Blessings

A year ago today, a judge in Ethiopia gave Eden my last name!! I had no idea what the next year would bring!

When I accepted Eden's referral, I accepted it based on the information I had about her. There were some unknowns, as there are with any child you have never met, but I trusted that if this was the child God had for me, He would provide what I needed to take care of her. And He has.

If I had know before I met her that Eden had Metachromatic Leukodystrophy, I wouldn't have accepted her referral. MLD isn't something they test for, or even have the ability to test for in Ethiopia. It took them 2 months to diagnose her here in the best labs in the world.

But knowing what I know now, if I had to decide whether or not to accept her referral, I would in a heartbeat. Because for all the pain and heartache that comes with having such a sick child, the joy is so much greater!

If Eden had come home as sick as she is today, I never would have gotten to know her and never would have become so attached to her. Which would have made it so much harder to stay up with her when she can't sleep, or have patience with her when I'm exhausted and have a headache from her crying constantly.

But she came home happy and smiley and in love with her momma. I got to know what makes her happy, and what makes her scared. I know (usually) what she needs when she cries. The hardest thing now is knowing where she hurts when she cries, and I guess that will always be hard since she can't tell me what's wrong. But mostly, I know her, and can give her what she needs.

If I had known how long we would have to be in the hospital, and how much medicine she would need on a daily basis, and the number of doctors visits, and the amount of therapy she would need, I would have been terrified about being able to take off work and afford it all.

But, thanks to the sick leave bank, I have sick leave for the rest of the year, and thanks to our state's help for sick kiddos, I don't have to pay for much of her medical care. I feel like a thief when I walk out of the pharmacy with her meds every week and don't pay!

I'm so thankful I couldn't see the future, because I might have missed the joy of Eden. She's so precious, and such a blessing to everyone she meets. Her therapists say she is magnetic--you are just drawn to her. Everywhere we go, people stop to talk to her, and tell me how wonderful she is. And I have to agree.