Friends in adoption, I am writing urgently to you, coveting your prayers for a fellow adoptive family. Previously, I have written blogs about a special adoptive family whom I love. They adopted two boys as newborns with Down syndrome through private paid adoptions. The boys are now five and six years old. Prior to those adoptions, they had adopted a sibling group of five children through the foster care system in our county. Last year they adopted four-year-old autistic twins from Oregon, whom I begged them to adopt. The twins have been in their home for just over a year. Currently they are in the visitation process of adopting a petite 10 year old who seems to be functioning between the two and three year old level.

The entire family left for Pennsylvania Thursday morning to visit relatives. They make the trip several times a year and know the route well. Their 15-passenger window van struck a patch of ice on the highway. Both parents are hospitalized in Pennsylvania, both have broken backs, neither can be transported back to Michigan. Their van is totaled. A relative is bringing the 10 children back to Michigan now, without their parents. Their 22-year-old daughter got married this summer. She and her new husband were attending Bible missions training in Oregon. They have flown urgently back to Michigan to care for their 10 younger brothers and sisters. Hopefully, they have all arrived at the house safely by the time I am writing this to you.

Please remember the family in your prayers. Ron and Lisa need your prayers for skillful surgeons (Lisa’s surgery is on Sunday), a quick recovery so they can return home, and pain relief.

I broke my back five years ago and I wore a brace for more than six months. Therefore, I know a little bit about what they are experiencing. However, when I woke up, the elders from my church, and my family were surrounding me.

Please pray for the children who depend so much on their special parents. Four of the children are not potty trained and five attend special school for the disabled during weekdays. One of these children was just getting to know and trust her new parents and melts down each time they leave her. The twins have only been in their home for a year and continue to struggle with attachment. One of the twins still won’t go to his Sunday school class but sits the entire hour with his head on his mother’s lap.

Photo Credit 2007 Julia Fuller
These are some pictures of their family members that I took a few weeks ago when we all went bowling together.

Other blogs inspired by their family:

About Down syndrome (DS)
Both Have Down Syndrome, Both Are Different
Autistic Twin Toddlers