Morgan's medical and adoption fund
Donation protected
Morgan is a handsome, exuberant 6 year old boy from Zambia, who has cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and a developmental delay. Rachel is a special education teacher with a passion for kids with intellectual disabilities.
In January of 2015, while preparing to move back to Zambia to work for a non-profit, Rachel first heard about Morgan. At that time, Morgan was severely malnourished, and desperately in need of a someone to care for him. His other siblings had already been removed from the home by Social Welfare, but Morgan was left behind as no orphanages nearby were able to take Morgan in because of his medical needs. After some thought and prayer, Rachel felt that she could provide Morgan a home. After applying to be a foster parent in Zambia and being matched to Morgan, Rachel finally met and brought Morgan home on July 16, 2015.
At that time, Morgan was 5 years old, weighed a little over 17 pounds and was having more than 10 seizures a day. He was not on any medication for his seizures, was not attending school, or physical therapy, and was not recieving needed medical care.
Once Morgan and Rachel arrived in Lusaka, Morgan was admitted to the hospital to treat his epilepsy and help him gain weight. After 5 days he was discharged and he began gaining weight rapidly, and his seizures decreased drastically. By March of 2016, Morgan had more than doubled his weight, was beginning to sit up on his own, and was smiling most of the time.
In March of 2016, Morgan went with Rachel on his first trip to the US. On this trip, it was discovered that Morgan has some long term medical needs that can’t be addressed in Zambia. It was also discovered that Morgan had a right hip dislocation, which can be treated with a hip reconstruction surgery. The orthopedic surgeon felt that it might be possible for Morgan to walk short distances if he had the surgery.
Morgan and Rachel returned to Zambia in April, hoping to quickly finalize Morgan’s Zambian adoption process, and return to the US for much needed medical care. Because of changes in inter-country adoption between Zambia and the US, the timeline for a fully-completed adoption will be much longer, possibly even years.
Obviously it is not in Morgan’s best interest to wait years for this surgery and medical care. Rachel and Morgan plan to travel to the US in early fall of 2016. Currently, they are searching for a hospital to perform Morgan’s hip surgery pro-bono, as Rachel cannot purchase insurance for him until he is legally adopted.
While in the US, Rachel will also be working with an adoption attorney and agency to help with Morgan's adoption process.
Currently, Rachel needs help to cover the medical, legal, and living costs to get Morgan healthy, happy and walking. While Rachel will be looking for part time work in the US, it will be difficult as Morgan will not be in school since he is not a US resident.
Please help Morgan get the medical care and therapies he desperately needs and help finalize Morgan’s adoption!
In January of 2015, while preparing to move back to Zambia to work for a non-profit, Rachel first heard about Morgan. At that time, Morgan was severely malnourished, and desperately in need of a someone to care for him. His other siblings had already been removed from the home by Social Welfare, but Morgan was left behind as no orphanages nearby were able to take Morgan in because of his medical needs. After some thought and prayer, Rachel felt that she could provide Morgan a home. After applying to be a foster parent in Zambia and being matched to Morgan, Rachel finally met and brought Morgan home on July 16, 2015.
At that time, Morgan was 5 years old, weighed a little over 17 pounds and was having more than 10 seizures a day. He was not on any medication for his seizures, was not attending school, or physical therapy, and was not recieving needed medical care.
Once Morgan and Rachel arrived in Lusaka, Morgan was admitted to the hospital to treat his epilepsy and help him gain weight. After 5 days he was discharged and he began gaining weight rapidly, and his seizures decreased drastically. By March of 2016, Morgan had more than doubled his weight, was beginning to sit up on his own, and was smiling most of the time.
In March of 2016, Morgan went with Rachel on his first trip to the US. On this trip, it was discovered that Morgan has some long term medical needs that can’t be addressed in Zambia. It was also discovered that Morgan had a right hip dislocation, which can be treated with a hip reconstruction surgery. The orthopedic surgeon felt that it might be possible for Morgan to walk short distances if he had the surgery.
Morgan and Rachel returned to Zambia in April, hoping to quickly finalize Morgan’s Zambian adoption process, and return to the US for much needed medical care. Because of changes in inter-country adoption between Zambia and the US, the timeline for a fully-completed adoption will be much longer, possibly even years.
Obviously it is not in Morgan’s best interest to wait years for this surgery and medical care. Rachel and Morgan plan to travel to the US in early fall of 2016. Currently, they are searching for a hospital to perform Morgan’s hip surgery pro-bono, as Rachel cannot purchase insurance for him until he is legally adopted.
While in the US, Rachel will also be working with an adoption attorney and agency to help with Morgan's adoption process.
Currently, Rachel needs help to cover the medical, legal, and living costs to get Morgan healthy, happy and walking. While Rachel will be looking for part time work in the US, it will be difficult as Morgan will not be in school since he is not a US resident.
Please help Morgan get the medical care and therapies he desperately needs and help finalize Morgan’s adoption!
Organizer
Rachel Redmond
Organizer
Louisville, KY