Reece’s Rainbow and Kecia and Kris Cox are my heroes! Seriously!
World News Tonight With Diane Sawyer featured a touching story tonight about the Cox family’s journey of adopting a child (Kareen) born with Down syndrome from the Ukraine. (Kecia and Kris have also documented their story on their blog: Kareen’s Journey Home.)
Words can’t describe the range of emotions I have after watching this video (and reading their adoption story.) I’m overwhelmed with tears of joy for Kareen and the Cox’s, but at the same time heartbroken for all of the other children forced to live as outcasts, desperately in need of someone to love them. I’m well aware of the horrible conditions that children born with Down syndrome are forced to endure in the Ukraine and other Eastern European countries which is why I’m so thankful for organizations like Reece’s Rainbow who help children like Kareen find a home with loving parents who will care for them. As I said above, Reece’s Rainbow is a modern-day hero!
Reece's Rainbow is a true hero!
I’d encourage you to watch the video above, read their story, and pray about how you can get involved with Reece’s Rainbow. On their website you can browse countless stories of families in the progress of adopting a child born with Down syndrome, many of which are in need of financial support to help give these beautiful children their dream of being part of a forever family.
(By the way, the Cox’s raised 30 thousand dollars in order to bring Kareen home!) Perhaps you could skip a latte (or two) next month and donate that money to help rescue a child in desperate need of a family who will love him or her. Who knows…maybe you’ll even be called to adopt a child through Reece’s Rainbow! How awesome would that be! (And if that happens…please let me know!)
Please take a second to visit the Cox’s blog and leave them an encouraging comment. They are an amazing family, and I really do consider Kecia and Kris heroes of mine.
The Cox’s story is a perfect reminder of why I started this site, to give the world an inside look at what life is like rising a child born with Down syndrome. My hope is that we can show the world by our daily videos that people born with Down syndrome are just as equally valued by God as any other person. My heart hurts when I think about those children who desperately want someone to love them. They don’t want an iPad, a new car, or a bunch of stuff…..they just want to be a part of a family who will love them.
If you are interested in learning more about Down syndrome my wife (a pediatrician) put together a great New Parent’s Guide To Down Syndrome. Don’t worry if you’re not a new parent (or a parent at all) the guide contains lots of useful information for anyone.
Where you aware of the conditions that children born with Down syndrome are forced to endure in the Ukraine? What are some ways you and your family could get involved with Reece’s Rainbow?
About Rick Smith
We followed the Cox family’s story as we were packing and getting ready to go get Zeke from Ukraine. All I can say is that their story mirrors our own so closely, and Zeke’s past was very similar to Mia’s…and his future could have been one of those asylums. Reality is scary.
As I said in post, I consider families like the two of yours heroes. Seriously.
I can’t thank you enough for seeing these children as ones in need of reduce…and then rescuing them. We are modeling Christ well when we rescue those whom He loves.
Its an honor to be on this journey with families like yours and the Cox’s.
I’m glad to call you guys a friend.
Rick,
Thank you for taking part of your blog to highlight and feature Reece’s Rainbow. We too are a Reece’s Rainbow family (we were actually in country with Laurie!) Our son, Sterling, has brought us immeasurable joy since we got home with him 9 weeks ago. Sterling had already been transferred to an adult mental institution seven months prior to our arrival. We spent time, every day, in that institution and leaving 118 other boys behind was very hard. Many of the children are high functioning and most would be able to function in school. Yet, they are denied this right. We struggle daily with the effects of institutional life on our son. He is 5 years old, non-verbal, does not know how to play, has food insecurity issues, multiple signs of institutional autism and is developmentally around 15 months old. He was essentially left on his own in a crib for most of the day. He had no toys or stimulation of any kind. No one spoke with him, with the exception of giving commands. When his groupa was outside he was forced to sit on a bench and he wasn’t allowed to play because he ate grass and dirt. I want to stress that he was in no way abused – he was neglected. This is just the stuff we witnessed. We are in love with our son. But we are also not disillusioned, we fully understand the uphill battle we have ahead of us. Thank you for for your blog and for advocating for these children. These children need every advocate they can get.
Erin,
Thanks for your comment. It’s been our honor to get to know you through our site, and Facebook. I sincerely mean it when I say families like yours are our heroes. I can’t thank you enough for loving Sterling the way you have. You guys should be very proud of your accomplishments. I know the battle is up hill, but I have no doubt you guys are the best people in the world to go up that hill with him.
I just prayed for your entire family, and I can’t wait to see the story God tells through your family. I’m thankful to be able to be a part of that story in some small way. I also hope that we can all meet up sometime! I’d love for Noah (and us!) to meet Sterling! 🙂
Please also know we are here to help you guys in any way we can. So never feel like you can’t ask! 🙂
I should clarify that he was neglected intellectually and in terms of therapies. ALL of his basic needs were met.
Wow. i am familiar with Reece’s Rainbow but i had no idea about the stuff happening in the Ukraine. such an inspirational story! thank you
Thanks for your comment…pretty crazy stuff, huh? It’s heart breaking.
I was in tears watching this video. God bless all the families that are able to help these children have a better life.
Me to! That video was really moving. Our pryer is that it would cause people to act on what they saw and that many of these children will find loving homes. Thanks for your comment.
And this is reason #246 why adoption needs to be made easier in the UK! I’m pretty sure that the Cox family wouldn’t have been allowed to adopt if they’d lived here, due to recent miscarriages and the fact they were still trying for their own baby 🙁 the rules here are crazy and every potential ‘forever family’ is viewed with suspicion. I’d still love to try one day, though.
Awesome story! Thanks for sharing! And for caring!
No problem. Do you have children? If so, how old?