I am just so happy for him! I love him no matter what, just like many of you have shared with me how special you think Dennis is, but I wanted to be able to have him feel a little more normal without all of the cruel stares from people who just don't understand. What is so strange however, is that now that he has gotten his eye and had his surgeries, I am not sure that the stares are going to go away------ only because he is just too adorable to not stare at!
The ocularist has only one eye himself since a cousin or brother took his eye out with a slingshot when he was only eighteen months old. I think that because of this, he was able to relate to Dennis. Dennis was not a very happy camper today..... this was probably one of his more traumatic procedures. So, the ocularist picked up on that and decided to not do an actual impression of Dennis' eye socket since he himself knows how uncomfortable it is. Because of this, this eye is going to be replaced within the next six months when Dennis has another surgery and is put to sleep. The ocularist will take the impression then and make a better fitting eye for Dennis. Still, this eye plays an important role of establishing a groove on the lower eyelid where the prosthesis sits and allowing his eye tissue to take shape around the artificial eye.
105 inspiring thoughts:
♥ What a nice doctor! I love finding dr's that look at the needs and feelings of the patient! So Dennis still has several surgeries in his future?
Have a great week! :)
Oh, yes... definitely smiling here!
That you found just the right ocularist is such a blessing. Praise the Lord!
Seriously AMAZING!!! I never even notice his eye anymore, to me he looks perfect either way...but in this cruel world it will make a difference. YAAAAAYYYY for DENNIS!
wow...such a doll baby!
erica
Wow... look at that smile!!! So how does he feel??? I know this is a big change on all of you especially little Dennis but Praise God that everything has gone well and smiles have followed!!!!
Sarah k.
Taiwankiddo2.blogspot.com
Wow, what a great oculist you have! :-) And Dennis looks adorable, of course.
I think it's amazing how much all of your kids look like you. When I first started to read your blog and realised you had one biological and several adopted daughters I tried to figure out who was who based on the photos on the left and the only thing I came up with is that Sveta was too Russian a name. :-)
He looks just gorgeous. But he always did eye or no eye he is super cute. He actually reminds me alot of my son Jack.
I have always thought that Dennis was a beautiful baby - his first home pictures and now are truly amazing! Thank God for your Dr.'s gentle way with your son and Thank God for Dennis being your son - you are all blessed to have each other! What a cutie!
~Donna in Mission Viejo
babies6/frus
Dear Christine,
You may recall from an earlier post that I was concerned about how Dennis might put up with the prosthesis, and so when I read about his traumatic day, I was so sad for him. Then I looked at his smiling face, and it truly is amazing what emotional bounce he has. If he can smile so wonderfully on the "worst" day of life with a new device, then in no time at all he won't notice the change at all. You're right, he IS adorable, and even more adorable is how sweet he is through all his painful procedures. What a treasure he is!
Sherry in Ohio
How wonderful! Dennis looks great ... as cute as ever. Love that smiling face.
And congrats to Anna on the A ... yea!
Yay!!! So happy for Dennis! He's beautiful any way, but he's looking so very handsome with his new eye.
Beautiful!
Aww, I'm so happy it went well and you found a compasionate dr.
The new eye looks great. He is a doll baby.
Julie
Been a long time since I checked in here. I am amazed at how much the kids have grown. I am so happy for Dennis. Anything the docs are able to do will improve his life so much later on. I know you all love him inexpressibly already and that is the most important thing. His life is such a gift!
Way to go Dennis, you are looking great! So glad to hear that everything is moving along so wonderfully for y'all.
Suzi
What looks even better to me, is that smile! I like to see that his surgeries have helped so much to reshape his mouth. He's such a clever boy, and I'm so hopeful that these procedures will allow his to articulate what he feels without any speech troubles :D
Dennis is looking so good now, it's just amazing what the medical field is able to do. When he gets his permanent eye and the socket gets used to it, I'm sure we'll see another dramatic change. What a difference already between the before and after pictures!
That is absolutely amazing! I was sad to hear it was not pleasant for him, but hope he forgets quickly!
He certainly is a happy little camper! I'm curious about what he thinks of his reflection? Does he notice a difference?
And how wonderful that the doc understands what is going on for little Dennis. It sure makes a difference just to know they have been there even if it doesn't change what needs to be done.
Hooray for Dennis! I'm so happy for him and so glad he has a caring occularist!
WOW! He just keeps getting cuter and cuter!
