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| Copied from Facebook |
"Ten months ago today Milena was admitted to American Family Children's Hospital in Madison wearing a 4T outfit, refusing to eat or drink, incredibly self injurious, and just overall a very feral child.
Today Milena attended school, she experienced her first picture day ever. She sported a size 6/6x dress that we later deemed to be too short for her. She is NOT self injurious AT ALL. She is NOT feral at all. She is communicative. She will still growl, but it is an intentional communicative, "hey, you are really ticking me off, back off" kind of way. She is a CALM, QUIET, EASY child.
Ten and a half months ago I was in over my head and couldn't say it outloud. I sought out this child because no one else wanted her, she had been waiting for 4 years on a list, repeatedly requested by an attorney in Bulgaria who refused to give up on her, and we chose her for the sole reason that no one else would. I was around when she was listed on Reece's Rainbow for the first time and I was around to watch every other little girl get chosen while she continued to be left behind. She had sores on her face, she has Autism, she didn't always have the greatest pictures. Little girls with Down Syndrome are scooped up so quickly but she wasn't, her file was returned over and over again.
Pick up trip was hard. It's scary to take a very experienced adoptive mama with you and your child leave them speechless and unsure of what the heck to do for her at certain times. To hear she is one of a kind and that my super experienced friend didn't have all the answers, it was scary. My friend knows HARD, she knows aggression, she knows Autism and she didn't know what to think of MY child? I second guessed myself a lot. Without her to keep me strong and accountable I would have panicked and I very possibly could have missed out on the amazing treasure that is my daughter.
She is NOT the child I met in Bulgaria. She is NOT the child I brought home. I don't even know that child anymore. She is AMAZING and GENTLE and oh so LOVABLE."
Milena's first day of school ever.
