Half The Sky

Tonight we spent an amazing evening with Half The Sky . Half The Sky has reformed the way all orphans in China receive care. This wonderful foundation is responsible for giving Teresa the best medical care and loving environment . ( Teresa's orphanage was VERY poor and could not provide her with any medical care. They had her transferred to Beijing and The Half The Sky /China Care home for medical care.) We were able to personally "Thank " Jenny Bowen ( the CEO and founder ) for loving our little girl and taking care of her . We were very moved as Jenny retold " Teresa's Story " to the gathering. As she ended, she said how happy she was for Teresa to have her family even though it was "Too late" to save her life. These two words are what haunt me day and night. Too late, is what we hear at EVERY Doctors visit. Too LATE is what wakes me up at night , Too Late, is what I see every day as children celebrate birthdays, learn to ride a bike, graduate from kindergarten, college, marry... Too Late for TERESA! Teresa will never get to experience these events because she did not receive medical care soon enough and now it is too late to save her life . She is inoperable .

I know God has perfectly orchestrated Teresa's life and in His eyes, it was never too late. Her life has a meaning and a purpose. I know this, but it still does not make it any easier.

It should never be too late for any child . No child should suffer, no child should go unloved, no child should go to bed alone . Every child should know LOVE and be LOVED . I guess this is called 'Heaven".

We are praying for "Peace " , to accept the results of Teresa's Heart Cath. next Friday . We have not given up hope of a miracle.

Farm Day Fun

Today we spent a fun day at The Days End Horse Rescue Farm Fall event. The little girls and I had fun playing games and riding the horses while Grace volunteered. Our favorite horse is Jinx. He has come so far from when he was first rescued. He is one of the most loving and gentle animals I have ever seen . ( I am not a big horse fan , but because Grace is I am trying to learn as much as possible about horses for her and I actually LOVE this horse!) . Lucy was the lucky one that got to ride him today .

Yesterday we journeyed up to Philadelphia for Teresa's pre-op testing for her heart Cath. on October 7. Blood work , chest x-ray, Heart echo. and 6 minute stress test and she did fantastic! I on the other hand was ready to have a heart attack watching her do the stress test on the tread mill. She ran for 3 minutes and then they had to stop because her oxygen dropped to 55 and she turned a shade of purple I have never seen before!!! She sat down and rested for a while and then wanted to know if she could do it again ! REALLY???? You almost gave your Mother a heart attack and you want to do it again ? Not today .

Wishing, Hoping and PRAYING for a miracle in TWO weeks !

Fundraiser info.

Many people have asked how they could make a donation to the fundraiser.
Please email danndorschel@yahoo.com

Ed and I are VERY grateful to everyone for helping us !

Angels Among Us

Little over a year and a half ago , before Ed and I took a "leap of faith" to adopt Teresa we were really struggling with whether or not God was calling us to adopt again . We had only been home from china a few months with Gemma and we were still adjusting and working through her monthly blood transfusions to get her stable. we knew we did not have the finances or energy to go forward with Teresa's adoption but at the same time we felt God was strongly leading us to adopt her. Not knowing how to proceed we consulted with Father Whatley . Before meeting with him , Ed and I prayed, asking God to speak through Father Whatley, giving us a clear answer whether to move forward or not .

The answer Father Whatley gave us ; "The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God will not protect you ".

We had our answer and very reluctantly took a HUGE leap of faith .

We did not know how we would come up with the tremendous adoption expenses let alone care for a child so ill...but God did. Teresa's entire adoption was a miracle. Everything fell into place miraculously , from adoption fees being dropped and reduced , Immigration expediting EVERY document and procedure, China expediting all paperwork, Our Senator and congressman helping to pull strings and our social worker helping to complete our Home Study in record time . From start to finish , with Travel Approval it took only 5 months!

We came home from China to settle into our new "Normal". We tried to return to life as normal , but that life was long gone . Our "new" life consisted of tremendous stress trying to juggle all the girls Doctors appointments ,illnesses and surgeries . To top it off the economy was worsening making it VERY difficult for Ed to pay himself and all of our financial security was gone.

Very confused we questioned God why He would lead us on this journey and not provide a way . We were REALLY struggling to make ends meet. Unable to afford ANY extras in life we were forced to remove the girls from everything .

That's when the angels started appearing.

Our angels came in many different forms...friends, family ,Priests, teachers, instructors and complete strangers.
These are our Angels among us .
They are helping us to carry this tremendous weight .
All Ed and I wanted in life was to do Gods will , take care of our family , remain un noticed and help others . Now somehow we are the ones needing help and it is a VERY humbling experience.

Our friends have put together a fundraiser to help us with Teresa's expenses for her oxygen and heart medicines.
The fundraiser will be November 11, 2011 at The Knights of Columbus on Frederick Rd., in Catonsville.

Info
Please join Vicki Wrisk and I as we host a "Quarter Mania Auction" for our dear friends, the Bartlinski Family. All proceeds from ticket sales will assist with the medical expenses for their daughter, Teresa Bartlinski.

