Im glad you liked it. I was hoping you of all people would enjoy it!
((((((((((Xi))))))) On Nov 9, 4:48 pm, "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Touching and beautiful. > > (((((Mercury))))) > > Thank you very much. > > Peace and best wishes. > > Xi > > On 9 nov, 22:32, "Mercury.Sailor" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > I posted this song for one very special reason.... > > > *Time of my Life* was inspired and written because of a little Angel > > he and his wife adopted from Beijing!! Its very special to me, I hope > > you enjoy. > > > FULL CIRCLE > > > It was late March of 2003 and my wife and I were sitting in a tourist > > bus with three other families on a crowded street in Beijing, China. > > We had all just climbed the Great Wall together and had stopped to buy > > hats and t-shirts from street vendors on our return back into the > > city. Yolanda (my wife) and I saw these cheesy little hats that said > > "Beijing Olympics 2008". We bought them and immediately added them to > > our fashion ensemble, along with our cargo pants, t-shirts and running > > shoes. The hats, and the inscriptions on them, seemed insignificant at > > the time. They did prove to be good conversation pieces, however. > > Yolanda and I discussed the '08 Olympics with the other families like > > us, awaiting eight-month-old daughters, on the bus ride back to the > > hotel. > > > This was exactly one week before we met our precious Isabella, Xin > > Meng (which means "new dreams" in Chinese). We were all doing the > > simple math that would tell us how old our daughters would be in 2008. > > We all agreed that it would be such a wonderful experience to bring > > them back for the games and introduce the little girls to the land of > > their birth. We speculated on whether they would be old enough to > > understand. We wondered about the in-between years and how we would > > all be different. Would we have other children? Would our daughters > > even care about China? Would we all be able to meet again and > > reminisce about our experiences together? It was indeed an interesting > > ride back to the hotel and I distinctly remember Yolanda and I > > deciding then and there that we would make it a point to be at the > > games in Beijing in '08 with Isabella. > > > At the time, it wasn't a stretch to believe we would be able to do it. > > In fact, it wasn't even something we gave a second thought to. If we > > wanted to go to China we just did it. If we wanted to go anywhere, > > back then, we just did it. Four days prior to climbing the Great Wall > > and purchasing tourists hats, I had stood in a record store on Santa > > Monica boulevard and picked my debut release "American Dreams" out of > > it's own sleeve in "H" section. My single "Babies" was number 15 on > > the Adult Contemporary pop chart (with a bullet, as they say) and I > > was told at my record release party two days prior to that, that I > > would be touring extensively upon my return from China - "line up a > > nanny", are the exact words my agent used, "you're going to be gone a > > lot". I was ready for it. I felt as though I could do no wrong and was > > living the part I was born to play. > > > I had gone from a meteoric career in Christian music, logging twenty > > one number 1 hits in seven years, Grammy and Dove nominations and > > walls full of platinum, to landing a record deal with Universal South > > records as a solo artist. My wife had been a very successful promoter > > in the radio world as well. She was responsible for helping launch > > some of the biggest names in country music. We were a jet setting, > > highly paid, well groomed couple who understood success and how to > > achieve it. We had, however, begun to feel empty in our lives and > > after learning that we couldn't produce children of our own, decided > > to go to China and bring home a little girl. That decision would > > change everything. > > > By the time I reached her, she had lived in an overcrowded orphanage > > and had been in foster care twice. She was eight months old. The night > > she was placed in my wife's arms she was burning with fever and > > visibly confused. We took her directly to the hotel room and stripped > > her down to check for any physical problems. We found tiny holes in > > her hands and feet where she had been given IV's over and over again > > for who knows what. She had a fresh immunization scar (she was > > probably given a shot and thrown directly in the van for the 6-hour > > drive from rural orphanage to 5-star hotel). Her toe nails were > > growing crooked due to the undersized shoes she constantly wore. She > > was completely horrified at the bath we were giving her which made us > > question whether or not she'd actually ever had one. She couldn't hold > > her head up, wouldn't take a bottle or eat and did nothing but scowl > > and sleep for her first three days in our care. Every night I placed > > her on my knees and fed her with a medicine dropper to get nourishment > > down her. We took her to the Chinese hospital twice in three days > > > After taking her to the hospital twice and seeing the hotel doctor > > several times, we realized something was wrong with our