Happy Birthday, B!

Somebody turned FOUR this week...




...and couldn't be more pleased!

The rest of the crew doesn't mind another birthday, either!

And this special guy had not one but TWO days of birthday fun...

...and cake!

On B's birthday I was reading September staff reports and one of the tias mentioned that he's the smartest one in her group of toddlers. Wow, I thought. Seriously?! This is the child waiting three years to be assigned a family not put off by his medical and development reports.

Then that very evening before hitting the streets, I was hanging out with some kids supposed to be winding down for bed, and 4 1/2 year old B says "Tia, what color is your hair?" I told him to tell me. He thought about it and said "Hmm...PINK!" Brand-new-four-year-old B immediately corrected him "No...YELLOW!!"

Way to go, B! You've come so far and we pray that God has an adoptive family specially picked for YOU.

all my children

Yesterday we took the plunge and attempted to get a good group picture of all 42 of our children!

And you think YOUR family photos are challenging....

it takes a whole team to get ours!

Other than dear Twin Girl E screaming her head off (surprising to no one who knows her apart from the adorable pictures)....

...and realizing right after the kids dispersed that little girl A (CDA II) was around back playing, oops....

it was possibly our most painless large group photo yet!

Thanks in large part to Rick Alseth's entertaining shanigans. Should've gotten a picture of that!

Aren't they cute?

Don't miss new baby F in S's arms.

Can't believe they are all "mine"!!!

Gotta love the dark circles...yes, I'm exhausted.

Afterwards we all celebrated B's 2nd birthday!!

His differing abilities...or what do they say these days?...cause him to be at the bottom of the stack to be assigned adoptive parents, but we still hold out hope that he WILL one day have the joy of being someone's beloved son!

Till then...


Happy 2nd Birthday, Benito!!

We're so glad you're ours!

new world

It's been amazing to watch A bloom now that she can hear! Even her personality is changing. She is more outgoing and happy than before.


However, there are pros and cons. Recently a helicopter was circling the sky in our Cochabamba valley. A was playing outside with the other kids from CDA III. Hearing the odd sound, she searched for the source and was terrified! She didn’t know whether to run to it or from it, her panic level rising. Kathy, the home's “mother”, was the only one who could calm her down.

She has new sounds and tries to mimic what we say. I imagine that she could benefit from speech therapy, to help her catch up, although it will be a challenge for one person to take in three small children/toddlers at once.

We're a Team!

Thanks to…

Rick & Kathy’s (CDA III "parents") close observance of A...

Jen setting up the appointment at Neuro Center...

Katrina taking A. in for the ABR hearing test (involves lots of walking and a long bus ride with a wiggly toddler)...

Katrina taking A. in AGAIN, because the neurologist and anesthesiologist had an emergency the first time...

Jen picking up the results...

Maria picking up the receipt when it was finally ready...

Rene at Starkey Foundation for agreeing to help us again...

Suma, Starkey Foundation’s audiologist, reading the results and confirming the hearing loss...

Audiocien of Cochabamba for making the two custom hearing aid molds for A (for free!)....

Katrina taking in A. to be measured for the molds...

...and again when they couldn't make them the first time

Denise taking a picture of the hearing aids when they arrived so that they knew better how to make A's molds

Orphan World Relief's donation to cover Starkey's minimal fee for the two hearing aids...

Denise bringing the hearing aids in her luggage...

Denise taking A. to pick up the molds and get them attached to the hearing aids...

And the Alseth family learning how to care for them and use them...

Our beautiful A. has two beautiful hearing aids!!!!!

Hearing aids...again

This lively little one (profiled here)....

has been assigned an adoptive family from Europe!

This 21 month old cutie

also has hearing loss.

Now we don't know how one will affect the other.

I "read" the ABR test results and the neurologist's report myself two weeks ago when I picked them up and felt it was so, but now it's confirmed.

Severe to profound loss in her left ear

(unfortunately we don't know which because as is his custom, the doctor did a sloppy job in working through the decibel levels)

Moderate loss in her right ear

I'm in touch with Starkey Foundation again, so hopefully we'll have her aids here by June with a returning volunteer.

How will this affect her future?