So glad you have found a caring doctor for Dennis.
Oh, my gosh, he is just so cute!! Reese has two artificial legs, you know. Well, in his Kindergarten class he had a classmate with an artificial eye. It was the teacher's first year teaching, and she would laugh about how she was learning fast - one child would lose a leg on the playgym outside while another student would be rinsing his eye out in the sink!!
What is Dennis' reaction to having a new eye?
Wow he looks great! I'm also amazed at how the shape of his mouth has improved which will help with him being able to talk right? So sweet!
Wow. . .he looks GREAT! What a gift you and your family have been blessed with! Praise God!
Be Blessed,
Amy (Honestly)
!!Felicidades!!,Dennis es precioso y es un angel ,como se aprecia que hay mucho amor en vuestro hogar, Cristin, eres una madre maravillosa todos tus hijos son maravillosos ,incluso el pequeño que tiene que llegar a casa de Ucrania. Nosotros tambien volvemos a Ucrania.
Muchos besos a todos.
Congratulations!, Dennis is a beautiful angel, as can be seen that there is much love in your home, Cristina, you're a wonderful mother all your children are wonderful, even the little he has to get home from Ukraine. We also return to Ukraine.
Many kisses to all.
I think the biggest miracle for Dennis is not his new eye, but the fact he found his family - one that loves him just the same, with or without his eye, his surgeries...
So happy for him that now the rest of the world will be able to see in him what his loving family (and many blog readers, through your words and pictures) saw from the get go!
Your spirit shines, Dennis!
Look how absolutely cute he is! Glad the DR was so understanding! I love those Dr's!
He looks very handsome!
Fantastic! I'm glad you have a great doctor.
BEAUTIFUL!!!!! :) :)
he looks fantastic! I am thinking about the looks on the faces of the people at his old home when they see how well he is doing and how FANTASTIC he looks.
YES, I loved him eye or not too...as I've prayed for and love the rest of your family.
Today I sit and cry, because I'm so very happy for sweet Dennis, The Lord has great plans for him...look how the Lord has used your sweet Dennis already :)
yep- I am smiling.... big hugs to your very special family!
He looks great! But, he always did:)
The symmetry is amazing....what a wonderful way to start Spring. Can you give more information on the prothesis...does it stay in all the time? I am so happy for you all. Deb in NJ
dennis looks amazing! what a transformation. he is precious. :)
He looks great!
Wonderful news! Dennis looks amazing! He is such a sweetie & I'm so happy for him!
How wonderful. I was so happy to see this post that I was in tears!! God is so good!!
Wow! He looks amazing. What a happy day!
Melissa
I could not be any happier for that sweet child!! He looks just great and so happy! I had wondered being the age he is, if he would try to touch it or take it out. How is he doing with his new eye physically? Does it irritate the area underneath?
By the way, Missy's comment had me laughing out loud at the mental image of that new teacher developing her coping skills!!!
Back to Dennis, I can't wait to hear how the people at the orphanage react to Dennis' new appearance. What a hope it must give them for other children with special needs!
I'm so happy for you and Dennis!!!
He looks absolutely gorgeous. And if that beautiful smile doesn't make you smile you might need to get help! LOL! Isn't it such a blessing when a doctor displays empathy, so few seem to nowadays.
YEA!!!! How amazing that you not only got into the ocularist (after all the trouble this week) but that he was so kind and considerate to your little guy.
God is good! :)
Isn't he just scrumptious??? :-)
Praise God!
What a blessing!! Thank you God.
How awesome! He is such a cute little guy, with or without two eyes. Thank you for sharing this happy news with us!
He looks absolutely amazing! What a beautiful match for his other eye. I think we have all fallen in love with your little guy! :)
dawn
Beautiful Blue Eyes! I am giving thanks to God for such a precious child.
It is beautiful! I am so excited for Dennis!!!!
Aww sweet boy... his joy just seems to shine through that little face, even if just through blog pictures. :) So sad that when you are out that people only look at the eye and don't look into it to see his obviously sweet personality. And those eyelashes are killer!
I have a probably very ignorant, dumb question: can he or will he be able to see out of this new eye? Just curious. :)
Anyway, thanks for sharing the new pictures!
Beautiful!! "we" all love him as he is but that is just a darling baby blue. And your Dr sounds perefect!! In that picture it looks like it trakcs quite well. That is just beautiful.
