1) Thank goodness for the staff and volunteers that run RMH. They are always so welcoming and helpful when we arrive. This was our 8th year and I think our 9th or 10th stay.
2) I am thankful that, although sometimes it has seemed like I wouldn't be able to take one more step on this journey of taking care of my special needs children, that second wind always comes.
3) I am thankful for all of the people who are there to help us every day and in so many ways! Just this trip alone, our cardiologist thinks he has found the answer to how to get my big teen medical insurance in adulthood. Handicapped adults with pacemakers are often not insurable. This has been such a huge worry of mine, since he will be cut off from our health insurance on his 19th birthday.
4) I am thankful for the excellent medical care that my big teen has received in his lifetime and that we still have him with us. (He has had several heart attacks and been legally dead twice). RMH can be a very sobering place because the walls are covered with photos and stories of little angels who have gone on to heaven.
5) I am thankful that our minivan, which has been a little unhappy as of late, made the trip without any problems.
6) I am thankful that we have a supportive one-on-one for Goldilocks that was able to keep her in respite so she only had to stay a short while at Ronald McDonald House. Goldilocks has RAD and really can not handle any level of chaos, even if it is fun.
7) I am thankful that, despite all the hardship our family has experienced over the last 17 years, we still have a fun-loving spirit and a sense of adventure.
OK! here is my plug for RMH! This is really a great place that is changing and helping the lives of children and families every day. If you are looking for a charity for you and your kids to get involved with, this would be a great choice. RMH is happy to accept many kinds of donations, from money to new toys and board games. If you happen to live near one, they are always looking for churches or other organizations (like a homeschool group)
to provide dinner for the guests of the house. RMH not only provides support and a loving environment during a difficult time, but they also provide dinner every night and a full kitchen for residents to make other meals. The cost of RMH is $10 a night, and if you can't afford it, you do not need to pay. What a gift for families struggling with medical bills! They also collect soda can tabs to help provide services.Blessings,
Dawn
It was nice to visit with you today.
ReplyDeletehey, we have adopted 2 kiddos (1 w/ RAD) and are in Nc! We are in the Charlotte area...how close are you!
ReplyDeleteBLessings
Having older children with medical conditions can be quite a worry can't it? Our oldest daughter Sarah is painfully modest and extremely thin. We hadn't taken her in for a cardiac checkup in years because the hospital we took her to previously spent more time trying to dig up the secrets to her "eating disorder" that she doesn't have than checking out her heart. I understand their concern but it just got to be too much. Well last year she started having some chest pains and we knew that we had to take her somewhere. The trouble was that she was over 18 and couldn't be seen by a ped. cardiologist anymore. She is extremely and painfully modest and we knew that the adult specialists would eat her alive. I called an awesome pediatric cardiologist who has made amazing discoveries in his career at Columbia University here in MO and explained the situation. He agreed to see her and it was amazing!! She is so very childlike in ways and very innocent. He treated her so wonderfully and explained more to us in the one visit than our other doctors explained in 10 years. He has agreed to see her this year too (she will be 20). I don't know how much longer he will see her but we, like you, are counting our blessings right now!! :-) God is so good isn't He?? Blessings! Kris
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