2022 Holiday Giving

Dear Friends:

This was the Bates family’s 26th year of adopting families with our family and friends and our 18th year adopting families through the Macomb Infant Preschool Program (MIPP). We "completely adopted" one family this year.  We chose to adopt the following deserving family with a Mom (facing life as a single parent, but not by choice), two children and one of the children having special needs:

 2022 ADOPTED FAMILY

*Please note that ages are at time of adoption.

We are adopting Sebastian (21 months), his sister Emma (4 years old) and Mom, Heather. They have been in the MIPP program since Sebastian was 4 months old. 

Sebastian's Family

Heather and her husband, Eduardo (Dad), were married in 2011. Heather gave birth to their daughter, Emma in 2018. Heather became a stay at home mom to focus on caring for Emma while Eduardo worked two jobs. 

In May of 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Heather thought she had come down with COVID. Her COVID test turned out to be negative, but her pregnancy test was positive. At her 20 week ultrasound, it was found that Sebastian had enlarged ventricles in his brain. After he was born, Sebastian was diagnosed with Hypoplasia of the Corpus Callosum. 

According to ScienceDirect.com, "The corpus callosum is a large bundle of more than 200 million myelinated nerve fibers that connect the two brain hemispheres, permitting communication between the right and left sides of the brain. Abnormalities within the corpus callosum have been identified in maltreated children." According to Mass General, "This is when part of the corpus callosum is missing, usually just the back part. Sometimes it is the middle or front part that is missing instead. Hypoplasia of the corpus callosum. This is when all parts of the corpus callosum form, but the entire structure is very thin or very small."

Since then, Sebastian has also been diagnosed with Congenital Cerebral Ventriculomegaly (enlarged ventricles), Hypoplasia of the Anterior Commissure (connects the two cerebral hemispheres of the brain concerned with the olfactory pathway), and Anemia. 

With the suspending of visas and terminating of new citizenship opportunities under COVID, Eduardo lost his fight to gain citizenship. He was subject to voluntary departure in October 2020. Sebastian was born two months later. Since then, Heather has been struggling with medical appointments for both kids, MIPP therapy appointments for Sebastian, and day to day life by herself. The family was able to spend 8 weeks together in Mexico in May 2021 for Eduardo to meet Sebastian and see Emma. They continue to work with lawyers to be reunited as a family, but in the meantime, Heather is managing without any support. 

Heather and Eduardo both come from low income homes with limited family support. They pride themselves on building a stable and successful life for themselves and their children. When Eduardo left for Mexico, it took away the security and emotional, physical, and financial support that he had provided to his family. Heather continues to work tirelessly to provide her children with everything they need. She is extremely devoted to her family and attends every appointment and MIPP session. She loves her family fiercely and does everything she can to meet their needs, but navigating life as a single mother she has been struggling to make ends meet. 

Additional Needs

We have also had several other families reach out through MIPP with larger items needs like high chairs, car seats, learning toys, beddings, etc.  We will provide these items to additional families as we are able based on our funding this year.

ADOPTION PRESS RELEASE WRAP UP

Jamie's Smiles Helps Families of Children with Special Needs through More than $10,900 Holiday Adoption

When asked about the adoption, Gretchen Bates, Fund Founder said, “We estimate that we have touched the lives of over 328 people this year alone via our adoptions valued at over $10,900.  We raised money to adopt families and supply gift cards for food and other items to families in need in our community! Since we began, we have given away donations valued at over $189,400 in grants and assistance to programs and as a result helped many families and an estimated 19,600 people in Macomb County. We currently have over $144,500 in our accounts to help us to continue to make an impact on the lives of children in our local community.” 

Bates thanked Jamie’s Smiles’ business sponsors this year when she said, “A HUGE THANK YOU to our Corporate Sponsors, St. Therese of Lisieux Parish and the Knights of Columbus, John Wood Group PLC, Thrivent Financial, and Kohl’s of Shelby Township for helping to make it possible to reach out a helping hand to so many families in our community during the 2022 holiday season.”