This sweet girl with the infectious smile is Stephanie! Stephanie was born in February of 2005 and will be aging out in 2019. Her caregivers are very fond of her and describe her as a hardworking child who has a good sense of humor. This is Stephanie’s last year to find a family before she ages out and is no longer able to be adopted. She needs a family to find her and run to her before it’s too late!

Stephanie was found in a public place in June of 2013 when she was 8 years old. She was admitted to the Children’s Welfare Institute in her province, where she lived until 2015 when she was moved to the House of Hope. Upon admission, she was given an exam and was found to have limited motion of her limbs and exotropia of her eyes. Her preliminary diagnosis was cerebral palsy.

In April of 2017 when she was 12 years old, her caregivers described her as sunny, active, and occasionally obstinate. She liked to play with other children and had a ready smile for everyone. This curious girl loved to explore and try new things, especially toys with sounds or music. At 12 years old she was unable to walk, but could crawl for short periods of time and sit alone. She could also stand with help. While she could speak some simple words and imitate words spoken to her, her speech was not clear. She mainly communicated through facial expressions. Stephanie is said to have delayed development, but she is able to understand instructions, recognize colors, and follow directions.

In January of 2017, Stephanie was admitted to the hospital for surgery to help increase her mobility. She recovered well and was released after a 20 day stay. In March of 2017, Stephanie was given a CT scan which found some abnormalities. The CT scan report is in her file, along with blood test results, vaccination records, operation and discharge notes from the hospital, and a Voluntary Adoption Letter from Stephanie stating that she would like to be adopted. Stephanie is diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy and exotropia of both eyes.

WACAP received an update on Stephanie’s progress in in December of 2017, which showed that she has made great gains in the past few years during her time at House of Hope! Stephanie’s caregivers say she will always try to complete a task, no matter how difficult it may be, as long as she receives encouragement to keep trying. When she first arrived she was not able to roll over, and now she is able to crawl quickly. She stands every day and receives rehabilitation therapy daily. The greatest difficulty she has is with the tension in her arms. Because of this she is not able to reach them very high. Stephanie’s caregivers are especially fond of her. They call her daughter and say that she is always able to find the fun in things. She is currently learning to eat and is now able to communicate with her caregivers using pictures. Stephanie can identify a lot of different pictures and also knows her colors and shapes.

This joyful girl deserves a family of her own to share her happiness with. Her caregivers say that their dream is “to see her like a butterfly opening its wings to fly”. We hope that she is able to continue to make gains with the love and support of a family!

WACAP is offering a $4,000 grant for qualifying families. Seriously interested families should email WACAP with your request to find out more about her.