So as I listen to Josh Wilson singing 3 Minute Song, and tape Bible verses onto Tootsie Rolls, I want to introduce you to a precious brilliant little girl!!!
Bethany 15H
December 2006
Osteogenesis Imperfecta
melx-15
Osteogenesis Imperfecta
melx-15
From volunteers who met her: This radiant girl lives in a EE orphanage. She suffers from OI, Group 3. She was bedridden for the most of her life; until she was almost 4 years old she could not sit and could not turn over. She had multiple bones broken by simply moving around in bed. Only one year ago volunteers found her in a cast from head to toe. They have begun raising money for her rehabilitation in the American Medical Center in Moscow. As a result, she is now sitting vertically first time in her life. The first time she was able to look out the window, she saw the bleak Moscow landscape of late November and there was no limit for her joy! She takes such pleasure in being able to see that the street cleaning guy has a “soft” hat and that birds are “fuzzy .” Despite having such a handicapped childhood, Bethany is unbelievably bright. At three and a half she knew all colors, 1 to 10 numbers, could recite many children rhymes, and she has a perfect music pitch! According to the nurses, Bethany radiates positivism and humor to such degree that children from the hospital gather in her room for a good laugh, a song, or a story. When it was time for her to leave the hospital and to part with the nurses, she broke down crying for the first time, despite all the physical pain of the hospital procedures. She desperately wants to belong, to be part of a family.
Update Sept 2011: Bethany is extremely bright child…despite of the orphanage environment, her mental development is far beyond her age group. You should see how she responds to the questions and how she comments…she is so funny and so cheerful. She can sit without a help, but she is still not walking.
More information and a video from June 2011 is available for interested families. More pictures available. Potential families must have good medical coverage and be comfortable financially.
$4928.70 is available towards the cost of my adoption!
This little one is not only, adorable - she is BRILLIANT!
There is a video of here here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUqdzhFYzOw&feature=channel_video_title, but of course if you don't speak Russian, it doesn't do you very much good! :) But here are a few excerpts from the video (in English!) -
- The journalist is calling her “Sweet little dove”, she says seriously “ Why you are calling me Dove? I am not a dove, my name is "Bethany"”
- The journalist is asking her “ Do you like to sit in a armchair?”, she responds “ Of course, I like it. It is very convenient in general. You just need to put an extra roller for the back in order your back not to be curved”
- The journalist is telling to the camera about "Bethany's" medical condition and she comments “ Oh…I understand everything what you are saying here about me…yes…it is truth!”
- When being asked to introduce herself, she is saying " My name is "Bethany" and I am very smart"
- The journalist is asking her " Are your eyes being bothered by the camera's light?", she responds " No, because the light is pointing directly to my nose".
LOL She is soo literal and brilliant! Wouldn't she make and amazing daughter? ♥ Please consider adding her to your family! She desperately wants a family of her own!
****UPDATED - MORE INFO about her!
(Not sure when this is from...)
What our volunteers said about Bethany
“Bethany sat for the first time in her life! Finally! She sat for ten whole minutes. It made me cry. Imagine, she finally saw things that she had never seen before – falling leaves, a yard-keeper outside. She noticed that his hat was “soft”. Bethany is now more mobile. She is crawling in her playpen and can move her legs. She is not afraid to roll over!”
“You've got to believe us, she is not only the most advanced of all the orphans we have ever seen, she is a true genius! She talks non-stop and knows a lot of things that even “regular” children her age don't know.”
“Bethany recited me a poem and I told her a story about two silly hamsters. She asked me why the hamsters were laughing and immediately answered that question herself. “Because they are kind and silly, and because they got their grain stash!” When it was time to go, I hugged her and she said that my hair was “tickly”
Doctors at the European Medical Center have presented Bethany with a wheelchair, and Bethany moves herself on that wheelchair very dexterously, turning wheels with her little hands.
Bethany plays in a hospital’s playroom with a boy, the same age and OI stage 3 as Bethany, however that boy is walking, and Bethany is not. The only difference between them is that Bethany is an orphan, and boy is staying at the hospital with his Mom. The staff of the orphanage loves Bethany dearly but they can not substitute family’s effort to make a child walk.
