Submitted by Brumbaugh Co.
A 7-year-old girl, born with Down Syndrome and a heart defect, was abandoned on the streets of China on Christmas Day 2014. She was frightened and alone until local police found her. After several days of no one coming forward, she was placed at a local orphanage.
But a Ferndale couple doesn’t see this as a sad story. They see a young, precious girl who would be a cherished part of their family with the community’s help.
“We desire to make her part of our family and would be honored to bring her home here to Washington,” Elizabeth Thorndike said.
Daniel and Elizabeth Thorndike married in 2007 and are owners of Dan’s Automotive in Bellingham. They currently have three children: daughters Savannah, 8, and Shelby, 5, students at Lynden Christian Elementary School; and son Shayland, 2. Shelby has Down Syndrome, which affects cognitive development.
“Since the day we said ‘I do,’ adoption has been on our hearts,” Elizabeth Thorndike said. “We have three beautiful children who make our lives magical and teach us more about ourselves every day. We love being parents and have had some beautiful lessons of unconditional love along the way.
“With the birth of our second daughter, Shelby, God took us on a new amazing adventure,” she continued. “She was unexpectedly born with Down Syndrome. Since that beautiful day in March 2011, we have learned strength, patience, how to be an amazing team, and most of all that God created each one of us uniquely, and with love and purpose!”
The girl the Thorndikes wish to adopt, whom they would name Shiloh, will need heart surgery as soon as she arrives. She has Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect that usually is treated with corrective surgery in the first year of life in the United States.
“If she had been born in the U.S., she would have had this corrective surgery already,” Dan Thorndike said. “She is currently stable but needs the surgery ASAP.”
The surgery also makes this adoption process more expensive and complicated than most. To make the adoption possible, the Thorndikes are appealing to the public through a GoFundMe campaign to raise $45,000 for both the adoption and the surgery.
The Thorndikes already are receiving support from their church, Abundant Life in Bellingham.
“I can’t think personally of better parents to bring a special-needs child into their home,” said Jonathan Hanson, lead pastor at Abundant Life. “Elizabeth also wants to inspire others to adopt and help them find tools for being adoption parents.”
The Thorndikes already have received pre-approval for their adoption from China’s government. If enough funds are raised, “We are hoping we can bring Shiloh home in the next 3-4 months,” Dan Thorndike said.
For more information or to make a donation in support of Shiloh’s adoption, visit https://www.gofundme.com/24a8adg.