My Little Dancer

A couple nights ago I brought Baby B, 15 months old now, up to the office to be with me and for extra stimulation. He was fine and happily entertained himself for about an hour, but then, when I turned on Brooke Fraser, LOUD, he went nuts!! Before I had tried to get his attention by calling his name and talking to him loudly, but he didn't pay any special attention to me. But he came alive with the music! I've heard the caregivers say that but hadn't seen it myself since his hearing aids. Finally, my first proof that they are helping!!

(That's our medical assistant Katrina at the filing cabinet, putting away various lab results in kid files.)

And then the last thing that happened before I left the office yesterday for church rehearsal:

Childcare superviser Tia (aunt) Adelaida sulks into the office. "Tia Jenny? I have some really bad news. Some really really bad news."

I notice she's nearly shaking and obviously nervous about continuing. This is my best tia here, so I can't imagine what's gone so wrong.

"Well......uh......it's really NOT good news." (I have the point by now.)

"One of B's hearing aids is... Broken."

I dropped the pen I was writing with, picked my jaw off the floor, and tried to not scream. Those are worth around $1000 each, although of course ours cost us much less from Starkey Foundation, that's even more pressure to me (how could we request a replacement?). I begged my eyes to see that it was just the mold and not the expensive part. IT'S JUST THE MOLD!! YEAH!!

But then I have to break the news to the audiologist at Audiocien, who made those for us for free.

"Buenas tardes, Don Miguel? Um......this is Jennifer from Hogar de Amor. Do you remember me? Of course you remember me. Well, uh, we have a little problem here."

(Why is it odd he doesn't seem surprised?)

"Well, uh, it's that......... ourbabyBsomehowgothishearingaidoutandanother(teething)babyBITitandnowthemoldisin,well,twopieces."

He didn't yell at me. Just said we'd have to take a look at it the next day since it was already late. SHEW.

Ironically this happens on the same day I probably spent a good hour total on organizing B's care better, particularly in regard to the usage and safety of both hearing aids. (Lately there have been problems losing them although there's a central place to put them, him ripping them out, the tape we use hurting his skin, sores in his ears maybe from putting them in wrong, the volume getting changed accidentally, tias forgetting to put them back in after his naps, etc., etc. At least I'm completely in charge of checking the batteries and changing them out every couple of weeks.)

So the administrator said "It really doesn't work to use hearing aids with a baby, does it". Nooo, it should work!! At least I don't think it should be so complicated. It's just our situation. Sigh. The challenges are more compounded raising so many at once, with 8 different "mothers" + volunteers and me.

And teething babies who think a soft plastic mold is nice for chewing practice.

As now I'm sure you are all very concerned about what craziness will happen next in the hearing aid saga, please join us in praying for God to work in providing B with a permanent loving family! He is a beautiful, sweet baby who loves attention and joking around. He has a slight to moderate case of cerebral palsy, severe hearing loss in one ear, moderate hearing loss in the other (the degree depends on who you talk to), and--what seems to be the main issue behind his delays--brain damage/mental retardation. Our current volunteer didn't seem to believe me when I described how he was as a baby, so cranky and hard to please and decidedly ANTI-social. He has turned around so much from that stage.

We KNOW that there is a family who will love and embrace him from one of the countries Bolivia works with (mainly European). I can't say much more here in public, but we have high hopes that he will be matched to someone soon, although he could still easily be with us another year. And I will miss him terribly when he goes.

THE Hearing Aid!!

Our Baby B finally has hearing aids, yeah!!! Starkey Foundation has been wonderful at assisting and advising me, and have now provided two at low cost. So far we're using one, with the second to be added after we've adjusted and gotten used to using the first.

Yesterday, taking advantage of having NO medical appointments for babies (!!!), I researched several issues instead. Lately I've been blog hopping late at night (or even in the day, I admit), and not just because I LOVE reading how other people live and admiring their creativity and seeing the pictures of their beautiful, highly functional families...although I do a lot...but I also figured that soon or later visiting one of these amazing mother-of-many-children blogs, that someone would have special needs kids. Today I discovered this one, Octamom! (Yep, 8 kids, including a hearing impaired daughter and twins, and she homeschools.)

