I know, I know...another documentary. I can't help it. I am addicted to them. This was a good one. Heartbreaking, to be sure, but so amazing and wonderful too. This is a documentary following a woman named Susan Tom from California, who has adopted 13 special needs children. The film follows a year in the life of this family, showing the ups and downs, the background story and just the amazing strength and courage this woman has in raising these incredible children. Some parts are hard to watch, one of the children has a lot some issues and becomes verbally abusive a few times, another one, the sweet Anthony, had a rare skin disease (Epidermolysis Bullosa) and watching her care for him was so difficult to watch. I thought the film was very honest and revealing, and really really incredible. I was overwhelmed at times, and inspired at others. I think that as a parent that has a special needs child, I always am in awe of people who adopt them on purpose. I didn't choose for Chloe to have Down Syndrome, I love that she does...I am never sorry she does...it is part of who she is, and it makes her Chloe. Susan Tom adopted these children and made the decision to adopt children that had special needs. I find that so commendable. After watching this, I started thinking about how much I love having a child with Down Syndrome, and how I wouldn't mind someday maybe adopting another one. Which brings me to the public service portion of this days blog entry. I found this incredible organization that helps families adopt children with Down Syndrome and a few other various special needs that are in orphanages in other countries. In quite a few countries...babies with Down Syndrome, and other physical issues, are often put into orphanages and when they turn 4 years old, are turned over to mental institutions. I have seen photos of these places, and its so not pretty. Children, older children, teenagers even, all stuck in beds that are almost like bigger cribs. That is their life from then on. I can imagine the life expectancy of a child with special needs is pretty low in these countries. It totally breaks my heart. This organization is so incredible that I want to share it with you. Even if you aren't in the world where adopting a child is something you are interested in doing, seeing these children and spreading the word would help. There are ways to help this organization save as many children as they can.
Okay, back to the movie. I loved it, I definitely recommend it, however it does have some harsh situations that may not be suitable for all children. I would let Ian watch it, but there would be some discussions involved for sure.
sorry for the soapbox feel of this post, this topic is very near and dear to my heart :)
1 comment:
Em and I just watched this. I agree that it was so heartbreaking at times but also very inspirational. Watching her bathe her son Anthony was the most difficult scenes to watch but so sweet and honest. Seeing the pain in that boys face was so sad. I am so glad there are people out there like this woman to help these children. Thanks for recommending this one!
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