Foster Calls

I've wanted to get another infant (from the hospital, preferably) since we gave up Gentry, but like I mentioned before with the 45 day rule it just hasn't happened.

Most of the placement workers have called at some point over the last month or so, seeing that we show 2 beds open in our home. Each time I've give them our reason for not being able to take them now and give them the dates we'd be gone. Eventually the calls quit coming and all but stopped. UNTIL THIS WEEK, they knew in their system that I was pretty much free from this point on. (I do have my 10 year H.S. reunion next weekend but IN state and just 1 night if need be, so I thought I could bend their rules a bit and get our baby show going).

I was camping with my family in Great Basin Nat'l Park and didn't get home until Wednesday, but Jonathan got 3 messages from DFS while I was gone. 1 was hoping to place a sibling group of......get this......SIX! HA! Ha Ha Ha Ha HA! Don't think so people. Actually, they knew we couldn't and wouldn't take them all, but they were hoping that we'd at least take 1 or 2 and they'd place the rest in our area of town. That's always the goal, to place them together or at least near each other. Sad still.

The other calls were for "respite" to watch other foster kids for the foster parents. I don't mind doing respite but its much funner & easier to have your own foster kid than babysit someone elses. So I called DFS on my way home yesterday to let them know I wanted a baby and would take it as soon as they call. I even said I'd take a infant with a toddler sibling. Daring? I dunno yet.

Today I got 3 calls! Unfortunately, none of them were for an infant.
#1- wanted us to do respite for a 3 yr boy, 5 yr girl. They called the house & my cell while I was camping AND called last night when I got home, & again this morning. Desperate much? I would probably do it but Jonathan's not up for babysitting. They'd fill our 2 "open beds" and then we couldn't take a baby if they called.
#2- Wanted us to take a 1 year old little girl. Cute age, probably fun- but not an infant. Also she still says I can't leave the county for 45 days even if it's in state & I ask the case worker. :( Whatever!
#3- wanted us to respite for 10 month old baby boy from today until the 23rd. I leave that day for the reunion so he'd have to be picked up early in the day. I wouldn't mind, but I tell her that really we'd like an infant. She was unaware that was our current preference, although I've told almost every placement worker that calls. When I told her that we are long term placement or adoption she said she had some infants that would be adoptable most likely. Only catch- medically fragile.
I asked HOW medically fragile? Answer: 4 month old baby girl, Caucasian, born premature (31 weeks & 3 lbs, 4 oz) Now 11lbs. Born with water on the brain (actually brain on outside of head at birth) surgically put back inside head and reservoir put in to drain brain fluid. Will have surgery in about 2 mon. for a permanent shunt that will not be visible from the outside and will drain fluid from brain to stomach. No brain damage so far, NONE expected. That's not all, also a hole in her heart, but cardiologist has watched it closely and is pretty sure it will heal itself with age. Retina's are premature but opthamologist is watching them close, I guess she might need glasses??? They didn't say that though. Scary part- her mother is HIV positive. She was born negative and given a drug immediately that is supposed to kill off any part of the disease. She's been tested 3 times and always negative. They test her again in August. By 18 months if still negative there is no longer any risk, the mothers anti-bodies will be out of her system by then. HERE'S TO HOPING SHE WILL STAY NEGATIVE! That scares us a bit, I'm not up for a lethal weapon living in our house. But the last scary thing is the mental health history. Her mother has been diagnosed bi-polar, among other mental issues, which is a VERY serious mental disease. The neurologist that is watching her brain since birth says there is no way to tell if she'll have mental issues or not, but it is in her gene pool. Hmmmmm.
Jonathan is excited for this little girl and would like to take her after a visit or two seeing her and talking MORE with the current foster mom whom I talked to today. He hates the idea of getting a foster baby, getting attached, and then giving them back to birth parents. This little girls parents aren't in the picture and rights should be terminated in the next month or so. She is a definite adoption.
So we've spent the evening thinking about it. We'll pray about it and if it still feels like a possiblity we could take her and all her challenges, I'll call the foster mom back tomorrow and set up a visit.