The most ground-breaking news: Bethany CAN STAND now! She can stand without anybody’s help, holding bed’s post! Just imagine how happy Bethany was standing first time by herself on the floor! Hopefully, around New Year holidays, Bethany could start walking using orthoses, splints or walkers…
The personnel of the orphanage, who loves Rita very much and greets Rita every morning as their most beloved and important boss, already prepared a pair of special beautiful little shoes!
Bethany has a new nanny; today is nanny’s first day, but she already is under spell of our Asian princess’s charm.
Nanny says that Bethany is extremely smart and that is why it is so easy for Bethany to master geometrical forms, drawing, counting and so on: today they practiced counting backwards.
Currently Bethany can sit and turn in bed, can stand: her bones and back muscles are stronger, her legs are longer, she is growing rapidly, and, consequently, her body deformations are less severe.
- The journalist is calling her “Sweet little dove”, she says seriously “ Why you are calling me Dove? I am not a dove, my name is "Bethany"”
- The journalist is asking her “ Do you like to sit in a armchair?”, she responds “ Of course, I like it. It is very convenient in general. You just need to put an extra roller for the back in order your back not to be curved”
- The journalist is telling to the camera about "Bethany's" medical condition and she comments “ Oh…I understand everything what you are saying here about me…yes…it is truth!”
- When being asked to introduce herself, she is saying " My name is "Bethany" and I am very smart"
- The journalist is asking her " Are your eyes being bothered by the camera's light?", she responds " No, because the light is pointing directly to my nose".
LOL She is soo literal and brilliant! Wouldn't she make and amazing daughter? ♥ Please consider adding her to your family! She desperately wants a family of her own!
****UPDATED - MORE INFO about her!
(Not sure when this is from...)
What our volunteers said about Bethany
“Bethany sat for the first time in her life! Finally! She sat for ten whole minutes. It made me cry. Imagine, she finally saw things that she had never seen before – falling leaves, a yard-keeper outside. She noticed that his hat was “soft”. Bethany is now more mobile. She is crawling in her playpen and can move her legs. She is not afraid to roll over!”
“You've got to believe us, she is not only the most advanced of all the orphans we have ever seen, she is a true genius! She talks non-stop and knows a lot of things that even “regular” children her age don't know.”
“Bethany recited me a poem and I told her a story about two silly hamsters. She asked me why the hamsters were laughing and immediately answered that question herself. “Because they are kind and silly, and because they got their grain stash!” When it was time to go, I hugged her and she said that my hair was “tickly”
Doctors at the European Medical Center have presented Bethany with a wheelchair, and Bethany moves herself on that wheelchair very dexterously, turning wheels with her little hands.
Bethany plays in a hospital’s playroom with a boy, the same age and OI stage 3 as Bethany, however that boy is walking, and Bethany is not. The only difference between them is that Bethany is an orphan, and boy is staying at the hospital with his Mom. The staff of the orphanage loves Bethany dearly but they can not substitute family’s effort to make a child walk.
The most ground-breaking news: Bethany CAN STAND now! She can stand without anybody’s help, holding bed’s post! Just imagine how happy Bethany was standing first time by herself on the floor! Hopefully, around New Year holidays, Bethany could start walking using orthoses, splints or walkers…
The personnel of the orphanage, who loves Rita very much and greets Rita every morning as their most beloved and important boss, already prepared a pair of special beautiful little shoes!
Bethany has a new nanny; today is nanny’s first day, but she already is under spell of our Asian princess’s charm.
Nanny says that Bethany is extremely smart and that is why it is so easy for Bethany to master geometrical forms, drawing, counting and so on: today they practiced counting backwards.
Currently Bethany can sit and turn in bed, can stand: her bones and back muscles are stronger, her legs are longer, she is growing rapidly, and, consequently, her body deformations are less severe.
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P.S. For those of you wondering about the Tootsie Rolls.... my dad is the game leader at our AWANA club, and the game tonight is putting the Tootsie Rolls with words on them into the right order from teh verse they memorized. And yes, I am helping myself to a few... I gotta have some pay! :)
Awww! Thanks for writing about sweet Bethany! She is so cute and so smart! Hope her Mama sees her soon!
ReplyDeleteoh how wonderful! another post about beautiful bethany! she is in the gallery now xxx
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