I related to her story of her daughter being fitted with the hearing aids, walking out, and no further help...until the hero of the story, the mother of course, tracked down a group who would answer their questions. Here in Bolivia, the lady at the hearing aid clinic/store/whatever it is just put it in his ear and said to come back in two weeks and I was like uh.......that CAN'T be all there is to this. When do we take it out? Then how do we put it back in? How do we know if the volume is too high? Can't that volume knob be moved wayyy too easily? (Answer: it can! By the time we got home, several errands later, it was twice as high as she had set it. Oops!)

And the main problem: the highly valuable end practically flaps in the wind it's so loose on him. With a spastic little body and (currently) 16 brothers and sisters, this is NOT gonna work. So now I'm researching how to better secure it. The tias and I are also curious as to what the little switch is, or does. I'm already planning to go back early next week, and hopefully the main guy will be there and can answer our rapidly growing list of questions. Also it seems to me that B isn't responding any better so I think the volume will need to be increased, or is that due to the brain damage, or that he can't control where he looks very well? Talk about a wad of issues at once!! This is going to be interesting. Now to find a blogger with a baby with cerebral palsy...

"So, how are the babies doing?"

An innocent question with no easy answer!! More often than not it's like, hmm....."Well, you know, they are really......cute."

The past couple of weeks:

Benito: still needs a hearing aid for one ear. He is not very near passing the much-hoped-for milestone of sitting alone by 12 months. Now, "supposedly" his walking will be severely delayed (all four limbs and his trunk are affected by cerebral palsy).

Esteban: needs hearing aids for both ears. Great news from his most recent CT scan: the fluid left on his brain will drain alone, so he doesn't need brain surgery! His hip x-ray also came back normal.

Victoria: currently receiving some intense physical therapy to try to relax her curved, stiff legs. She's 3 months old today and the orthopedist had hoped for more improvement by now. Our physical therapist and psychologist have told me a couple of times now that Victoria does not respond to visual stimuli, maybe not auditory either. :-( Tomorrow morning I have an appointment with her to see about that...

Jose: needs surgery on his umbilical hernia (imagine a giant "marshmallow" sitting on the stomach of a 9 pound baby). He is still on calcium and still trembles a lot, and now has anemia too. At least with the formula we changed him to, he seems to be eating/growing better. In a month we'll see if we need to do anything about his bowed out legs. (He was born with syphilis.)

Jose, Carla, Benito, Ericka, me: battled persistent conjunctivitis for a couple weeks (PTL we're all clear now!)

Erick, Ericka, Katarine: running skin abscesses, "non-contagious" (yeah, right)

Luz Clarita: abdominal sonogram came back normal but needs a special internal exam now

Benito: exam under anesthesia once

Esteban: exam under anesthesia twice

A. M.: got sick for the first time since starting the ARV drugs. Happily, she was only down a few hours before her doctor prescribed medicine, and she's up and running again (and I do mean running!)

Camila: has started speech therapy twice a week

Brandon: taking a break from speech therapy (it's his 3rd birthday today!)

Victoria, Jose, Benito, Belinda: twisted legs, abnormal hip x-rays, bowed legs, etc. I want a second opinion from another orthopedic specialist...when I have time to make the appointment and take 3 of those babies with me at once!

Marcus, Victoria: got immunizations (we have monthly visits to the Baby Home for those, but M & V live at CDA III)

Speaking of CDA III, they've had 2 or 3 viruses in a row run through their house and seem to be in another. Some say it's "that time of year" (as well as with the skin/eye infections due to all the wind and dryness), but you'd be hard pressed to find a time of year in Cochabamba where there's not SOMETHING bad health-wise due to the weather. (Must be all that "perfect, spring-like weather" we have here--HA!)


Other than that, all is just peachy and the kids are doing great! =)

And this is just the health area, not to mention legal and social. We've been very busy in those areas the past couple of weeks too, mainly due to the newest set of kids and upcoming adoptions. Oh, and that meanwhile, Bolivia was often tearing apart at the seams.

Never a dull moment!


PS--See new picture at the bottom of the blog. =)

Hearing aids for babies?

We're on our way to becoming experts on this one. Since February, we've known that our special baby Benito needed at least one hearing aid, for his weaker left side. After doing a very specialized test a second time a couple weeks ago, we were told he might need two, particularly from the guy at the hearing aid clinic. But another neurologist said still just one.