OMG so gorgeous! May he be blessed always! He is beautiful with or without.. Boy he got it fast! Good luck!
This is terrific news. Praise God!
Totally brings a smile to my face...what a beauty he is...before and after. A beautiful transformation although I think mostly the love you all have given him and him back has done the most work! ;)
I love it when you run into a doctor with real compassion. :)
AWESOME!
Congratulations Dennis!
The transformation is amazing!
I'm so glad you have what sounds like a wonderful doctor working with Denis!
He always makes me smile but there's just something about today that makes me smile even more than usual. What a blessing to have such a kind, compassionate doctor. Little blue eyes is so darn special. :)
That is so great to see! I am very happy for Dennis and for you!
I love that smile!!!
God is great!
Look at those BEAUTIFUL Blue Eyes!!!!
Amy
What a wonderful day, one which was long-awaited! Dennis's new eye is a blessing, as is his very thoughtful and understanding oculist.
When is Dennis's next surgery scheduled, and what will it include in addition to fine-tuning his eye socket? Dennis just gets more and more attractive, partly due to the corrective surgeries, but mostly due to his own wonderful little personality shining through. What a blessing!
Susan in Ky
Wow...amazing! Like everyone else, I love Dennis, with or without his eye, but still...WOW!
it is wonderful for all of you ...
How wonderful!! This definitely made me smile...but then pictures of Dennis usually do!
This post just made me cry tears of joy! He has always been adorable. It is amazing what the surgeons were able to do to improve on that. He is truly a handsome boy. As an adoptive parent I always feel funny when people say "he is so lucky to have you adopt him" and I always say that it I who have been blessed to have been brought together with my son. I know you feel the same way. But, I can't help saying that Dennis is so blessed to have you as parents and as advocates helping make his life better.
Wow the difference is amazing. He was a cutie pie then and still is a cutie pie.
He looks just as perfect as ever!!What a happy little blessing you have. Cara
My what beautiful eyes he has! Praying a blessing on the great MD today too!
Great news!
Praise God! He is beautiful, always was, but his smile radiates his beautiful personality. Now hopefully some people won't be distracted by his lack of eye and just notice what a terrific kid he is. I LOVE his smile! Can he pucker up and kiss you now?
Incredible! Praise the Lord! This is so wonderful!
Amanda-Adopting Ean and Mila
He is GORGOUS! and you are totally right, people are going to look at him anyways they are going to see those baby blues and how could they NOT look at him? except now instead of saying things like whats wrong with him they will say Ohmygosh what a beautiful little boy. Im so glad that you saw that all along, now the narrow minded can see it too. he absolutely beautiful.
oh my...he´s sooo cute - as always :)
I´m really happy that everything went fine with the doctor :)
Awesome! I don't think it's a "coincidence" that his doctor can relate. :) Just awesome.
Two blue eyes . . . how sweet. I can see from the 76 comments on here so far that Dennis is making an impression on lots of people.
Joy,RR
That smile in the top picture is the smile of a joyful child. I'm so happy for you and for him.
the color is beautiful and I love his lashes
OMG he looks amazing, he always looks so happy. Such a tough little guy. He was always gorgeous, but his new eye is so beautiful.
I've been waiting for this post! I really can't even explain the excitement when I saw the pictures. He looks so amazing!
The world loves you Dennis!
As handsome as ever. Soooooo happy for him and you!
You're absolutely right - the stares will continue thanks to his utter-cuteness :)
Wow - what a transition he has gone through. Warms my heart.
hugs to you - cm
So awesome!! What a handsome guy!
Oh that is so awesome.. I have been gone a little from the blogging world and that is just great that he got an eye I'm so happy for your family and for Dennis.. His spirit does just shine through his pictures.. How lucky you are to have him... I hope that everything goes good with the surgery in 6 months where he will have another eye... Cool...
I am so happy for your little guy! Yay!!
Praise the Lord! How awesome to have this done for Dennis so quickly!! He looks even cuter than ever!! My kids are very happy for him too (they are 7 and 4)!
Jenn VH
I got completely used to Dennis's face as well...he's cute with and without an eye, in my opinion! But he looks GREAT with it! Congratulations!
you have the gall to ask for money for your adoption and parad your litter online. you forgot to tell people that CHCC operates 80% on welfare social cases, the hospital survives on donations and the few people that pay $$.
you have no further to look than out your front door to find AMERICAN children in need. There are over 150,000 paper ready American kids in foster care waiting for a family, many with special needs.
