The final four

The final four children in the mobile room are:  Celine, Alexandra, Marius and Ion.  There is also a whole other crew of babies in the non mobile room.  Mel, Jody and Sonja are holding down the fort there, but I try and stop in for a visit when I can. 

Alexandra is 8 yrs - the oldest child at the clinic.  Generally they do not have children who are older than 3 or 4, so she is a unique case.  She has brittle bone disease and dwarfism.  She isn't verbal but is very observant and knows what she wants.  She loves to be outside and will lead you to her stroller to communicate her desire to go outside. She is a quiet child that loves books and magazines.  She has a fantastic giggle that makes everyone in the room smile.  You can get it going with a trip down the slide or a tickle under her chin.

Celine is an extremely bright little girl.  She picks new words all time, both Romanian and English.  She will probably be able to help the staff with translations in a few years!  She is the only child in the mobile room who isn't walking, but gets around quite well scooting on her knews.  She has clubbed feet and has had a couple of surgeries to fix them, but they didn't go well. She also has a lump on the back of her spine that may be causing some issues with walking.  Unfortunetly her doctor will not prescribe her braces, but they are going to send her to Bucharest for a second oppinion.  She has an incredible strong upper body and pulls her self up on the wall in order to get ahold of the doornob to get out of the playroom.  I think with or with out the braces, this smarty will figure out a way to walk.  She is quite determined and hates to be left out.

Ion is all boy.  He loves la machina (any car, truck, etc) and will climb anything - even you.  It is hard to get a good picture of him because he is constantly moving.  His favorite word is "Pa" or "Bye".  He is especially skilled at escaping the playroom and waves to everyone on his way ouat.  He had to have surgery on his heart and has some respiratory issues, but that doesn't stop this rambunctious little guy.  He will tackle you from behind and then win you over with a smile.

This blue-eyed cutie is Marius.  Although he appears quite indpendent and agresssive at first, he is actually a sweetheart.  Show him a little attention and he will return it 10 fold and it will melt your heart. The first couple of days my only interaction with him was to say "Marius, No!", when he pulled the hair of one of the other children - an action he found quite funny.  But I noticed one day that he was handing me the push popper and I would play with it a little he would watch me contently from across the room.  He didn't pull anyone's hair that afternoon.  Ever since then he comes over to me each morning for a big hug and often sits quietly on my lap.  I also discoved that he loves to be tickled under his chin.  His laugh is one of the best.  He has autism and has some heart issues, but they just found out that he will not need to have an operation - definitely good news!  He doesn't interact with the other children, so I think the adult interaction is extra special for him.  I will miss this sweet boy.