Aracely was two years old when her parents were threatening by their neighbors to call the police if they did not take Aracely to the hospital. Aracely was two years old with a 30 inch waste. She was severely malnourished. Her stomach so much enlarged and that you could not separate her legs from her stomach. Her body was full of parasites and she was very sick. Pale in the face, discolored hair. Sleeping on a dirt floor, with sticks as walls, she was fighting to stay alive. Aracely was taken from her home to an orphanage.
When Alison met Aracely with her big brown eyes she saw a child who had experienced more than any child should ever have at her age.....
The paperwork went through at the orphanage and Alison agreed to adopt Aracely. She got the call on Tuesday and she would have to wait until Saturday to take Aracely home with her. After phone calls to find a ride were unsuccessful she could not bear the thought of her sleeping one more night alone in the orphanage. She thought if I could get her and take her home right now then I am going too. So ALison got on a bus, rode three hours and picked up Aracely. A three hour bus ride home, Alison listened as Aracely struggled to breathe. Once they arrived at home she fed her spaghetti and Aracely could not swallow it down. Alison's neighbor, a physician, examined her immediately and insisted that Alison take Aracely straight to the hospital. In the hospital the doctors immediately took her in. After several failed attempts at an IV, Aracelys veins kept breaking because she was so malnourished. They inserted an IV amidst her screams through her foot. The doctors were outraged, screaming at Alison's, asking why she had waited so long to bring Aracely to the hospital. Not only was Aracely malnourished she had a extreme pneumonia. The doctors informed Alison that had she not come in when she did, she would not have made it one more day. Alison overwhelmed sat down next to Aracely in the hospital bed, knowing that had she waited, had she not gotten on the bus Aracely would not be alive.
Months passed and Aracely regained her strength. She was eating well and was growing. She joined a family of sisters, and had a mom that loved her well named Alison. They celebrated her walking for the first time and milestones that every child deserves to celebrate.
This past February Aracely now 8 years old, Alison got the call from the social worker that every adoptive mom would fear. Her parents went to court for custody of Aracely and won. They wanted her back home. In tears as her sisters watched, Alison drove Aracely back ot the wooden floor, to the home that she was without food. After many attempts of trying to explain why she should stay with Alison, Aracely's biological mom insisted that she wanted Aracely back.
Aracely not fully understanding, told her sisters, don't cry I will be back. Alison instructed Aracely to tell her biological parents every day, every second of every day that she wanted to go back home with Alison. Tell them that she did not want to live there. Aracely tried but her mom still insisted that she be at home with them. Calling every day Alison prayed for peace amidst no understanding. Aracely's sisters cried in Aracely's bed, mourning her absence. On the phone one evening Aracely told Alison that she had to go to the bathroom in the field nearby and their were boys watching. She told her she did not want to be mean but she told her that she yelled at her biological mom, "Do not tell me what to do your not my mom!" Alison heartbroken had decided that she would have to buy land in town so that they could move next door to Aracely to make sure she was taken care of. Aracely wanted to go home and Alison wanted her back.
A week passed and Alison's phone rang. The biological mom decided she could not handle Aracely and that she no longer wanted her. Alison immediately got in the car and drove Aracely back home with her.
Aracely eight years old now, is independent, strong, smart and beautiful. She sits in the front row of my class. My eyes will always fight back tears when I stare into her precious eyes.... her deep brown eyes like mine melt my heart.
***Alison lives in a town nearby and has adopted a total 13 girls. Her girls all have stories that would bring tears to your eyes. The majority of her girls are enrolled at our school, and three of her girls are in College. One of her girls is on scholarship to play soccer at a college in the US. Alison originally from Tennessee has been in Honduras for 8 years. She is a barely 30 year old woman who has compassion, and love in the most incredible way, She is mom to the most beautiful Honduran girls. Over coffee tonight she opened her heart about her girls and her life. Fighting back the tears, I will not forget.
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