A Happy Ending

Long before I became a blogger or a mother, I was a newspaper reporter. When the earthquake in Haiti devastated the country, I worried that the story of how my friend had worked so hard to adopt a child from Haiti would end tragically.

It seemed that so few stories ended happily. Or so I thought.

Lorraine and Damien’s story ended in the best possible way. They brought Samantha home to Los Angeles last night. She is safe and healthy and with a family who loves her. She dressed up in her new sister’s princess dresses and the two stayed up until 2 am playing. Today Samantha, who turns 10 on January 25, unpacked the clothes, books, and toys donated to her during her stay at a hospital in Pittsburgh, in her very own bedroom.

Her parents say she hasn’t yet shown signs of trauma from the earthquake or her years in the orphanage. “So far so good,” her father, Damien, said. “We are absolutely thrilled to have her home,” he said.

Here are past blogs about the family’s struggle to get Samantha home:

LA Moms Blog Post – http://www.lamomsblog.com/2010/01/one-mothers-struggle-to-get-adopted-daughter-out-of-haiti.html#more

Lorraine’s Letter – http://yvonneinla.blogspot.com/2010/01/friends-struggle-to-get-daughter-safely.html

Updates – http://yvonneinla.blogspot.com/2010/01/la-family-trying-to-get-adopted.html

http://yvonneinla.blogspot.com/2010/01/wonderful-news-friends-daughter-is-on.html

Wonderful News!! Friend's Daughter is on Her Way Out of Haiti

I just talked to Lorraine and Samantha is on a plane and coming to the U.S.!!! She’ll arrive in Miami first where she’ll go to a hospital. Once doctors determine that she’s healthy, she’ll fly to Pittsburgh. Lorraine and the rest of the family will meet Samantha in Pittsburgh and bring her home to Los Angeles.

A wonderful and unbelievable ending to their story.

I haven’t been able to find out how many of the other children from Bresma are coming with her, but this news story said that 61 children from the orphanage were heading to Pennsylvania on a relief plane.

LA Family Trying to Get Adopted Daughter Out of Haiti

I wanted to update the LA Moms Blog post from Friday about friends who are trying to get the girl they are in the process of adopting out of Haiti.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much good news to report. The situation is still desperate. The children in the BRESMA orphanage have received limited supplies, but continue to be short on water. Many of the children have diarrhea and are having trouble getting rehydrated because there isn’t enough water.

Lorraine and Damien’s daughter Samantha isn’t sick. They have talked to Jamie McMurtrie Heckman, who runs the Bresma orphanage with her sister Ali McMurtrie, (You can find updates about the two sisters at this blog), and she told them that Samantha’s is doing ok for now.

Security at the orphanage continues to be a huge concern. The orphanage is run by Americans and people know that. Whenever they get a delivery it’s a huge risk for their safety. There is so much danger all over the country that the military is overwhelmed.

There are many rumor and news reports about planes going in to rescue the BRESMA orphans and some of the thousands of other orphans in the country. About a dozen children have been flown out, but the others are still in desperate need of help.

If you’d like to help, Lorraine and Damien recommend donating to one of the LA area drop off locations listed on this site.
http://www.lime-aid.tv/

This website is also collecting donations for the Bresma orphans.
http://www.centeroflife.net/haiti/index.html