Making a small difference

This morning, as I was walking down the hall with Delia in the walker, we stopped to say hello to a boy named Bogdan. He looks to be about 13 or 14 and has a cast on one foot. As we walked back, he said, “Inspirat”, which means “inspired.” I’m not sure precisely what he was referring to, but figured that was a good thing.

We had a good day today. The afternoon started off with an impromptu game of volleyball using the inflated ball that I brought. Coca, Nicoletta, and another aide were sitting with us as the children were waking up and being brought into the playroom. Next thing you know the ball was flying. I’m not sure who had the most fun, the aides or the children. Everyone was so happy that they didn’t even make us close the window.

I love it when Delia makes a rolling ‘r’ sound and practically purrs when she is happy. It is so cute. I asked Dan today about prosthetics for her. She has gone to the hospital in Iasi several times to be evaluated. Dan thinks they may give her a prosthetic for her left arm at some point, but sounds like that may be the only one. Of course these things are never quite clear so who knows. Kind of discouraging.

The BIG news is that Luca took about five steps on his own today. We used the trick suggested by Shannon of giving him something to hold on to that we then let go of. He kept going until he realized he was on his own.  Great progress.

Ionuts can walk holding one finger although he is a bit shaky. And Luciana is pulling herself up to standing. She is also getting into the one unlocked drawer and knows how to crawl around any obstacles. We’ve discovered Lavinia is not a morning person. Who knows what goes on in her crib after we leave. Delia sat in the chair today looking at herself in the little mirror and pretending to be singing the ‘Yo Gabba Gabba’ song, dancing, and generally admiring herself. Alina continued the sign language lessons with Shannon and obsessively watching videos of herself on my phone. If only I could get pictures of all of these moments! But we get too busy playing with and corralling children.

I always hit a point in each trip where I get so sad and frustrated about the lack of opportunities for many of these children. Then I try and get back in the moment and hope that the love and attention volunteers give them while they are here will make some small difference. I used to cope with leaving by knowing another team was right behind us. Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen as much anymore and it looks like the next team won’t be until December. Sigh.

Message of the Day: “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” – Mark Twain