ASYA FOUND HER FOREVER FAMILY

Some time ago we had a story "Shout for Help" in the News section. It is still there, on the website. It was a desperate cry for medical help for a little girl, living in an orphanage of Southern Russia. She was diagnosed with trachea-brachial fistula, she had trouble breathing and needed an urgent medical help. Many people called us about little Asya, offering help. We are very happy to inform that little Asya has found not only people who will help her with her medical needs, but also people who will take care and love her for the entire life. Asya found her forever family! Their names are Bill and Sharon Edwards and this is their story.

Asya's beautiful smile captivated us the moment we saw her photo on the Ark Mission website. Her story did the rest. We wanted to help, and we inquired about her condition initially with no serious aim to adopt, but as information came in, it was clear that her future in Russia was uncertain at best. Despite the willingness of ourselves, and many others to help, we concluded that adoption would be her best opportunity for a hopeful future. We committed to begin the adoption process with the intent that we could bring Asya back to America and provide her with the best medical assessment and treatment available.

We knew that Asya was in Russia, but did not know which region. We found that she was in Dagestan, a part of the Caucasus region. This is a Muslim region, very unstable, and a region where our State Department affords no protection. We realized that our State Department said that Americans should not travel there, and that any Americans living there should leave. This was a dilemma we had not anticipated. The tension between our desire to adopt and help Asya and the risk associated with making the trips necessary to do that was significant. We played out timings and scenarios over and again trying to calculate ways to reduce risk, but there were just some things we needed to do to accomplish this that we could not avoid. We decided to make the trips and avoid risk in any way possible.

Olga, our translator and facilitator throughout the adoption process was wonderful. She had lived in Dagestan for much of her life, and since she had also visited America for a short time, she was very aware of how our expectations of the process would be stressed. She was there for us in ways that we would not have expected. The process had some very difficult and stressful periods. She was a champion for our case at every turn. She took risks that in her mind were probably appropriate, but to us seemed bizarre. She seemed to have a tremendous amount of wisdom in dealing with others. Her contacts in the region enabled her to provide secure lodging for us during our stay. Her concern for the children and her desire to help them into adoptive families are qualities that expressed themselves through her actions continuously. She is a very special person.

Our driver, Mohammed was more than a driver to us. He became a friend. He also worked on our behalf in ways that were more than we could have expected.

The process completed, we have been home with Asya (renamed Jordan) now for about 6 weeks. We are still having assessments done to determine the extent of her condition and the best course of treatment. We have received results from several tests and more are scheduled. It has been determined that she has been aspirating food and liquid. To what extent is not yet fully known. We do know that while in Dagestan, she was hospitalized a number of times with pneumonia that resulted from her aspirating food. We also know that there has been some lung damage as a result of aspiration, and X-Rays seem to reveal the damage may be slight, but a clearer picture should emerge after a CT Scan and two types of Bronchoscopy are performed over the next few weeks. It has also been determined that a likely result of the emergency surgery she received shortly after birth is three fused ribs, and a paralyzed right vocal cord. (Small price as she would have died had the surgery not been done. She seems to speak quite well despite this). This also contributes to some of her aspiration problems. She is now only allowed liquids that have been thickened and very small amounts (bites) of food at a time. Our hope now is that further tests will conclude that with some therapy and care, she will be able to avoid a feeding tube. For all of those who have been wondering about Asya, we sincerely thank you for your concern, and ask that prayer continues for the best outcome regarding her medical care and treatment.

In closing, we would like to add that it seems Asya has not looked back since we left the orphanage. We thought this unusual since, regardless of the conditions, this was all she knew. It is difficult to understand, but Asya seemed to know that there was something incomplete in her life, and God blessed us with an opportunity to help make it complete. Since we brought her home, to watch her, one would believe she had always been here. She is a very special little girl.

Sincere thanks to Elina, Natasha and especially Olga for helping us bring this very special little girl into our family.

Bill & Sharon Edwards
Virginia