GENTLEMEN: Please pass this along to your wife, mother, aunt, sister, girlfriend, etc., that would love a fun night out with the ladies!

$20 for admission & receive 1 paddle + $10 in quarters (no minors please).
Sandwich foods, desserts, snacks & beer, wine & setups available for purchase.

This is not a St. Mark HASA sponsored event.

Email me at danndorschel@yahoo.com for ticket/additional information ( i have a detailed flyer ). Tickets are limited! We hope to sell in advance and not at the door. If you cannot attend the event but would like to make a donation, please email me.

For those of you that have not had the priviledge to meet this amazing family, please check out the following links:

The Bartlinski's Blog:

http://ourplacecalledhome.blogspot.com/

December 2010 Catonsville Times Article:

http://www.marylandfamilymagazine.com/2011/01/11/catonsville-family-opens-home-and-heart-to-children-from-china/

We are so very grateful to these angels for helping us !

Teresa's First Day of School

Look out Pre-School , here I come!!!!

Today Teresa started 4 year old pre school . We prayed about this day for a long time. Should we let her go or keep her home and not have her exposed to so many viruses. Ed and I both agreed there was no holding her back . She wanted to go and be like everyone else ! She was SOOOOOOO excited !

Next Friday we head back up to CHOP to have a full day of pre-op testing done to make sure Teresa can handle the anesthesia for her heart cath. She is scheduled to have her heart Cath. on October 7th. On the outside she looks fantastic and she has been feeling great with lots of energy . Her oxygen has been holding at 75. But on the inside , that's a different story . When I hold her , her little heart feels as if it is coming through her chest , beating so hard and fast . This has been one of the hardest things for me to overcome because it is a constant reminder of how fragile her life is . I can only imagine what this must feel like for her continuously .

We are Praying ,Praying , Praying ...that on October 7 we receive good news. It will be one year that she has been on the top doses of all her heart medicines. We need the progression of damage to her heart and lungs to be slowed down (the med. can not cure her heart and lungs but can only slow down the deterioration . Surgery is the only cure but she is inoperable). We also have full faith that GOD can heal her heart and lungs completely ! This is the miracle we are praying for.

Gemma Rose

Poor Gemma came home from school yesterday completely exhausted. She did not want to do anything . When I asked her what her favorite thing of the day was , she said ...lunch and nap time! That's my Gemma Rose !
She was due for her transfusion this week and her hemoglobin had dropped VERY low . Her little lips were so white.
Today she is feeling much better. It's amazing how a little blood can make her feel energized and ready to go . She will have to go back to receiving her transfusions every 3 weeks because 4 was a little too long .

Gemma Rose is 5!!!!

Yesterday Gemma Rose turned 5. Kissy Face, Buddha Belly , Drama Queen, Chun Yang, Yang Yang, what ever name you go by , we love you just the way you are !

Gemma was born with the most severe form of Beta Thalassemia Major. She will require blood transfusions every month for the rest of her life ( or hopefully a cure will be found soon . Right now the only cure is a bone marrow transplant). She also requires daily (eight hour) infusions of Deferoxamine to remove the excess iron from her body . Although she endures a lot on a daily basis, she never complains. She rolls with the punches and is very easy going . That is as long as her belly is full. There are two things in life that Gemma loves, eating and bugs. She eats anything and everything, she is not picky. She also loves to collect critters. Her latest find was a huge toad.

When we adopted Gemma 1 1/2 years ago we toured her orphanage and visited with her Foster Family . She was only with the Foster Family for 5 months but she was greatly loved. When we arrived at their home I thought we might have made a mistake by coming. Gemma was ecstatic . She was so happy to show us her bed, shoes, toys and her favorite snacks. I thought there is no way she is going to leave with us . But luckily just before it was time to leave her Foster Mom told her how much she loved her and that she was so happy she had a family and would be going home with us . This really brought closure for Gemma. She walked to the van with her Foster Mom's hand and Mary's hand in the other , turned and gave her a kiss and said "Good- Bye, I'm going home" and jumped in the van and was fine. Luckily her Foster Mom waited until we were driving away to start crying . This was one of the most memorable Thanksgiving Days we have ever had . We did not have turkey or pumpkin pie , we had the best home made peanut soup .On this special American Holiday we were "Thankful" for a Loving Family that loved our daughter before we could. We were surrounded by "new" family and friends. Memories for a life time.

Little Miss Kissy face bonded with us right away . She is such a loving child. She and Teresa are very close, they are best friends .

Today was her first day of kindergarten. Sooooo excited !
Along with her Thalassemia , Gemma has a severe speech disorder. She can say a few words,but most of her conversation is uncomprehendible. This girl LOVES to talk too. This year her school is going to provide her with a speech device . This will help her to communicate better with her teacher along with receiving speech therapy twice a week . What an exciting year it will be for her.

