Friday, December 30, 2016

Just in time for the holidays, Make-A-Wish® North Texas makes Abigail’s one true wish come true. 

IRVING, TEXAS
–– Make-A-Wish® is known for moving mountains to help fulfill the most
heartfelt wishes for Wish Kids around the world.  For Abigail, this was
particularly true.  Her wish is the first of its kind for Make-A-Wish and
has been nearly two years in the making.  It required stars aligning in a
profoundly moving and certainly life-altering way. 

Abigail was adopted from a Bulgarian orphanage by her parents Dorcas
and Tony in 2013.  She was 13 at the time and while she was obviously
elated to join her new family in the United States, it was also
bittersweet as she had to leave Caroline, her roommate and closest
friend in the world, behind. 

But that was not to be the end of their story.  Diagnosed with Cystic
Fibrosis Abigail was granted a wish by Make-A-Wish North Texas.  She
deliberated only briefly.  Would it be a trip to Hollywood or something
else…something she had in mind with deep personal meaning?  With her
parents’ blessing, Abigail wished for them to adopt Caroline, still
dreaming of a family.  Make-A-Wish North Texas agreed to help facilitate
and manage the logistics surrounding this most unusual wish.  People
around the world got involved to help, including the teams at Cook
Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth and Hopscotch Adoptions. 

Now, just in time for the holidays, Abigail’s wish is coming true. 
The girls will be reunited, now as sisters.  Abigail summed up her
feelings when she wrote, “Thank you God for telling me that I needed a
sister!” 
“How truly wonderful to be able to grant Abigail’s wish and at the
same time make dreams come true for Caroline,” said Scotty Landry,
President and CEO of Make-A-Wish North Texas. “ This unique wish has been
life-altering for all involved.  We are honored to be able to help bring
this family together for the holidays.” 

“We were honored when the Grubaugh family chose Hopscotch to help
bring their first daughter home from Bulgaria and when we were asked to
be their placing agency for their second daughter, we were elated!”  said
Robin Sizemore, Executive Director of Hopscotch Adoptions,Inc. “We
learned later on that their adoption was going to be realized through
the support of Make-A-Wish North Texas chapter and that this was the
first adoption, much less intercountry adoption, wish ever granted.  The
Make-A-Wish North Texas chapter is incredibly generous and truly
listened to Abigail’s one true wish… to be the sister to her best friend
left behind in Bulgaria.  We cannot think of a more beautiful wish to be
granted.  We are ever grateful to everyone that generously supports
Make-A-Wish, this is truly one of the most rewarding experiences for
everyone involved.” 

Update:
On December 21st, the family arrived in Dallas after a
very long and exhausting day of travel.  As Caroline stepped off the
plane, she became a United States citizen and began her new life. 

Live from DFW Airport for a heartwarming homecoming! 
We celebrate Abigail’s wish for her family to adopt her best friend
from the same Bulgarian orphanage she was adopted from 3 years ago.  Join us in welcoming this new family of 4 home! 

About Make-A-Wish® North Texas
Make-A-Wish North Texas grants the wishes of children with
life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with
hope, strength and joy.  Since our inception in 1982, more than 9,500
wishes have been granted throughout the 161 counties we serve.  Our goal
is to be a unique part of the treatment process.  With doctors providing
the medicine, and Make-A-Wish supplying the magic, we strive to create
miracles in the lives of some very extraordinary children.  For more
information on Make-A-Wish North Texas, please visit www.ntx.wish.org. 

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Tsonka
and Tenyo Tenevi with their daughter Teodora, six years after they were
reunited under a programme to move disabled children out of isolated
state institutions.  Photo: Maria Milkova. 

The residential home was new, the rooms clean and airy.  But the lift
to the second-floor bedrooms had not been working for months, so the
children spent nights sleeping in their wheelchairs or on the sofa. 

There were toys, too, but it was the television on the wall that
captivated the children, while at the table, an elderly carer briefly,
clumsily, held a child by the hair to keep her head steady as she fed
her. 

The carer was not rough or abusive.  But there it was, in her
untrained hand, in the broken elevator and the boredom, a reminder of
the recent past, a period Bulgaria is trying to leave behind. 

The house, in the Benkovski suburb of the capital Sofia, was one of
almost 150 built in Bulgaria over the past six years to house up to 12
disabled children each, replacing the isolated, over-crowded and
under-funded state institutions where such children were once held far
from the wary eye of society. 

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

I snapped a picture of this quote on the wall at the Magellan
International School the other day, and posted it on Facebook.  A week
or so later, it had been shared by 68 people, and viewed by nearly
7000.  Obviously, this quote resonates for many of us. 

One of the first things I tell most parents that I work with is that
behavior is a communication, and that understanding the message in a
child’s behavior is incredibly helpful for changing those behaviors.  To
put it another way, something is behind or underneath unwanted
behavior; triggering or motivating or strengthening it.  Those hidden
drivers are usually unmet needs of some variety.  When parents can
identify what those unmet needs are, they typically find that those
underlying needs are needs they want to support.  In other words: the
behaviors are unwanted, but the needs driving those behaviors are
understandable! 

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Huge news for infant and toddler advocates!  Today, Congress passed
broad mental health reform legislation, including new grants to promote
infant and early childhood mental health!  Rolled into the larger 21st Century Cures Act, the legislation was passed along bipartisan lines. 

Spearheaded by ZERO TO THREE and advocates across the country, the
inclusion of the infant and early childhood mental health grants signals
that Congress has now recognized the need to begin comprehensive mental
health reform where the foundations of strong mental health are laid –
with young children, starting from birth.  Specifically, the provision:

Authorizes $20 million for grants to develop, maintain or enhance
infant and early childhood mental health promotion, intervention, and
treatment programs. 

Ensures that funded programs are grounded in evidence and are culturally and linguistically appropriate. 

training for infant and early childhood mental health clinicians to
integrate with other providers who work with young children and
families; and

mental health consultation in early care and education programs. 

“This is an important victory toward improved infant mental health
prevention, identification and treatment – and the first time the needs
of very young children have been recognized by Congress,” said Matthew
Melmed, Executive Director of ZERO TO THREE. “ We are extremely grateful
to the Congressional champions on this issue, including Senators Bill
Cassidy and Chris Murphy, Chairman Lamar Alexander and Ranking Member
Patty Murray, and Chairman Fred Upton and Ranking Member Frank Pallone
for recognizing that babies’ mental health matters and fighting for them
throughout this process.” 

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Robin Sizemore, Executive Director of Hopscotch Adoptions Inc, was recognized in 2012 by the Winston-Salem Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc as a person who has "Transform Lives and Impacted the Community".  Among five other recipients, Robin Sizemore, was recognized in the area of "International Awareness" for her work and advocacy of children through international adoption and aid.  Robin was also the recipient of the "Angels in Adoption" award in 2008, in recognition of her service to children since 1995.