Our story as Temporary Safety Parents started in November 2016 when we unexpectedly took a 2 month old baby into our home after she was placed in our care. The time that we had Faith* with us, became a time where our faith was tested on a deeper level than we have ever experienced. Having Faith, took faith in a loving, caring and omnipotent God. “His Sovereignty is my Sanity” became my mantra as we lived through circumstances that were beyond our control.
In February 2017 Danny* joined our family and life with 2 babies under 5 months became very full and busy. Despite the turmoil of coping with their dysfunctional and substance abusing families, we enjoyed the babies, loving them as our own. Being sleep deprived “new” parents after 23 years took some getting used to, especially because we had a granddaughter of almost 2 years.
In June 2017, Faith was unexpectedly placed into the care of her grandmother, leaving a gaping hole in our lives. We mourned her departing and a part of my heart will always be hers.
I suddenly had time to focus on Danny and start addressing his special needs. His developmental delays became more obvious as he was getting older.
In July, over a period of 2 weeks, I became strongly aware that the Lord was not only taking us deeper into a life of caring for disabled children, but also siblings. After sharing these promptings with my husband, we weren’t very surprised when, one morning in late July, a social worker called, asking if we were available to take twins, a boy and a girl. After a short telephone conversation with my husband, we said yes.
All that the social worker knew about the twins was that their mom had given them up for adoption and that the month old baby girl had some health issues, one being born without an anus and had a stoma and colostomy bag. A friend told me that this condition is called Vacterl Syndrome. I Googled a couple of articles and armed with this knowledge went to meet them.
The four week old Theo* and Lee* were ready to be discharged from hospital and I went to fetch them. The first weekend with the twins was a disaster. I bought food from a vendor at the hospital and ended up on a drip after a severe bout of gastro and Danny had bronchitis after spending a day with his mother.
Life became a haze of feeding, burping, and changing nappies. After a week we found a rhythm and our new routine became more manageable.
Two weeks into their stay with us, Lee became ill and was hospitalised. This set the scene for the coming weeks. Since birth Lee has been in hospital more than 70 days.
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- All names have been changed to protect the identity of the babies.
Chapter 2 to follow
Thanks for reading
Gretha