For My Xander

They said you can't adopt this child, There simply is no way, He's blind and deaf - a vegetable, He'll die most anyday.

We only saw your beauty, And all that you could be, They said that we were crazy, We wouldn't "face reality"

They sent you to a place to die, While we fought to bring you home, We held you and we loved you, To let you know you weren't alone.

You survived the many surgeries, Procedures, pokes and prods, Showing them your will to live, You defied all their odds.

The day of your adoption, Brought us so much joy, You were everything we'd hoped for, Our perfect baby boy.

They don't acknowledge your accomplishments, "His heart and lungs are weak, you know." The will not see how far you've come, Only how far you have to go.

The infection that you are fighting, They say could be your last, But none of their predictions, Have ever come to pass.

We put our trust in other things, Like faith and love and hope, They keep our family together, And help us all to cope.

Someday God will come and take you, But I won't regret one minute, Because I can't imagine what my world, Would have been like without you in it.

Sue Saladino (copyright January 1999 by Sue Saladino