What is a ‘Waiting Child’?

A child might be waiting for a family due to age, health or being part of a sibling group. There are so many health conditions which are very easy to manage and may sound scary at first, but the children living with them are just normal kids. For example, Lucy (adopted as an infant) has a foot deformity (limb differences) and it doesn’t hold her back at all.  Our godchild Lennon was born with a heart defect and now lives a 100% normal life after surgery. We also have a friend with epilepsy who leads a completely normal life with medication. Beautiful Victoria has HIV and she also leads a 100% normal life thanks to medication. Lili has hepatitis B which is another easily managed special need, as is hepatitis C.  There are millions of older children such as Kristina who are 100% healthy, but are only considered ‘special needs’ because so many people want babies.  And something as minor as strabismus (surgically corrected) should certainly not keep a child waiting in an orphanage for the rest of their life while parents wait so long for a ‘healthy’ child. Cleft lip is another example of a cosmetic medical condition corrected surgically. See Allie as another example. I know a little boy Ryan who was born deaf but can hear and speak due to the medical miracle of cochlear implants. My husband was born prematurely and had development delays, yet is now 100% perfect and uber-brilliant. Raising a child with ambiguous genitalia seems fairly straightforward. Same with burns or birthmarks. There are many other needs featured on RainbowKids.