At the same time, we tested a new baby (the one I'm holding in my profile picture) and one neurologist said he needed hearing aids and another no, and the hearing aid specialist yes. He certainly has potential for issues, due to meningitis, the abuse, and even the medications he received while hospitalized for two months. The lack of stimulation during that time didn't help much, either. To us, it seems that Benito hears okay while Esteban responds practically zero to auditory stimuli.

So tonight I went to a very good ENT to try to get to the bottom of all this. He was extremely kind and helpful--if only all doctors were so!! For lack of further options, I'm considering going fully with his recommendations, which are:

Benito, almost 1 year old, still needs only one hearing aid. The usual types should work with him since he doesn't use his hands very well, and certainly not to play with his face/ears.

The news with Esteban wasn't so great, poor baby. He might need full hearing aid support until he's a couple of years old at least (he's approximately 5 months currently). The doctor suggested a certain type that's better for active babies. That's where I need help!! I'm not finding anything on the internet like the doctor described to me, two connected "vibrators" that sit behind the ear (rather than going in)? He would wear it over his head, connected by something that sounds like a headband. Anyone know anything about these types or willing to research it for us?? On Friday we have an appointment with the hearing aid people to fit Benito, so I'll of course consult with them, but I'm afraid that Bolivia might not have this kind. Now that I'm looking into it, the US is so far ahead of technology here, I'm afraid that it will not be available in the US either. And even if I DID find and get a set donated to us here, who in Bolivia would know how to regulate it?? Sigh. (And I already know the normal "internal" version is not going to be an option for him, because we've waited months for Benito's ears to be big enough for the tubes to fit in. They are at a loss here at how to make the "molds" small enough for young babies.)

Thanks for any help or leads!!!

And another baby...

I think I should be careful what I read. Shortly before receiving our HIV positive baby, I read a book by a Christian surgeon who was HIV+. A couple weeks before getting the baby pictured below, whose mother is deaf/mute, I read a book by the daughter of deaf parents. Then yesterday morning, I read an article on a baby who died from shaken baby syndrome and the multiple injuries the abuse caused, and it listed some stats.....that came in useful just a couple hours later when SEDEGES called. In every case God was preparing me and my mind was opened to a different side of the suffering in this world.

I really don't have a good reason of why we said yes this time, having said no to another the day before. For once, we actually had forewarning that this was going to be a difficult case. SEDEGES said the baby was being released from the hospital from multiple injuries pointing towards child abuse. We still don't have room. Two babies leave "soon", but soon here has an entirely different meaning. And it had only been 8 days since a new baby. Anyway, we said yes and within an hour he was in my arms. He's about 4 months old.

It was awful reading through and trying to understand the many medical reports he arrived with (side note: we're grateful he actually came with so much background info). One from July listed 8 prescribed medicines and no less than 14 diagnoses (I'm translating, hopefully correctly, from Spanish): meningitis, seizures, hygroma, moderate intraventricular hemorrhaging, moderate hydrocephaly, generalized hypotonia, intracranial pressure, psychomotor delay, anemia, oral thrush, cardiac insufficiency, bronchitis, fractured left rib, and-finally!-possible battered baby syndrome. A couple weeks before a forensic report also listed multiple bruises, from head to toe, and that he was at imminent risk of death. By the time I finished, I was nervous to even have him in my care! He was also a little bit cranky...who knows from what? The main thing we notice holding him is how "floppy" he is, from the hypotonia, which makes him kinda hard to hold (although not quite as challenging as our Benito, with CP).

But thankfully, I was out till late with him at our pediatrician and he seems pretty much recovered from all the above. He still needs to visit our neurologist though. Hopefully his need for brain surgery, as listed on one of the reports, is wrong. Poor baby! He has a 3 year old sibling that I want to check on as soon as possible.

This is definitely the dark side of our work, seeing what humans in their sin nature are capable of. Still, I will not throw the first stone. Living my comfortable life, I cannot even begin to imagine surviving the incredible stresses, crisis, and trauma that make up the everyday lives of the parents of our kids. Apart from the Lord, we are all doomed to commit such atrocities.

