Who Started All of This Part 5

This is the week. In 2008, Joel and I were getting ready to go on a date. We got a call from Children's Hospital. It was Addis who sounded like her usual cheerful self, except that she was calling from a hospital. She told us she would be having surgery the next day and, hearing that, we decided our date would be a drive to St. Paul. 

When we got there, we chatted with her, joked around, shared some chocolate and prayed. To none of us did it seem possible that the next day she would be diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. I do know now that our lives were changed and we are the better for it.

 

Her Caring Bridge site is still up (http://caringbridge.org/visit/addisalemwolde) but it sort of seems like "old news." What is thrilling to write is that she is graduating from high school, aspires to be a nurse practitioner and has been accepted to 2 colleges. She loves God, her family and her friends. 

Addis's time in the hospital, her struggles, her illness, our complete reorientation to the preciousness of life, our love for the children we have, all seem to have come together to make us look forward to an Ethiopian little girl.