Hi Friends,
We want to thank all of you who have encouraged us, supported us, and prayed for us with our current adoption of Zion from xxxx. I just returned last week from xxxx, and was able to meet Zion for the first time and spend three days with him. It was love at first site. This little boy is nothing short of amazing. He has such a sweet, sweet spirit, and a kind and tender heart. My friend Erin traveled with me, and she is in the process of adopting Zion’s sister Freedom and his brother Ezekiel. We had a great time with them, and it was soooo hard to leave!
When I was in xxxx, I had the feeling that something was not right with Zion’s health. He has come from a remote village that is extremely poor, and before he came to the orphanage 3 months ago, he didn’t have access to much food at all and his water supply was cloudy and dirty. He was taken in to the orphanage along with his brother and sister, and they have been able to eat much more regularly. His stomach is still very distended and hard, and he gets fatigued pretty easily. Also, his right leg and right arm are much longer than the left, and he walks with a painful limp. I couldn’t shake that there might be something going on with his health more than just malnutrition. I took some pictures of him without clothes, hoping to show them to the international adoption doctor here when I got home. On the plane ride home, we spent some time talking to a missionary doctor, who looked at Zion’s picture and felt that there was some sort of nuero-muscular disorder going on, and felt too that it was more than just malnutrition.
When I got home, I consulted with xxxx, a respected doctor in xxxx who deals with international adoption medical issues. He feels that Zion definitely has a condition called Hemihypertrophy, which is a condition where one side of the body grows at a much more rapid pace than the other side. He said that the problem that can occur with this condition, besides being uncomfortable to walk, etc. is that the internal organs on the right side of the body can grow at an unnatural rate, and become enlarged, and with this condition comes a higher risk for childhood cancer. Ideally, children with this condition should be screened for cancer every 3 months from the time they are infants until they are 7 years old. Zion is almost 6 years old, and obviously, has never been screened. In addition, his medical check up in xxxx noted that his spleen is enlarged and palpable, and this is of concern to the doctor here. xxxx is making an appeal to the US Visa office, to get Zion home immediately, in order to get the medical attention he needs.
Right now we are in the process of getting Zion an expedited passport, and making appeals to the Visa office to get him home on a medical visa. Time is of the essence, to get him the treatment he very much needs. In a normal scenario, the adoption would be completed sometime in April or May, but we are hoping to be able to get him home in March, due to his medical needs.
In order to bring him home, we need to raise an additional $3,000 by March. The needs are $404 for a visa, $300 for court decree in xxxx, $870 for the UCSIS process, and $1500 for travel to get him. We have been doing fundraisers like crazy, and doing everything we can to bring this little guy home. If you are interested in helping us reach our goal, please visit our website
www.bridgetozion.com and you can donate via the chip in button on the site. If you are in need of a tax deduction, you can make out your check to Project Global Hope, and mail it to us at 15710 Streamview Court, Riverside, CA 92504 and we will forward your check to them. If you know anyone who might be interested in giving, please feel free to forward this email to them.
Please know that we covet your prayers, and are so thankful for your love and support!
Sincerely,
The Phillips Family
