Today we'd like take the time to highlight little Donovan.
Here is the description that we have of him on our website...
Little Donovan was born on 3/12/2009. He is a playful little boy who is liked very much by his caretakers. Donovan loves food and will get excited when he knows that it is time to eat. He is very friendly and has a ready smile. His favorite activity is playing with other children.
Donovan has been diagnosed with arthrogryposis, which is a joint disorder. He is unable to bend his wrists or elbows. This little guy is in need of some physical therepy and will need to find his own ways of accomplishing certain tasks. He has had extensive xrays that have found no abnormalities in his bones or joints. With a loving family and the right care, Donovan could flourish.
We requested Donovan's file to be placed on our individual listing because we recently placed a little girl with the same condition. She is an amazing girl and mesmorized all of the staff when we met her. Watching her overcome her disablity has made us see arthrogryposis as a managable medical condition. The family has been gracious enough to share a bit of their story...
As soon as I got off the phone after receiving our referral for an 11 month old baby girl with arthrogryposis I went straight for the internet. There's a possibility I did that prior to calling my husband but maybe it was at the same time! The internet can be a great thing for medical issues or it can be terrible. This time it was great. I found an online community ( http://www.amcsupport.org/ ) almost immediately that had descriptions of what arthrogryposis is and the ability to meet people locally that have experience with athrogryposis. The two things that stick in my mind from that first day of research are that arthrogryposis is not progressive so it won't get any worse, it can only get better, and that children with arthrogryposis are determined and amazing individuals.
Ellie came home at 17 months and is now 19 months. Her adjustment has been great. She is fitting right in with her two and a half year old twin brothers. They treat her as one of their own, and I'm choosing to think of that as a good thing! Her arms, from her shoulders down to her fingers, are affected by arhrogryposis but she still suprises us daily with what she can do. She does not know it should be easier to stack three blocks but she works at it, or anything else, until she accomplishes it. We see a local therapist three times a week and she gets one on one playtime with him. Between that and the additional work we do at home she is gaining strength and movement and is doing more and more each week. There can be alot of uncertainties when adopting a special needs child, but the benefits of raising such a child are greater than we could have imagined. We are all very proud of her and so fortunate that she has joined our family.
We ask you to check in to this condition and ask yourself if this is a condition that you could help a child to overcome. If so, won't you please consider this beautiful baby boy!
