Instead of calling her 'Leah'...I've decided on the blog name 'Doc' for this new little one. Not only does she have medical needs but she also reminds me of the Disn*ey character Do*c McS*tuffins. Her diagnosis is Complicate Single Ventricle, Heterotaxy syndrome, Scoliosis, Restrictive lung disease and asthma. Basically, she was born with only part of her heart. Due to her heart issues, she is TINY. Like 29 pounds and the size of an 18 month old. She has a LOUD mouth and strong feet when she's stomping in her tantrums though. She was moved here from another foster home and will most likely be returned home to bio mom. She screams when she doesn't get her way and she tantrums often. She is constantly fighting with Sprout but school starts in a week and by then we should have a normal routine. Hoping I last that long...PRAY FOR ME. Lol.
P.S.- My 4 year old Sprout starts his 2nd year of pre-school one week from today. He'll take the bus and be there every day for 2 1/2 hours. Time flies...
Showing posts with label placement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label placement. Show all posts
September 1, 2015
August 23, 2015
Got a call...
***'Leah' is now 'Doc'.
On August 13th I got a call for respite. Not sure if I've blogged about it before but this isn't the first time I was asked to take this child. She has medical issues similar to Baby Love and her worker (same worker Baby Love and Smiley had) thought that we'd be a perfect match. The home finder asked if I'd take her for respite for the coming weekend because the agency is working with a skeleton staff and many foster parents were either away, unwilling or unable. I hesitantly said yes. Leah was discharged from the hospital to our home for her 10 days of respite. We could only take her for the weekend then I'd pack her up and send her to another home for the last 7 days. I'd been warned of how tiny she is and how fast I'd fall in love. She walked up to the front door and was the tiniest 5 year old I've ever seen. She is wearing a 3T and is only 29 pounds. (Sprout is my 4 year old son and he is wearing a size 5 and just about 40 pounds).
Leah was only born with half of her heart. She used to have a feeding tube but it has been removed. She has scoliosis and it's pretty severe. Her asthma flares up every once in a while but for the most part she's healthy. Leah is a very talkative, VERY bright little girl. She isn't shy and she is very aware of what foster care is and aside from learning the names of the people in my house she was a very nice house guest. She is on the track to reunification and is allowed to speak to her bio mom twice a day. The agency worker thinks that Leah will home in 6 months. If not, TPR will HAVE to be filed because her and her brother have been in care almost 2 years. Leah and her brother were initially placed together but because they didn't interact well and his impulsivity, they had no choice but to separate them. (Not sure how bio mom will handle them both when they are reunified). Her brother, Jaden, is a year older than her almost to the day. Earlier this summer, I was asked to take both of them for respite but didn't feel comfortable breaking our rule of 'no older children than Sprout' in the home. This time around, knowing they separated Leah from Jaden made it a bit easier saying yes.
The weekend went well. She and Sprout played and because we had nothing planned, we just sat by the pool and relaxed. We colored, went to church, watched movies and ate dinner out one night. I didn't want to do too much with her not only because she'd just spent 5 days in the hospital and she needed to stay quiet but I also didn't want her to think that respite is a party. Too much fun here would have made it really hard for her foster mom when she returned home. I spoke to bio mom just to fill her in on how things were going and bio mom asked me if we'd take Leah as a permanent placement. I explained that things really don't work that way and that she's placed with 'Betty' and I was only her respite home. Bio mom thanked me for taking such good care of Leah and the next morning I packed up her things and dropped her off with the worker. Later that day, the worker texted me to ask if we'd take Leah as a placement. Bio mom really liked the things she was hearing from Leah, she liked that I took the time to do her hair and loved the fact that I actually got on the phone with her to discuss her daughter. She wanted her moved here.
SOOO, after much consideration, family meetings and prayer...we've decided to take Leah. I had questions about school, transport for visits and the biggest question was what if bio mom stopped working her plan. I have no intention on adopting this little girl. The agency worker ASSURES me that this bio mom will not stop fighting for her kids. Her track record is good and they should be home very soon. There are reasons that the agency feels that our home would be better for Leah than Betty's...I won't go into that but for the most part, I agree. So, she's in respite until Monday and after her visit she'll be brought back to Betty's for the night to get her things. She should be here this week.
***'Leah' is now Doc.
On August 13th I got a call for respite. Not sure if I've blogged about it before but this isn't the first time I was asked to take this child. She has medical issues similar to Baby Love and her worker (same worker Baby Love and Smiley had) thought that we'd be a perfect match. The home finder asked if I'd take her for respite for the coming weekend because the agency is working with a skeleton staff and many foster parents were either away, unwilling or unable. I hesitantly said yes. Leah was discharged from the hospital to our home for her 10 days of respite. We could only take her for the weekend then I'd pack her up and send her to another home for the last 7 days. I'd been warned of how tiny she is and how fast I'd fall in love. She walked up to the front door and was the tiniest 5 year old I've ever seen. She is wearing a 3T and is only 29 pounds. (Sprout is my 4 year old son and he is wearing a size 5 and just about 40 pounds).
Leah was only born with half of her heart. She used to have a feeding tube but it has been removed. She has scoliosis and it's pretty severe. Her asthma flares up every once in a while but for the most part she's healthy. Leah is a very talkative, VERY bright little girl. She isn't shy and she is very aware of what foster care is and aside from learning the names of the people in my house she was a very nice house guest. She is on the track to reunification and is allowed to speak to her bio mom twice a day. The agency worker thinks that Leah will home in 6 months. If not, TPR will HAVE to be filed because her and her brother have been in care almost 2 years. Leah and her brother were initially placed together but because they didn't interact well and his impulsivity, they had no choice but to separate them. (Not sure how bio mom will handle them both when they are reunified). Her brother, Jaden, is a year older than her almost to the day. Earlier this summer, I was asked to take both of them for respite but didn't feel comfortable breaking our rule of 'no older children than Sprout' in the home. This time around, knowing they separated Leah from Jaden made it a bit easier saying yes.
The weekend went well. She and Sprout played and because we had nothing planned, we just sat by the pool and relaxed. We colored, went to church, watched movies and ate dinner out one night. I didn't want to do too much with her not only because she'd just spent 5 days in the hospital and she needed to stay quiet but I also didn't want her to think that respite is a party. Too much fun here would have made it really hard for her foster mom when she returned home. I spoke to bio mom just to fill her in on how things were going and bio mom asked me if we'd take Leah as a permanent placement. I explained that things really don't work that way and that she's placed with 'Betty' and I was only her respite home. Bio mom thanked me for taking such good care of Leah and the next morning I packed up her things and dropped her off with the worker. Later that day, the worker texted me to ask if we'd take Leah as a placement. Bio mom really liked the things she was hearing from Leah, she liked that I took the time to do her hair and loved the fact that I actually got on the phone with her to discuss her daughter. She wanted her moved here.
SOOO, after much consideration, family meetings and prayer...we've decided to take Leah. I had questions about school, transport for visits and the biggest question was what if bio mom stopped working her plan. I have no intention on adopting this little girl. The agency worker ASSURES me that this bio mom will not stop fighting for her kids. Her track record is good and they should be home very soon. There are reasons that the agency feels that our home would be better for Leah than Betty's...I won't go into that but for the most part, I agree. So, she's in respite until Monday and after her visit she'll be brought back to Betty's for the night to get her things. She should be here this week.
***'Leah' is now Doc.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
