Let me start from the beginning. My husband and I are both 24 years old and work at a local Children's Hospital. My husband is a nurse in the ICU and I work in the Child Life program running the playroom/activity room for the patients. Bobby, who was 2 at the time, was a frequent visitor to the hospital due to his diagnosis of Short Bowel Syndrome and complications thereof.

Bobby would come to the playroom daily and keep us all busy chasing a toddler on an IV pole! As time went by, I came to learn that he was a foster child. He was in the hospital mostly for his Central Line infections. Added to that, however, was anemia, liver failure, and much more.

Bobby had been admitted since March and I had him with me daily in the playroom. I noticed that no-one was visiting him and began to inquire on his situation. I learned that he was in a sort-of "group" home with 5 other medically fragile children and nurses caring for him 24 hours a day. Basically a small form of the hospital.

Then in August, Bobby did not come to the playroom. When I went to his room, there was a sign posted "ISOLATION" and Bobby was inside crying to come out.

He had contracted VRE and a fungal infection (both hospital-acquired) and would have to be in isolation any time he was admitted to the hospital for the rest of his life. I cried. This was a JAIL sentence to a little boy who spent MOST of his life in a hospital!

People from the home where he was living could not come and visit due to their need to care for the other 5 children. So he was all alone.

By late September I was in his room anytime I was not working. Lunches, after work, weekends. He began deteriorating. He could not walk as well. He was detaching and calling everyone "mom". He didn't care WHO was with him whether it be me, the nurse, the IV therapist, or the cleaning person!

So the night we found this website we were inquiring about something we felt the Lord was calling us to do. Be Bobby's parents. I cry now as I think of the night where I read the stories of the children whose parents are fighting for them, looking for alternate treatments, and being their #1 advocates and defenders. I kept saying

"Bobby doesn't have this. No one has a website for him. No one is even LOOKING at websites about him!" His mother abandoned him at age 1 because he was "too much trouble". Father is in trouble with the law and will never get him back (not the we want him to!).

Bobby came home from the hospital with us the day before his 3rd birthday - Dec. 7th. He has been with us over 6 weeks now and has been THRIVING! This is the longest he has been out of the hospital for over a year. He is on TPN and G-Tube feeding for only 14 hours a day (it was 18) and has even gained 1 and 1/4 lbs!
If we can get him past these frequent line infections then he has a better chance of survival, but since his liver was previously damaged, the TPN is taking a real hit on it. We need to get past that too.

As each of you probably know, there are a LOT of hurdles to jump to make it. But you know what? The one most important thing is love. My only desire for this precious boy was that he know what it is like to be loved, taken care of, adored, doted upon, and WANTED. I quit my job for now and am home with him full time.

So if he gets admitted, I will be there. That's all that's important. He has someone now. When things get rough and "owie" he has someone there that can hold him and tell him it's okay. Someday, if we get to adopt him, I will post pictures with the story and update it with all the GOOD news. But for now, we must remain anonymous to the public since he is still in the foster system.

Thank you for your time. God Bless each one of you!!!!