Orthotics of Hope for Sofia
Hope caused our paths to cross a little over 6 months ago. My heart raced the entire drive to Washington DC because I didn’t even know how we were going to communicate with each other. I only speak English, and she only speaks Spanish - but I had downloaded the Google Translate app earlier that day and said a prayer it would somehow help us understand each other. In the backseat of my car was a bag full of my favorite 12-18 month baby girl clothes, a cooler full of hospital survival food, and a Hallmark card handwritten in Spanish with a note of encouragement & filled with gift cards that a friend so generously helped me purchase.
She, nearly a child herself, was hovering over her daughter’s hospital crib when I entered the room. They traveled across the country from coast to coast after a Hospital in California told her there was no hope for her daughter’s broken heart there. A single, young mom with very little to her name packed up their modest lives into a carry-on suitcase and headed to her aunt’s home on the east coast. This aunt welcomed them into her home which is one bedroom within a three bedroom apartment that already housed nine people. Let that sink in for a moment.
They showed up at Children’s National Hospital in Washington DC, just like I did seven years earlier with our “terminal” daughter Lily Grace. Hope brought both of us with babies on our hips through those doors. As I entered the hospital room her eyes looked up from her daughter to me and my arms awkwardly filled with gifts. With no common language between us I nervously said “Hola” and set everything down on the bench nearby. And as if we had known each other our entire lives, and as if language was not a barrier between us, she hugged me.
Sweet Sofia was able to have a lifesaving open heart surgery to partially repair her broken heart. She will need more interventions later, but for now she is home and healing. This brave mama and I have kept in contact with each other through Google translate. A few days ago she shared with me that insurance will not cover her daughter’s orthotics, and circumstances outside of her control have made them ineligible for Medicaid in Virginia.
Not too long ago I was in her shoes when I took Luna Mei to be fitted for her orthotics. At age two and not walking, my mama heart wanted nothing more than to provide a way for my daughter’s ankles to support her so she could learn how to walk. This mama wants the same for her little girl - orthotics of hope ♥️
In honor of Luna Mei’s 3rd birthday I would love for you to partner with me in HOPE. I have told this mama that she is seen and loved not just by me but by her Heavenly Father. I can’t wait for the day when both Luna and Sofia are able to run around a park playing together. No donation is too small. If we all give a little we can raise a lot together. Will you give $3, $13, $23, $33, $53, or $103 as a Happy 3rd Birthday wish for Luna and the gift of hope for Sofia? Thank you in advance for your generosity!
