NDSouth: Arrival & Today: Hayden

Like so many of of our children, we met Hayden while he was living in an orphanage. Our children's lives don't begin with us, but often due to such limited information of their pasts, it appears like they do. Hayden was left at about 2 years of age and was then brought to the orphanage which is where he remained until we brought him to New Day South in January 2013.

When Hayden arrived he had a broken heart. He had been through so much in his 2 1/2 years of life with more pain and heartache than we will ever be able to imagine. He was withdrawn, shy, quiet, and scared. Hayden refused to eat solid food because most likely at over 2 years of age, he never had it before. And the idea of it terrified him.

Hayden had been through so many changes in his young life and we knew that it would take time for us to earn his trust and love.

Each day Hayden would become more and more relaxed in our care. He started trusting us slowly and once in a while we would catch a look of joy on his face. Pretty soon that look turned into a smile until finally he started laughing. As the weeks and months went on, we saw Hayden change before our eyes. No longer was he withdrawn and quiet, but was laughing and interacting with the staff and other children.

Hayden has come such a long way in the 4 months he has been with us. He has made leaps and bounds in his progress and continues to surprise us in how quickly he is catching up. This little guy continues to amaze us and is already a different boy today than he was just a few months ago.

This is why we do what we do. To see this look of joy on a child's face. A joy that every child deserves to have. Hope. Hayden's future is bright and full of hope. All because of the miracle of love.