SixUnderSix
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2010
- Messages
- 72
Hey everyone, I'm so excited to be here. I'm Melissa, and I'm 32 years old and married to Eric, age 37. We got a call on Friday from MAW that our little man was going to be granted a wish and we are so excited for him.
Jake was born to a 15 year old girl who abused drugs and didn't receive prenatal care. When he was born he had HLHS (Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome), a terminal condition that only has three treatment options: 1. Transplant 2. A series of three operations to help extend their lives 3. Comfort care until the child passes away.
His biological family chose the route of the three surgeries; however, Jake was in foster care from birth because of the drug exposure and lack of ability by his family to care for him. He went home at two months old to the most awesome foster family ever (they are now his GodParents); however, they were an emergency foster home and an older couple who couldn't adopt.
When Jake was 11 months old, we (we are a foster family that was open to adoption) got the call to see if we'd like to adopt this sweet angel. We said yes in a heartbeat. Jake moved in 8 days before his 1st birthday and 8 months later, our adoption was official.
Meanwhile, Jake's condition was deteriorating - he's been hospitalized more times than we can count. He can't walk or crawl (he's wheelchair bound), and he's on a feeding tube. We got the news 2 months after his adoption, that there was nothing left for the doctors to do and to just enjoy the time we had left - they guessed we'd have about 6 months before deterioration and ultimately, the end of his life.
We traveled to two different states for different opinions and we finally found a surgeon that was willing to attempt the third surgery (it is scheduled for the end of cold/flu season this year - probably late April) but the likelihood of success isn't great, although we are MORE than hopeful.
Jake is now 2 1/2 and we are soooo excited to get to experience this with him. He loves Mickey Mouse, Cars, Buzz Lightyear, etc. so this is going to be the highlight of his life.
We have some unique challenges in planning for our trip as we have 6 total children. Join me in meeting the children:
Nikki, age 8, and is just a total princess who loves her baby brother more than life.
Mikey, age 7, and is obsessed with pirates...lol. I can't wait for him to go see Jack Sparrow.
Christopher, age 5, who LOVES Buzz - he's Jake's closest buddy.
Jake, of course, age 2 1/2 currently (3 in July).
Princess Cocoa Puff is our foster daughter (not allowed to use their real names online) is 17 months old and:
Princess Cocoa Pebbles is our other foster daughter (Princess Cocoa Puff's baby sister - they are 10 months apart) is 7 months old.
We don't have any dates yet, we are waiting for our volunteer team to come out so Jake can make his official wish (even though he doesn't speak but he can sign a bit) but because of the dynamics of our family and the special needs that Jake has, I am doing as much planning and research as possible.
I can't wait to learn all I can from everyone. We've been to Disney before but not with our little man and all his equipment.
Hope to get to know many of you and learn from your experiences. The kids are SOOOO excited and we are excited for him to have the opportunity for the trip of a lifetime!!!
We aren't allowed to post pictures of our foster daughters but here's a pic of Jake and his siblings and then one with me and the our sweet baby boy. Join us as we prepare to take this trip from start to finish - can't wait to follow along on your trips as well!!!
Jake was born to a 15 year old girl who abused drugs and didn't receive prenatal care. When he was born he had HLHS (Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome), a terminal condition that only has three treatment options: 1. Transplant 2. A series of three operations to help extend their lives 3. Comfort care until the child passes away.
His biological family chose the route of the three surgeries; however, Jake was in foster care from birth because of the drug exposure and lack of ability by his family to care for him. He went home at two months old to the most awesome foster family ever (they are now his GodParents); however, they were an emergency foster home and an older couple who couldn't adopt.
When Jake was 11 months old, we (we are a foster family that was open to adoption) got the call to see if we'd like to adopt this sweet angel. We said yes in a heartbeat. Jake moved in 8 days before his 1st birthday and 8 months later, our adoption was official.
Meanwhile, Jake's condition was deteriorating - he's been hospitalized more times than we can count. He can't walk or crawl (he's wheelchair bound), and he's on a feeding tube. We got the news 2 months after his adoption, that there was nothing left for the doctors to do and to just enjoy the time we had left - they guessed we'd have about 6 months before deterioration and ultimately, the end of his life.
We traveled to two different states for different opinions and we finally found a surgeon that was willing to attempt the third surgery (it is scheduled for the end of cold/flu season this year - probably late April) but the likelihood of success isn't great, although we are MORE than hopeful.
Jake is now 2 1/2 and we are soooo excited to get to experience this with him. He loves Mickey Mouse, Cars, Buzz Lightyear, etc. so this is going to be the highlight of his life.
We have some unique challenges in planning for our trip as we have 6 total children. Join me in meeting the children:
Nikki, age 8, and is just a total princess who loves her baby brother more than life.
Mikey, age 7, and is obsessed with pirates...lol. I can't wait for him to go see Jack Sparrow.
Christopher, age 5, who LOVES Buzz - he's Jake's closest buddy.
Jake, of course, age 2 1/2 currently (3 in July).
Princess Cocoa Puff is our foster daughter (not allowed to use their real names online) is 17 months old and:
Princess Cocoa Pebbles is our other foster daughter (Princess Cocoa Puff's baby sister - they are 10 months apart) is 7 months old.
We don't have any dates yet, we are waiting for our volunteer team to come out so Jake can make his official wish (even though he doesn't speak but he can sign a bit) but because of the dynamics of our family and the special needs that Jake has, I am doing as much planning and research as possible.
I can't wait to learn all I can from everyone. We've been to Disney before but not with our little man and all his equipment.
Hope to get to know many of you and learn from your experiences. The kids are SOOOO excited and we are excited for him to have the opportunity for the trip of a lifetime!!!
We aren't allowed to post pictures of our foster daughters but here's a pic of Jake and his siblings and then one with me and the our sweet baby boy. Join us as we prepare to take this trip from start to finish - can't wait to follow along on your trips as well!!!
Wonderful that baby Jake is getting a wish. So glad you found a surgeon willing to do the surgery. Praying it's successful 
I love his smile!!! I'm sure all your kiddos will have an awesome time. Can't wait to hear more about his wish! 
I hope the tips are effective for Jake.
