, sippy cup, toothbrush, some candy AND her ‘gou gou’–the stuffed giraffe we had given her — had been labeled with her name. We knew she must have been allowed to enjoy what we had given her and suspect the carers had explained who was in the photos as well as what would be happening, because her transition was surprisingly smooth and she became comfortable with us very quickly. Having been through a previous adoption, we knew this was rare!
When we met Ruth about a month before her third birthday, the only way she could get around was walking on her knees. She was happy, did quite well and would actually ‘run’ at times when she played, but would always stop whenever the terrain became rough or rocky and just look defeated as she waited to be carried.
p>After a couple months of adjustment to her new home, we had her fitted for her first prosthetic leg and what a difference that made! For the first time she could walk straight and tall, keep up with her sister and her favorite…wear two shoes! Within a few days she was jumping off of furniture, and within a week she had broken the heel completely off her first prosthetic foot! Her spunk and determination have encouraged so many people and we are truly blessed to have been given the opportunity to parent her.
Ryan (Hugo)
shared by Ann, Ryan’s mom
Our son Ryan spent the first 2½ years of his life in the House of Love. He was showered with love, academic stimulation, attention, and a nurturing, compassionate attitude by the caregivers. He has been with us for nine months and by viewing the interactions with us, it would be very difficult to determine that he has not been a member of our family, here in the US, for his entire life. He is loving and caring beyond description.
Our hearts are thankful every day for those that provided time, energy, or financial assistance to the kind people at the House of Love. Without their careful guidance, Ryan absolutely would not have been as well-adjusted and full of life as he is today. He has surpassed all of our expectations of the instinctual trust and abundance of love that he feels for us. The administration of the House of Love prepared him for the transition to becoming a member of a family. I was extremely nervous at imagining how the first few moments of the transition would transpire, but Ryan reacted better than we ever dreamed he would. He was given pictures of us, and was allowed to view the pictures at his will. He is now three years old, speaks fluent English, plays naturally with other children of all ages, and is become a member of our family in every sense of the word.
Ryan was a part of the House of Love because of his medical needs. I truly believe that the Doctors and medical providers cared for him as if he were a part of their own family. We owe a great deal to the House of Love, and we will continue to pray for their continued work with children in need and be grateful for their hard work for the rest of our lives. Please do not hesitate to sponsor a child or give a donation. We will continue to contribute to their cause because of our heartfelt gratitude for the healthy well-being of our precious son.