It must be true that it is easier to adopt Internationally and that other countries are freely dumping their special needs kids off on noodle head Americans that are competiting with one another with who has the most adopted kids.
www.adoptuskids.org
photo listing of AMERICAN kids in need.
This was great to read. I am in tears. Dennis has always been adorable, but you are right that he is even cuter now! You are blessed to have him and he is blessed to be part of the Reed family!
Wow - you are truly giving him many gifts that he will be forever grateful for.
Well, "Anonymous", are't you just the most thoughtful,kind thing to express yourself so comprehensively? Bless your heart...
May I ask, how many children have YOU adopted, either domestically or internationally?
And how many domestic adoptions by others have YOU assisted, if you haven't taken this step yourself?
You seem so concerned about American children in need. So please, tell us just how helpful you've been, okay?? We'd love to hear all about it, I am quite sure.
Actually, I hope you haven't had or been around children, by whatever means. Children shouldn't be subjected to your sort of ignorant, hateful vitriol.
I can only assume that you were very hurt at some earlier time in your life to have become so embittered and judgmental, and if so, I am sorry. But this is no excuse for such vicious (and cowardly:"anonymous", are we??) hatefulness and ignorance, directed towards innocent children and towards someone who repeatedly has given of herself to bring fullness of life to them.
You must be so proud of yourself. Guess you told us. You made yourself clear, all right. Now we know exactly where you are coming from, and what - if not who - you are.
Okay, I'll stop feeding the troll now. I'll try to pray for you instead. You need prayers.
Go back under your bridge.
Susan in Kentucky
Cousin to two cherished children adopted from Ukraine, and cousin to three much-loved adults who joined our family through domestic adoption so long ago that I can't remember exactly when...
Oh what a happy day...for Dennis, for your family, for the amazing doctor..Even if Dennis did have a rough time today, the twinkle in his eye and his sweet smile...speaks volumes from his little heart! He always looks so soft and cuddly :-) He's adorable, always has been :-)
Oh Dennis looks so cute!!! I've been praying for him! That smile just melts your heart! I'm not too familiar with cases like Dennis, will he be able to blink with that eye, or close it while he sleeps?
I've been following your family for about 2 months now, and am currently learning Russian to become a translator/interpreter for Russian adoptions, and your story has given me just that little bit extra push I needed to keep me going on this journey. Hearing of Dennis, and Rachel and Alexsey's stories has inspired me to learn Ukrainian sometime in the near future as well. :)
God bless you and your family!
-Tiffany
I am in tears!! He is beautiful inside and out and always has been, but I'm just so happy for him that he got his eye and hopefully won't have to endure any insensitive comments. GO DENNIS!! xoxo
Yeah! He's a completely different kid that he was just a short year or so ago. He's lucky to have a family who loves him so much!
Dennis has always been handsome, but I do understand the want to make things better for his future! His eyes are gorgeous and his smile is infectious, as always. Prayers were answered! God is so good!!
What a wonderful doctor to take Dennis` anxiety into consideration. It really helps when they can empathize with the patient . . . Dorian`s doctor was born with an imperforated anus, too and he was SO great with Dorian.
Dennis looks so darn happy all the time . . . does he ever get grumpy and sad? I think you should post a picture of that once in a while so we don`t all end up envying your little angel too much. lol
To Anonymous who has the nerve to complain: Have you ever tried getting a response from adoptuskids? I have many times--no one EVER replies!!!
That is awesome - I'm so happy for you and Dennis!
This is like one of those medical shows that a transformation in 30 minutes. What is doesn't show are all of the little milestones and how happy everyone is with each little step.
I don't want to be to nosey, but how is that eye in his eye socket? Is it a whole sphere or just a front thing that fits in..If I remember there didn't seem be a little hole there..does it come in and out?
He is just so sweet in his photos. And I am amazed at everything!!
Julianne
He looks adorable!!! I am so happy for him!
What's CHCC?
JEB
Atlanta, GA
Hi JEB,
CHCC is Children's Hospital of Central California. I don't know how I was supposed to know that 80%of their cases were welfare cases as that doesn't apply to our family in the least. We have private insurance that covers all except our co-pays which we pay upfront.
Incredible!! He looks absolutely beautiful with his new eye!!! (not that he didn't before though =] ) I cannot believe how much he has changed since becoming part of your family. He is truly blessed to have you guys as his family.
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