Stand up with Rini and help the Little Flowers!

Many of you who have invested your hearts in the blogs of the adoption world know the face of Rini Ann Yongling Olson, and have watched miracles unfold through her adoption.

This child was dying in a Chinese PICU.

But, halfway across the world, a woman was advocating for her...fiercely determined to find her family. In the months that followed, dozens of families reviewed her file, yet no one moved forward, and Andrea began to think that perhaps she was meant to mother this baby. So the Olson family decided to fight for her. Andrea and Eric Olson fully believed in her chance to live. They opened their hearts, and they said, "Yes, Lord" to love this child as their daughter.

Their road was not an easy one. The adoption agency, Holt, (which happens to be our adoption agency, and how I met Andrea) had to fight for this family, too especially when her eligibility for adoption was rescinded by Chinese officials because of the status of her health.  

God was on their side.

He paved a way, against all odds, and expedited her adoption, as well as permitting the adoption to finally take place after it was blocked again after the family arrived in China.

And in the process, we all adopted her, didn't we?  I know I did.

Rini flew home from China and was immediately admitted to the hospital. Her beginnings were rough as her frail and severely malnourished body tried to figure out how to accept food and nourishment from tubes. There were more than a few times when it seemed it might all be too much for her little anatomy to take. But she kept fighting.

Two weeks later, the decision was made to allow Rini to go home with the hope that the home environment would be beneficial to her, and that perhaps she would begin to gain weight, nutritionally stabilize, and with that, perhaps her cardiac function would improve.  We all rejoiced with the Olson family, at Rini's mere chance to be home. God showed us His mercy through His miracles, day by day. But nine days later, Rini had declined and gone into respiratory failure.

And then there were more setbacks...

Her cardiac disease was end stage, and had rendered her inoperable. It was clear there was only one answer to give Rini her chance at life--a heart transplant. However, because of the level of her malnourishment and anatomical issues, she was denied transplant evaluation. She remained in the hospital for weeks as her team desperately tried to manage her declining cardiac disease while improving her metabolic state enough for a transplant center to consent to an evaluation. Finally, in mid-October, Seattle Children's Hospital agreed to take her and she and her mother were transported via air ambulance.

We all walked with them through the process of having her listed, but within two weeks of being added to the cardiac transplant waiting list, she had suffered two cardiac arrests and was on life support. Nineteen days after being listed, the Olson family received the call changed their lives. As they rejoiced at this new God-given lease on Rini's life, they realized that another family had to lose life. They had to say goodbye to their little loved one, filled with sorrow and grief. But what an amazing sacrifice to give--the healthy heart that coursed blood through the veins of their child, would now be placed inside another; giving another child and another family the gift of life they'd desperately prayed for.

Rini's broken heart, which had continued beating erratically and weakly the the way to the operating room, suffered its final arrest as she was being transitioned from ECMO to cardio-pulmonary bypass.  One of her nurses said she'd never seen anything like it. Her diseased heart, which had worked so hard to maintain her life for 24 months, knew exactly when it was time to let go; there were no twitches, no attempts from her heart to keep going, just stillness and peace. God knew, and His timing was no accident. The five-hour transplant stretched to twelve, and the next months gave way to more time on life support, another cardiac arrest, and a myriad of complications. Over three months after her transplant, Rini finally left the hospital. Six months after bringing her home from China, this precious child finally came home to her brothers and sisters for good.

From that time, we've watched her blossom through the months.  She continues to flourish as she bonds with her siblings, exhibits her sassy personality, and learns how to trust and love the ones who built their fortress on God's promises...her parents.

I cannot imagine the financial burden they've taken on. When the Holy Spirit set it in my heart to do a book fundraiser for the Olson family, I reached out to Andrea first, and we had a deep and faith-filled discussion about their feelings on the subject. What I found out is that, though they are buried in debt right now, they have always had a tough time with the idea of accepting money because, "first, we have chosen this path and second, even buried in debt we are still better off than the majority of the world." 

Andrea says, "The burden we carry is light when taken in context with what so many others endure. Our financial situation will not force us to abandon our children, nor will it result in our children being denied medical care. The heaviest burden we could possibly carry was lifted off of us on the day that another family's choice to donate their child's organs saved our daughter's life. We are rich indeed, in ways that only come from God, and ultimately we believe that He will fortify us and enable us to financially recover. Our wish is to bless other children and families and to help ease their suffering."

Can you imagine such a gracious response? But our conversation was pulled to something bigger. Andrea admitted that all the while her daughter was suffering, she could not stop thinking of all the millions of children just like Rini, who haven't been given another chance at life. There are so many orphaned children, who remain nameless and faceless to us, and whose existence has been become simply "waiting to perish" because they have no one to fight for them.

And so, our idea of a fundraiser to help the Olson family has been honed into something much finer. Yes, this fundraiser will be in honor of Rini, and in memory of our son, Daniel, but the funds will be given to help those who haven't been given their chance yet, and desperately need help to survive. 

This fundraiser will benefit The Little Flower Projects, as Andrea's choice. They provide 24-hour intensive nursing care, medical treatment, foster care, long-term care, and education to orphaned children across six projects in several locations of China. We've recently learned that they are in a desperate crisis for funding.

While our complete fundraising plans continue to develop, I would like to kick it off by offering this: for each copy of With an Open Heart purchased this month, we will donate $10 (100% of the proceeds) to The Little Flower Projects. Please note that it must be purchased through the Paypal link in the right column of this website for the fundraiser, only because we have zero control over books sold through online distribution and royalties are very slim. Andrea embraced our Daniel's story from the minute she heard about it two years ago. God brought us together because of our shared love for heart babies and orphans. Our family sees this mission as a beautiful way to share our precious Daniel's story, to honor Rini and her heart hero, and mostly to help those who don't have a voice. 

This week, as I watched a new video of Rini standing for the first time, it felt so BIG. Each and every one of her milestones reminds me just how tender and precious life is. There have been rough patches; there have been setbacks for Rini. But she LIVES. And now, she STANDS!!  When I saw this video, I knew that the Holy Spirit had delivered the perfect name for our fundraiser, so please help us STAND UP WITH RINI!  Together we can make a difference for those who need our support more than we could ever imagine. Now that's something to get excited about.