Mark's miracle

One month from today we'll be in China celebrating the 5th birthday of our family's New Day graduate.

(Specifically we'll be celebrating by taking a high speed bullet train from Beijing to Changsha where we'll be meeting his little sister, but that is a whole 'nother post all on its own...)

Thinking about Daniel often brings to mind the gratitude we have in our hearts toward the foster home that answered the call for help from his SWI, brought him across the country to have open heart surgery, provided physical therapy to catch him up on his development, and taught him how to love and trust.

We could never pay them back...and they don't expect us to.  What we can do though is help to return the favor for children they currently house.

So next month on our way to meet Natalie, we will stop by New Day in order to express our gratefulness in person.  We'll visit with the folks that cared for him for most of the first three years of his life.  We'll hug necks and probably shed a few tears of reunion and joy.  And to benefit the children currently in their care, we'll carry as many supplies as possible.

Speaking of the kiddos currently receiving nurture and care at New Day, have you met Mark?

He's the cutie pie in need of a miracle right now.  He is in desperate need of a liver transplant ~ so you could be praying for a liver match to come available.  In order to be a candidate for the transplant when a liver is available, he also needs to gain weight so that he'll be strong enough to have a chance at survival.  Unfortunately because of his condition he has difficulty gaining weight.

There is however a formula, Pregestimil by Enfamil, that is readily available here in the states.  Oh, it's expensive, no doubt...but here it is readily available.  In China though, where Mark is, it is very difficult to find.

We recently contacted New Day and asked what would be most useful for us to courier over when we came.  They answered while PediaSmart for the heart babies remains a constant need, that currently the most pressing need is this specialized formula for Mark and the other children with the same condition.

And so we're making it our goal to fill two of the suitcases we're allowed on the international flight with Pregestimil.  According to our calculations, we can fit six cases of the formula into each of the large duffel bags we have.  That means we can carry twelve cases ~ seventy two cans ~ which will help Mark and the others for some time to come.

But did I mention that it is expensive?  Twelve cases will run a cool $2196.
I did say it was available but expensive...

We're making it our goal to carry twelve cases, but we are in the tail end of an adoption process and could use some help to make that a reality.

Would you like to be part of making Mark's miracle happen?

There are several ways to get involved.  You can use information in this link to donate directly to his surgery fund or you can create get well cards with your kids that will be couriered over (by guess who), or you could chip in to purchase some of the formula that will help him get strong enough for surgery and help him in the recovery after his miracle comes true.

If you'd like to help us fill those bags with formula, sponsoring a case would be $183.  Or if that's too high, one can would be $30.50.  Even $5 or $10 from several people helps out...

We've set up a fundraising site at youcaring.com.  We'd love to have you stop by there and help us fill our bags of blessings!