Reaching for the Stars
At Sarah's Covenant Homes, we rescue children with all types of challenging special needs and medical problems. Some are quite rare, while others seem to pop up all the time. One of the disabilities that we see most frequently in the kids we rescue is spina bifida. Spina bifida is a type of neural tube defect, and the name literally means "cleft spine." Babies born with spina bifida have an incomplete closure in their spinal column. To a lot of people, this sounds scary and alarming, but here at SCH we turn our attention away from fearing the birth defect and instead focus on celebrating the birth! It's easy to have hope after seeing so many children beat incredible odds and overcome huge obstacles. Our children are fighters and champions, and spina bifida sure isn't going to hold them back. One of these champions is Gabe. This awesome 7-year-old was born with spina bifida. Sarah's Covenant Homes rescued Gabe in 2011, because he desperately needed surgery that would not be available to him in his government orphanage. Since then, our brave little guy has seen specialists, been in and out of hospitals, and undergone several procedures to improve the quality of his life and give him the best shot possible at a bright future. From day one he was dealing with a number of complications brought on by the spina bifida... One of which is that he is paralyzed from the waist down. Unfortunately, there is no way to cure his paralysis, but we have always been determined to treat every complication that we could. Gabe received a Myelomeningocele repair to correct his spine, a VP Shunt placed to reduce the fluid in his brain, and a MACE/Mitrofanoff procedure to help him with bladder and bowel control.
Through it all, Gabe has been amazing. For sure, there have been tough days, but day in and day out he has proven that he is a fighter. And not only that, but a dreamer as well! Boy, does this guy dream big. Gabe is obsessed with anything that can fly. He loves airplanes, helicopters, rocket ships... you name it, he can tell you all about it. He longs to go on an airplane one day and hopes to even become a pilot or an astronaut. If you ask us, he can do it. Absolutely! He has never let his disability hold him back and we can't imagine that changing any time soon. We always encourage him to shoot for the stars (literally, in the case of becoming an astronaut!)
No exageration- Gabe is one of the sweetest, kindest, and most out outgoing kids at SCH. He makes fast friendships where ever he goes. A stranger is just a friend he hasn't met yet, and he wins everyone over in no time. Apart from having a killer personality, he is also very intelligent. He attends an offsite private school and (no surprise here) he is a favorite amongst his teachers and classmates
We know that there are BIG things in store for this awesome kid. Bigger things than we can supply for him here at SCH. Our prayer is that Gabe will be matched for adoption soon. Sure spina bifida may sound scary at first, but all fears go away the moment you meet this kid. He is truly a shining light in what could seem like a dark place.