teamMarius

Things are moving forward in Marius' world. If you haven't seen the Utah Public Radio blurb on the website, we invite you to go now and listen to the first part in a three part series. The next segment will be Friday at 7:30 and 8:30 MST and the last one will be on Monday at the same times. Also for those of you in the Utah area, there will be a charity auction and you can find details on the website as well.

Marius' Aunt Maricica arrived on April 12 from America bearing wonderful gifts of movies and her computer to replace Jessica and Ashley's when they left. It was so thoughtful of her and we are grateful for her service to Marius! The family felt it was important to make Marius aware of his parent's death and so that took place shortly after his aunt arrived. The news, though I don't think wholly unexpected by Marius, was still quite traumatic. He quit eating and wasn't communicating much and as expected was angry and hurt and sad. Two of the hospital psychologists came to visit and tried to help him through this trying time, but needless to say it was a bit of a shock to his system. I know many of us here in the US were so concerned and wished that we could reach out more than we were able, to envelop him in arms of love. Teodora, our team member in Romania, who has facilitated so much for us there and is an absolute angel, came to our rescue once again. On a quiet afternoon when Marius' family was down in his home of Galati taking care of some critical business, Teodora had the opportunity to sit and talk and play with Marius. I will let Teodora tell the wonderful story of hurdles overcome in her own words:

"Today was a fine day for me and Marius. I stayed with him from 2:30 to 6 o'clock. We played with the balloon, we talked about his family, we listened to some music and so on. He said to me that in the last few days he was upset ... about his parents' death and he was angry.

Marius told me about his mom, about how much she loved him and asked "Now who is going to love me?" I told him that he has no idea how many friends he has and that we love him very much and we are not going to disappoint him. And there also are Ionut, Maricica, Alina who love him very much. When he spoke about his mom he started to cry and I tried to calm him down, then he wanted to show me the pictures of his family and we talked some more after that. Then I read to him again all the messages that he [has] received from his American friends and he loved them. We also listened to some music from my phone … he was really happy; I promised him to bring some more music. Anyway, he said that he wasn't angry anymore, he was much better.

Afterward he called Ionut, who was on his way back to Iasi with Maricica and his sister Alina, to ask if they'd remembered the scrambled eggs with hominy (mamaliga). They didn't have them, so I called my mom and I asked her to make some scrambled eggs and mamaliga and I rushed home (luckily I was with my bicycle). In 25 minutes I was back and Marius, Gabriel and Andrei ate scrambled eggs with mamaliga. They ate heartily because the food was warm and they liked it very much; they were so quiet!!! Marius thanked me two times! So I left the hospital at 6 o'clock and I was so satisfied because Marius was feeling better and because he ate well. I promised him to bring more warm food some other time." Teodora

My heart broke over and over as I re-read the line "Now who is going to love me? " It is something I know only a mother can do properly, but I am hopeful, as I know the entire team is, that in some small way we will be able to bridge a gap, fill some holes, and provide love so unconditional that his soul will mend!

Jessica and Ashley both said goodbye last week and I'm sure it was difficult on both sides. When Jessica left Marius wanted to give her a kiss goodbye. He lifted himself up on his sweet little arms and stretched to reach her. Tenderness in motion! I'm sure everyone who witnessed it was moved! I know I wish I could have been a fly on the wall.

We are still working on the custody issues, but there have been some good indications that those making the decisions, believe that America is an exceptional option. Paperwork from America should arrive to those decision makers shortly and we hope to run everything through the bureaucratic process as quickly as we can and then we will cross our fingers that the rest moves along at top speed. We appreciate all of you who have shown an interest and particularly those who have donated. It has been so helpful in covering all of the transportation needs, medicine needed for Marius' eyes, and translation and communication fees. So from all of us at Team Marius, THANK YOU!

With warm regards,

Kristin