I’m a little boy without a family and I want you to know who I really am, not just how some people see me. I’m 2 ½ years old. I was really tiny when I was born. I was delivered to my birth mother when I had only been inside her for 29 weeks. I weighed only 1.39kg. It seems that all those numbers mean that I was much much smaller than I should have been. I spent my first two months in a hospital getting bigger and getting lots and lots of testing done.

When I was a bigger baby I went to live with a wonderful family who took very good care of me. They loved me, hugged me and fed me well. They weren’t going to be my forever family but were nice. As I got bigger and grew taller, they started taking me to see lots of doctors. They were worried about me because I wasn’t doing the same things in the same way their other babies had done them. I never knew there was anything to worry about, I was happy.

As I started to develop I was a bit weaker than others my age. I was always happy to move around the best I could, I loved toys and checking out new things, but even when I tried really hard, being strong and steady was difficult for me. I found that things like sitting up straight, crawling and standing up on my legs (even with help) were all pretty hard to do. I think this was about that time that I first heard the words, “Spastic Diplegia and Cerebral Palsy”. Soon my “Mom” was taking me to a place once a week to do special exercises. The exercises helped a lot and two months after I started getting help; I was able to keep standing when I was put up against something to hold on to and I was sitting better.

I guess I still wasn’t doing well enough because the next thing I knew I moved to a place with lots of other children. It’s called a rehabilitation center and that is where I am now. Now I do those exercises much more often and so I’m getting stronger faster. Now I’m able to stand up alone without support and I’m walking with support with a tippy toe gait. My therapist thinks I’ll be able to walk alone in the future. I try really hard to listen and follow all the directions so that things will just get better and better for me. My hands are good and I use them pretty darn well. It’s good because I love using a spoon to feed myself, using a cup, playing with toys, stacking things, putting Duplos together, putting things inside each other and just exploring every thing I can get my hands on.

I’ve learned to like it here and I really like having so many friends. I’m happy here too.

I heard one of my teachers here tell the visiting Auntie that I was “a very normally active, social little boy who is clever” OK, she also said that, “I cry and sulk a bit when things don’t go my way and that sometimes I can be stubborn.” I’ve learned lots of things since I’ve been here. I know the names of everyone here that I spend time with. I know the parts of my body and lots of other stuff. I really love learning new things.

I also like to watch TV and to copy some of the things they do on the children’s programs.

Did I tell you that I even have a very special friend here? She’s a girl and because I can do lots more than she can, I enjoy helping her, by doing things like showing and giving her toys, showing her books and helping her take a drink when she’s thirsty. She is also waiting for her new family to discover her***.

Oh, did I tell you that I really like my room mother? I was sad to be here at first but she is so nice and she hugs and holds me (I love to give and get hugs) and she takes good care of me. She’s makes me feel loved although when she is hugging some of the other children here for too long, I’m not very happy about it.

Another thing about me, I’m kind of shy and quiet. I have a really soft voice. I didn’t really want to talk much but with the help of the lady here who talks to us (speech therapist) I’m talking more and using more and more words. This talking stuff is kind of neat; it gets me what I want more often now and I think that I don’t always cry now when things don’t go my way. So now you know me, DO YOU WANT ME FOR YOUR LITTLE BOY?

Note from Teri:

This sweet little boy has been waiting since he was an infant. He has just continues to get stronger and stronger and at the same time he has watched so many of his friends leave for adoption. I’m hoping that this time it will be his turn. To see his full listing on Rainbow Kids, go to: http://www.rainbowkids.com/wc/viewChild.jsp?oid=4829

Here are some sites to find out more about Cerebral Palsy:

http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/681_1208.asp

http://www.4mychild.com/

http://www.about-cerebral-palsy.org/definition/index.htmls

**A significant subsidy for the adoption of this special child is available to qualifying families