Only two days have passed since we submitted our letter of intent to China to adopt Nianshu. The wait is torture. Most families who submit their request to adopt a specific child KNOW that it is just a matter of time until China will say “yes”. But, for our family, we had to send a medical waiver request for me since I have a non-curable form of cancer. China is very reluctant to allow a family to bring home a child when one of the parents have or has had any form of cancer. Cancer is one of the big issues that disqualify a family who desires to adopt from China.
Medically speaking, I still have cancer. The type of cancer that I was diagnosed with at the young age of 22 is called Carcinoid Syndrome. At the time of diagnosis, I was given 3 years to live. My doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota are trying to medically explain how I am still alive...but what they are not taking into account is that God is bigger than any medical diagnosis! That is why I am still sitting here tonight typing this blog post 11 years later. I am completely healthy, and my cancer levels have been within a normal range for the past 7 years...since the year that I conceived our first daughter! I feel honored to be given a second chance at life, and I promised God (more like begged) that if he allowed me to live I would live my life according to His will. My heart for orphans has always been HUGE...definitely a desire planted by God.
My endocrinologist wrote me a doctor’s note saying that she did not feel that my disease inhibits my ability to parent my children, and that she expects me to live a long life. This letter was translated into Chinese, and then submitted to China along with our request to adopt Nianshu.
At this point, all we can do is pray that God softens the hearts of the Chinese officials who review our paperwork.
Thank you so much for sharing this because I thought cancer would keep me from adopting. I feel like God has spoken through you and given me the green light.
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