daughter. > > After her three days of sleep she began waking up screaming every hour > > and would continue to scream for the next three hours. Eventually > > exhaustion would send her back into sleep for another hour. The > > process went on like that for 10 days. In the confusion of the moment > > we attributed her strange behavior to infections, viruses, the shock > > of new parents, new places, new food, new clothes, new sights and > > sounds. But as the days wore on and the other little girls in the > > group got more and more acclimated and seemed to normalize, we had an > > ominous feeling we were dealing with something bigger. > > > The drama of China was almost endless. The SARS virus was running > > rampant through the country and I was exhibiting all the symptoms - so > > was my daughter. We feared we would never get out of the country, but > > on our 21st day we slipped past customs and on to the plane bound for > > America. Isabella screamed at the top of her lungs for twelve of the > > fourteen hours in the air. I walked her up and down the aisles for ten > > straight hours, providing temporary moments of silence and relief to > > the other passengers. Once again though, everyone could see something > > was wrong. > > > After a fourteen hour flight from China and a five hour flight from > > LA to Nashville, we finally had our baby in our house and in her room. > > We prayed the routine, nutrition and comfort of home would bring her > > around and one day she would just pop her head up and be a normal > > little girl. It never happened. Each night was filled with two hours > > of sleep followed by three hours of screaming. Each day was filled > > with propping her up, trying to get her to crawl, stand, babble, eat, > > anything that would signify she was well. Again, it wasn't to be. The > > only thing that had changed for the better was her beautiful, > > infectious laughter. Constant smiling and laughter. It was a delicious > > gift that propelled us through each day. The fact that she couldn't > > hold a cup or play with a doll never stopped her from lighting a room > > up with an indescribable smile. It's a gift she still gives. > > > We immediately contacted therapists and enrolled her in government > > sponsored programs that we thought could help. She was denied coverage > > in our private insurance plan due to "pre-existing conditions", so we > > spent thousands of dollars out of our own pocket for trips to the > > doctor and the emergency room. After three months, we cashed in the > > entirety of our savings, stocks, bonds and retirement plans to > > continue her medical care. Even with all the money spent, all the > > doctors seen, speech, occupational and physical therapies being done > > four days a week, no one could offer a diagnosis for her delays and > > lack of responses. We were told she had everything from autism to > > cerebral palsy to severe mental retardation. There were speculations > > that she'd been dropped on her head as an infant. Maybe she was born > > pre-maturely. Maybe the umbilical cord had been wrapped around her > > neck, cutting off circulation long enough to cause brain damage. She > > could've possibly been exposed to some ultra-toxic mold. It was all > > speculation and completely maddening. Meanwhile, the years of constant > > sleep deprivation, draining of personal finances, and the neglect of > > my career, in order to be home with Isabella, was taking a physical, > > mental, financial and emotional toll on my wife and me. We found > > ourselves barely hanging on to sanity and losing faith in > > possibilities. Bella's laugh and the occasional uplifting email or > > phone call from a friend was our only comfort. > > > As the years progressed, however, we discovered certain things that > > helped Isabella sleep. Two hours a night stretched into five which > > stretched to seven which has finally stretched to nine. She began to > > eat and soon became the queen of sweet potatoes! At eighteen months, > > she learned to crawl. At three, she learned to walk. One day, a friend > > visiting from out of town said "she acts a lot like my friend's son > > who has something called Angelman Syndrome". We rushed home to the > > computer and researched the disorder at length. It is a complete or > > partial deletion of the 15th maternal chromosome (in layman's terms). > > At the moment, it's incurable. Some of the symptoms are; delayed motor > > skills, severe sleep disorders, eating problems, seizures, lack of > > speech, hyper activity, obsessions with water and plastic, and a happy > > demeanor ...constant smiling. It was the only thing we'd ever seen > > that sounded like our Bella. We immediately got in line for a genetics > > test at Vanderbilt. After three series of tests, on July 3rd, 2007 we > > were given the diagnosis of Angelman Syndrome. Deletion positive. > > After five years of groping for answers we finally had one. As dire as > > the diagnosis was, we were almost relieved to know what we were > > ... > > read more »- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "World-thread" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/world-thread?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
