A family in South Miami, Florida (friends of B.J. Ciagalore), shares their story with an experienced adoptive parent in Tennessee.
Sunday, February 13, 2005, 4:54 p.m.~
Dear Louisiana Sandusky and family~
I see you are very involved in the adoption community. I read your book, and I was most impressed with your inspiring story.
After I read your book, "A Family Made out of Miracles and Rainbows: The Sandusky Family Story--A True Story of Love and International Adoption", I felt I had to write to you and share our story and share our experiences with adoption. So here goes...
My name is Eduardo ("Eddie") Galen Greene, and my wife's name is Minka. We are the parents of 13 children (12 of them adopted), and we reside in South Miami, Florida. Our children range in age from 17 on down to just two years of age, and all but our oldest--our son, Eddie, Jr.--are adopted.
What led us to adoption may very well be different than what you may have experienced, but I will share the details with you anyway. After we had our first child, Eddie, Jr., my wife, Minka, and I tried to have more children, but alas--that wasn't to be, for Minka suffered several miscarriages. We were understandably heartbroken. That was when a friend suggested that we pursue international adoption. We would eventually go one step further: we would not only adopt--we would adopt kids that nobody else wanted--those deemed "undesirables", i.e., "special needs".
That was exactly what we did; and you can't imagine the joy when a year later, our first child--another boy, Tyler Wayne (he is now 15), came to us from India. He was an incredibly shy kid who was paralyzed from the waist on down due to a childhood bout of polio, but he was a sweet little kid who smiled once he got used to us. Little Eddie was thrilled with the arrival of Tyler; and as you can probably imagine, the two little boys came to be the very best of friends.
Next came our first daughter, Abby--Abigail Lee--, now 13, from South Dakota. She was born with Down syndrome, but she was quite intelligent and she was quite eager to learn. Of course, the boys were not used to having a girl around, but it didn't take long before they soon accepted her and grew to be her protector--as well as her big brothers.
Cotter Joseph--"C.J."--came next, a child who had a disability we were not familiar with; but he still had a sweet spirit about him. C.J. was born with Treacher-Collins syndrome, which led to facial deformities, profound deafness in both ears, and his relying on a trache tube in order to breathe, and he was--and still is--a sweet little guy who exudes courage and strength with the heart of a champion. Cotter came to us from Illinois when he was seven; he has been our son for nearly five years now.
Our second daughter, Aurora Dawn, aged 11, came to us from North Carolina. Like Abby, she has Down syndrome, but she has more serious disabilities. She has heart problems that have resulted in several rounds of surgery, and her mental capabilities make her appear like a vey young child instead of an eleven-year-old little girl. She has been in and out of the hospital numerous times since she has been with us, and any illness can mean certain death for this medically fragile little girl. Yet she is tougher than we give her credit for, and Aurora has proven to be a tiny trouper since her indocrination into our family five years ago.
After Aurora comes Matthew David, our resident clown. He is profoundly deaf, but you wouldn't know it because he reads lips, and he's learned English quite rapidly. He is quick to make us laugh with his funny antics, and he appears to understand all that we tell him, although he has never heard our voices--or any sound, for that matter. Little Mattie comes to us from Mexico, and he is a very handsome young man with his dark, "Latin Lover" looks.
Girl Number Three comes in the form of Kinley Michelle, who is now seven. She has mild cerebral palsy, but she is otherwise quite healthy. Like Mattie her brother, young Kinley comes to us from Mexico, and she is a very sweet and loving little girl!
After Kinley comes the last of our "Mexican Mafia"--Mateo Eduardo, who is now five--and a little handful in his own right. He lacks normal sight, but he gets around better than we with sight do,and he seems to know what is going on around him at all times! Nobody can get away with anything whenever little Mateo is around--I swear the little guy has RADAR for hearing! LOL
Rosie Xiao is our China Doll; she has been with us for about a year now, and life with her is nothing but a new adventure. She is developmentally delayed and has laerning disabilities, but she is otherwise in fantastic health, and she seems eager to learn new things.
Our final daughter==also aged five--is named Corin Danielle, and she has asthma. She is prone to attacks of difficulty in breathing, and she has had to go to the Emergency Room; but she is still a very happy child with a robust laugh and a hearty, outgoing nature.
Our twins--both boys, aged three--come next; they came to us about five and a half months ago from Belarus, in the Soviet Union. They both have JRA ("juvenile rheumatoid arthritis"), adn both boys have lived with severe, chronic pain in their joints, but they are still wonderful little guys who are eager to please. They are very quick learners, and they are learning English at an incredibly fast rate! Our twins are named Benjamin and Bryson, and we still have trouble trying to tell the two of them apart. They look so much alike it is absolutely UNREAL, and it is almost like looking in a mirror!
Last--but certainly NOT least!--is our baby, our littlest family member, our star, Adam Joshua, who is two--and a little Miracle Child in his own right. He was born with a malformed brain, and his life is severely limited, but he has proven time and time again to be a little fighter. He can't do very much for himself, but we are more than happy to take care of him and his needs. He is more like an infant, but he is still a little cutie with his shock of fire-red hair, fat, kissable cheeks, and huge blue-grey eyes that light up with joy whenever any of us comes into the room. He does know how to love, and he does know that he is loved by us, so that is what is most important, no?
I hopoe you enjoyed "meeting" our brood. I and Minka both feel they are all certainly worth bragging about, and our lives have certainly benefitted greatly because of our kids. Our kids are our life, our world, and God has blessed us tremendously by bringing them into our hearts--and our home.
I do hope to hear from you, Louisiana. I found your story compelling and enlightening. Thank you for inspiring us to love kids who might have otherwise never had a chance! God bless you and your beautiful family always!
Most sincerely,
]
Your friend from Florida, Eddie Greene.
P.S.: My friend, Betty Jo Ciagalore, emailed me about you, and I read your book at our local library; so this was why I had to write to you. I hope you don't mind...
Reflections and Nature Watercolors is a collection of Margaret's spontaneous positive thoughts in celebrating and reflecting on life and her nature watercolors.
Timeless wisdom and advice on the art of living for today’s young and old: The art of thinking, the art of loving, the art of working, the art of leadership, the art of growing old.
A new translation by Sergio E. Serrano of this inspirationa
Sunday, February 13, 2005, 4:54 p.m.~
