A child that touched my heart

Meiyi Isabella Richards came to join our family at the tender age of 2.6 years. She was truly a special needs child! She had many medical issues with the most serious and life threating been ASD with VSD (she had two holes in her heart). All doctors advised us AGAINST adopting her. They told us she may not even survive the long flight home from China. Also they told us that EVERY DAY passed her second birthday would be a miracle. God has placed this child in my life for a reason and I was not going to give up on her! But when I arrived in China I could see why the doctor's expressed concern. Meiyi was such a weak little girl. Not able to walk, crawl or even talk. But I was determined that even if she didn't make it home or survive the surgery, she would at least have a family to love her before she leaves this world! But little 14 pound Meiyi was a determined little girl! She WANTED to live! She was a fighter! So I had to fight for her too.  Meiyi surprised the doctors as we arrived at the hospital for her test prior to surgery. It was worse than they had thought. Surgery was needed now and the doctors kept expressing how serious the procedure would be and how unsure they were of the outcome. But one thing they all agreed on, without the surgery, she would surly die! Meiyi had just a few weeks at home to get to know her new family. Even though she was "new" to the English language and we could not "explain" what was going to happen, it HAD to be done! Meiyi had bonded with her family and we had fallen in love with her! The nurse took her from my arms and I kiss her and told her I loved her. Now the wait, the praying, the uncertainty.......! Finally after hours of pacing, waiting, praying wishing for good news the doctor finally came out and said it is over! She is holding her own. She would be in CICU for 5 long days! When she woke, her mama and daddy stood by with a smile to greet her! But she did not smile! She pointed to herself and to me and to the door! She could not talk but I TOTALLY understood what she wanted! Meiyi wanted mama to take her home!! I calmly told her we had to stay a little longer to let her body get better. She came at me with the mad, upset, but ever so determined look and pointed again to herself, me and the door!! She was "yelling" at me in slience! She could talk but she could communicate!! I knew she was going to be alright! I saw such determation in that child! Meiyi, my daughter, has touched my life in so many wonderful ways. It makes me proud to be a mother! The picture I have of her sitting on the loveseat (with a red blanket on the back) is the day after she came home from surgery!  We didn't have any idea if we would ever see that day but we did! The picture is a reminder to us all of what love, caring and determation can do! Meiyi will be 6 years old on Sept 30. She started to kindergarten this year! She still has a lot of issues but we are dealing with them one day at a time!