week 44: new addition (april 13-19)

geraldo: we had a new boy arrive this week in the special needs house. his name is geraldo and he is 4 years old. he has been diagnosed with cerebal palsy. he can’t talk or walk or even crawl… actually he can barely hold his head up. he is constantly moving though. he spends most of the day lying on his back and his legs and arms are going nonstop, waving and flailing in the air. It’s so sad because you can tell that he just wants to be able to move. he is so sweet, though. i’ve never seen him cry and sometimes he even gets this cute little smile on his face. and he has the most beautiful eyes. he comes from a town called juan dolio not too far from here. apparently his mother left and his father was taking care of him alone. the father had to work though and the neighbor’s noticed that geraldo was left in the home alone much of the time, which is why they called us. the physical therapists are positive though and they believe that with a lot of therapy, little by little they can help him through the normal stages of development (hold his head up, using his limbs, sitting, crawling, etc). he’s going to be a lot of work, but we are so glad to have him.

alberto update: some people have asked about alberto (the little boy with cancer that has been staying with us). he was able to come back and stay with us, which is great. the doctors decided to stop his chemo for three months (just to give the poor kid a break because it’s not really helping), so God-willing he will be here with us for at least 3 more months!

"life in its true sense is not something we have exclusively in or from ourselves: it is a relationship. and life in its totality is a relationship with him who is the source of life. if we are in relation with him who does not die, who is life itself and love itself, then we are in life. then we 'live'." - pope benedict XVI