Lucy's Hurricane Birthday Party

In one week we had an earthquake and a hurricane.
Saturday was Lucy's Eighth Birthday .We celebrated by having a Hurricane Birthday party ! She was so excited to ride her new bike but unfortunately with all of the rain that had to wait . We ended up having to take Teresa to the ER around 8:00pm because as the girls were cleaning up getting ready for bed , Emilia decided to wing a toy at Teresa and it hit her in her cheek , went through her cheek into her mouth , poor baby . So during the middle of the hurricane we went to Hopkins where luckily it was empty . We were in and out in no time . All patched up and good as new. I'm hoping she does not have too big of a scar on her beautiful little face.
We only lost power for about 16 hours, so it wasn't too bad.

Luckily the sun came out today and Lucy could ride her new bike!

Five years ago when we adopted Lucy I had no idea what we were in for . Her adoption opened the eyes of my heart. Mary's adoption was so easy and her special need was uncomplicated. But with Lucy we had no idea of ALL her medical needs before we adopted her . We were told she had cleft palate and torticollus and that's all. I know with any adoption you have to be open to all of the unknowns and with Lucy there were so MANY.
She came to us very sick . Once we arrived home she spent the first 2 weeks in the hospital . Her Doctors said she would not have lived much longer had she stayed in China .
Before we left for China to adopt Lucy we had contacted China Care ( unknowingly the same orphanage that Teresa would soon be in ). We asked if we could do anything to help . At the time they were in need of supplies being delivered to China. So they sent us the supplies and we repacked them into 6 suitcase and delivered them to CC in Beijing when we arrived. While there we toured the home and had the privilege of playing with all of the children . God was slowly opening our eyes to the tremendous need for orphans. Little did we know that our sweet Teresa would soon be in this same home receiving life saving care !
As we left the China Care Home we were very moved by all of the children left behind without families to love them .
Several days later we traveled to Lucy's Province to meet her . What a little fire cracker she was . As sick as she was she tried everything she could think of to make us laugh so we would love her. Lucy's story is very sad . No child should have to endure the tremendous suffering that she experienced in the first three years of her life.
I would like to think had we known of her health before her adoption that we would have still gone through with it . It was very scary for a while . Today she is doing fantastic . She still has major health concerns but she is thriving and growing.
Four years ago when we returned to China ,we went back to Lucy's orphanage. We toured the orphanage and were able to see where she had spent so much of her early years. We also visited her abandonment site.( this is where she was found) We were there exactly 4 years to the day that she was abandoned. As I stood on the dirt road and watched all the people walking by , I couldn't help but think that just maybe one of these women might be Lucy's Birth Mother . Did she come back every year on this anniversary ? I can only imagine the pain she carries in her heart . She loved " Ya Ya Mei" so much . Lucy was found with a birth note from her birth Mother. This birth note told us so much about her Birth family . We know that she was dearly loved and that she had an older sibling . We also know that August 27, 2003, is her exact birth date and time. Her Birth Mother named her " Beautiful little Sister " .Lucy was born with bilateral cleft palate and torticullis. Her head was severely deformed and fused to the side and her mouth was completely open going through both sides of her nose. She was anything but beautiful, but her birth mother ( and I ) both thought she was the most beautiful child we had ever seen .

Today she is a very happy 8 year old .She still has moments from her past ... She becomes my shadow at night ,following me every where because she is still haunted by her past . How I wish I could erase these terrible memories for her. I know God is slowly healing her memories and filling them with love.

I am in awe at how God was preparing us for Teresa and how HE lead us to The China Care home just before Teresa would arrive . Our connections to China Care are only made possible by God.

China Care/Half The Sky Foundation are amazing organizations that help to save the lives of so many children in China. We are forever grateful to them for taking care of Teresa .

Want / Need

Want and Need, one of the many lessons we have learned over the past year. With Teresa's medical care so expensive ( her one heart medicine alone is over $1,200 a month ), we can only afford what we need.
I constantly tell the girls "God will provide all that you need".
This is sometimes difficult for them to understand...
For the past few months Grace has been asking ,almost daily , for a horse . A horse is so far off my radar of something we need right now. So after hearing about this tremendous "Need" for so long , I finally told her to take it up with God .If HE felt this was something she truly "Needed", than He would provide a way .
So guess what ... God provided a way to meet Grace's "Need".
Through a friend we learned of a horse rescue farm in need of volunteers to help rehabilitate abused horses.
Grace went through the training and has been volunteering there for the past 2 weeks. She is in heaven . She LOVES caring for the horses and is helping to build trust in humans again through loving care. She will soon be matched with a horse to foster until it is healthy enough to be adopted.
God knew Grace's "Need" when all I saw was "Want".
God continues to provide for our every need!

As summer comes to an end we are so thankful to God for giving Teresa a summer full of fun , laughter, love and many healthy days full of energy and free from illness.
Teresa will start Pre-K in September. We really struggled over whether or not to send her to school or home school her. A simple cold could potentially take her life. She really wants to go to school. I have faith God will provide for her every need .
We are returning to CHOP in early October for another heart Catheterization .
Still praying for a miracle...

Teresa's First Holy Communion

Teresa's First Holy Communion .A very special day . Thank you for keeping Teresa in your prayers and getting her to this day . It was very special for her .