What a Trip, What a Life

I had a MOST wonderful time in Texas! Any concerns about it being too strange to not go back to our former home (such a peaceful one in the country on “Farms Road”) were unfounded. It was both interesting and relaxing to follow Heather around, get to know her new life, see where Sarah lives, visit relatives I rarely see now, etc.

A lot of it was just gratefulness at getting to be back for the first time in 15 months, and my first Fourth of July there since moving to Bolivia. I usually can’t get away this time of year due to the stream of visitors/volunteers, but this time I could leave my parents in charge and take a quick escape! At my shortest trip back ever (2 weeks including several travel days), I made a conscious effort to savor every moment there. I needed the break in a bad way, since it's very difficult to get much peace and quiet while here, or to feel "away" from the work/staff/volunteers/kids. This time I was also in three different parts of Texas so got to see lots of different things and almost all of my relatives while there. The days were packed, but somehow relaxing too. Thank you so much to all who hosted me, and me and my sister, so that I could accomplish the most possible while there. We really appreciated it and had a wonderful time together!

Some highlights of the trip were being out on the lake, eating all the Tex-Mex I could hold, and…going shopping with my Grandma. Invariably, when I would get (supposedly) out of ear shot, she would begin telling anyone who would listen where her granddaughter lives and what she does. With her version, I come out like some sort of saint! The comments were interesting. One well-meaning woman in a shoe store gushed, "You must have the BEST JOB in the whole world!!" She was dead serious.

I'm reading a book written by the daughter of deaf parents ("A Loss for Words"). She said that growing up, her friends and other people tended to think her life was either much better or much worse than it really was. I get the same sense sometimes. The comments and looks say it all: my life is either romantic and exciting, or at best I'm really strange for doing what I do--and loving it.

As for the first, I always say thank the Lord that our life here isn't constant child rescues! Last year made that clearer than ever. A year ago this time, we were still dealing with the fall out from bringing in baby Juan Gabriel (7 1/2 months), very sick and cranky as a result of living on the street his entire life. It was a very exciting, rewarding thing to do--for a few hours. Then everyone from me to the staff to the youngest baby got whatever he had, in spite of putting him into strict isolation. After two days in the home, he was admitted to the hospital for two solid weeks (still an HDA record), but the harm was already done. I don't think I've ever been sick that bad and that long, with a terrible cough that made me develop a very painful muscle strain in my side that took months to heal and still isn't the same. Yes, very romantic life. The same baby's mother's boyfriend showed up at the Baby Home shortly after, high on glue, and created a huge scene by trying to escape with the baby while cussing us out, kicking a hole in our gate, only giving up when police arrived. (Okay, so my life may not be romantic, but it CAN be dramatic. ;-) )

As to the latter, the people who ask if we have running water or if we feel safe going outside or if we have food to eat...our quality of life just might be better than theirs! If they only knew how good we have it! We've lost track of how many volunteers have stayed on after serving at the homes. Generally speaking, the only ones who actually return to their home countries are those who have school or a fiancé waiting. And all the tragedy and sorrow surrounding our kids' lives is made more bearable simply by the fact that we are here and in the incredible position of being able to do something about it. As to being around at least a dozen kids at all times, and living and officing out of the Baby Home, it's not a bother to me. You can get used to just about anything, and nothing matters if you love it!

All that to say, this life IS pretty unique, with a ridiculous range of highs and lows which made the quieter time in Texas a huge joy! But I am so glad to be back with all the kids and staff now, and of course my family, and the current 4 volunteers. It was great to hit the ground running, as usual, and to be in the thick of everything within hours of getting here. Having stepped out and now back in, I have new eyes for observing, which is always refreshing. In particular I’ve noticed my Dad's interaction with the kids. I don’t know if his affection has grown or I wasn’t noticing before, but he definitely loves them and of course they adore him back. The highlight of their week is getting to go anywhere with him in his “big car” or even to be held by him a moment. It's great to see, and we appreciate having men in the kids' lives.

A couple of pictures from the trip:

We had a wonderful afternoon lunching with the Samsels, a lovely family with 5 children that is interested in moving to Bolivia to minister to children.

Heather and I enjoyed being with Amber again, long time Casa de Amor volunteer (here we are outside Lighthouse Christian Fellowship, in Prosper, TX).