Breaking Heart

I cried today in the drive-in at Sonic.

While we were waiting for our happy hour drinks after school, I decided to peruse Facebook on my phone. One item on the feed stopped me in my tracks. It started with the words:

There’s a tiny grave near an orphanage on the outskirts of Bishkek. It holds the body of an undersized 2-year-old girl who died in August from complications of a disease that is dangerous, yet often manageable in the United States. The little girl, who had been matched for adoption with a Florida doctor, is a casualty of a moratorium on international adoptions imposed long before Kyrgyzstan became engulfed in turmoil this spring.

And I knew from the poster's comments that it was Altynai.

While we were waiting to bring home Ellie, her adoptive mom and I became friends. It was she who took pictures of Ellie during her initial trip to Kyrgyzstan to meet Altynai. She was only weeks behind us in the process and we even thought we might make trip two back together to pick up our girls.

It was during my trip back to pick up Ellie that I got to spend quite a bit of time with Altynai, taking photos and discussing her health, which at that time seemed to be failure to thrive. She had an excellent nurse, however and seemed happy.

I remember getting the news from Suzanne of her diagnosis of hydrocephalus and feeling like I had been kicked in the gut.

Now, I feel the same, only worse. It makes me feel like I'm going to be sick to my stomach.

These little children are the smallest casualties to a war that has no name, no face. They are literally stuck for no reason. Orphans -- there are millions around the world who are without parents, who have no families, who sometimes die without the love of a family. It's just so ... wrong.

Altynai was a special gift and I know that she knows that she did have a mom and dad who prayed and worked diligently to get her home. Now, she finally is home. Rest in peace, sweet baby girl.

For the link to the full article, click here.