Help America's Special Needs & Autistic Infants

Sammy's Angel Wings

Sammy is a real medical miracle! Sammy is not my biological son. Yet, I know the deep piercing bond a son from my womb can bring. I love my Sammy just as profoundly! Sammy was born at 23 weeks at a fragile weight of 17 ounces when his birthmother's placenta burst due to an abortive cocktail she utilized to help end his life - which landed her in the hospital. When Sammy tested positive for methamphetamines and barbiturates, Sammy was taken into the custody of Children's Services. His mother's rights were suspended until she tested negative for the drug and attended parenting courses set forth by Sammy's social workers and the court. 

His extreme prematurity meant his organs were underdeveloped enough to sustain his life. His lungs were so underdeveloped, and he couldn't take his first breath. His brain and nervous system were so undeveloped they couldn't remind him when he needed to breathe. 

Sammy survived for the next 20 months in the hospital under the care of medical personnel. They utilized mechanical ventilation and IV drips while he fought his mother's drug addiction and his preterm birth. He rapidly produced hundreds of hemangiomas on the outside of his body and thousands more on the inside that impeded the natural function of all his organs. This condition subjected him to several years of chemotherapy. To the amazement of hospital staff, he endured seven painful abdominal surgeries and survived five long flat-line code resuscitations.

Sammy was continually pricked with needles. He was so troubled by this that he slept sitting up. Afraid to relax into dreamland, poised for his next onslaught of cold, painful medical procedures delivered by sterile hands and blue scrubs.

Against extraordinary odds, Sammy continued to fight for his life alone, without the emotional support of a nurturing mother. Finally, the severity of his illness, medical costs, and grim prognosis prompted doctors to request a "Do Not Resuscitate Form" to be signed by the appointed court judge. Thankfully, the judge refused, and Sammy continued using the hospital's personnel's heroic resuscitation efforts. Miraculously, and to the continued amazement of the nurses, therapists, and physicians charged with his care, he stabilized enough to be discharged from the hospital.

He was placed in a group home for medically fragile children, where he was able to bond with other children. Who were also fighting incredible fights of their own. Months later, after a long career in child care, the owner of the group home was set to retire. She was frightened that if Sammy ended up in the local institution he was slated for," he would wither away and die." She called me on Thanksgiving Day when she'd heard I was a veteran pediatric nurse and now certified as a medically fragile foster parent. Convinced Sammy wouldn't make it without a vital infusion of love and heartfelt dedication, she urged me to take him into my home. Several days later, he crossed the threshold of my doorway, infusing me with the wonder of his survival.

In less than three years, Sammy moved from indwelling catheters, feeding tubes, and numerous daily medications to tube and drug-free. 

In 2007, my husband and I adopted Sammy. Securing his promising future and enriching our lives beyond the expectations we mulled over when we started this journey of safe-housing tender souls.

Sammy is a true blessing from God, besides needing corrective lenses, a high-caloric diet, and vitamin B12 injections. Sammy is a happy, healthy, and intelligent young gentleman; who understands an in-depth meeting of life, a divine knowledge far beyond most of us. He tells me (his Mama), "he has been on the other side so many times- he has come back with business cards from GOD." 

To know Sammy is to love Sammy, and I eagerly await by his side to see what life has in store for this remarkable little Warrior. Currently, Sammy Has become a warrior for viable 24-week preemies who do not have a voice. 

Learn More About Sammy's Bill

SammysBill.org

There are so many other angels in waiting, just like Sammy.  We try to save all of our little "Angels In Waiting" through the hearts and hands of our dedicated nurses. Who have opened their homes to heal and love as many little ones as possible and help them move onto loving homes, or adopt them personally.  

As a result of our ongoing endeavor of nurse recruitment and Angels In Waiting's determination to save as many little lives as possible through the hearts and hands of dedicated nurses, we are now 500+ nurses strong and growing. We could have not crossed the threshold without your support and donations.

We are greatly appreciative of your support together we have literally saved countless childhoods!

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• Visit Our Website

Helping Children from Robb Elementary School Cope with One More Heartless School Shooting in America!

How Many More Angels Must We Send Back To Heaven? 

Decades ago, Angels In Waiting created a therapeutic stuffed toy to help medically fragile foster care toddlers and children in crisis cope and heal from numerous painful medical procedures and the trauma of being placed into countless foster homes. 

In 2012, the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred in Newtown, Connecticut. The loss of 24 1st graders' innocent lives -dropped AIW's founder to her knees, literally and figuratively! She looked for a way to help heal the trauma of the remaining siblings and survivors of one of our deadliest shootings in US history.

Our founder, Linda West-Conforti, was aware of the therapeutic effect of AIW's comfort penguin from feedback from foster parents, social workers, and nurses who received a comfort penguin for their medically fragile foster child -in need. As requested, AIW donated and shipped 500 of AIW's crisis penguins to Sandy Hook's "Therapeutic Crisis-Out-Reach Community.". AIW's Crisis Penguins won the hearts of counselors, parents, and children who were all deeply devastated by this heartbreaking and gut-retching loss of precious young lives. Here is a video clip from CBS, The Doctors, about the therapeutic healing effects of AIW's crisis penguin had on children from Sandy Hook Elementary School.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxGs5OYMUcY

 A decade later, May 24, 2022, marks another dark day in American history. Another merciless torture and killing of innocent elementary school children occurred. Recruits who took an oath to protect and serve waited outside for nearly an hour for orders; to enter.  

  Crisis Counselors from the surrounding communities around Uvalde, Texas, reached out to Newtown, Connecticut, for help and guidance. One of the counselors told a therapist you have to find the lady with the penguins and sent her the above clip from The Doctors. 

 As the counselor sought the crisis penguin, our founder was pursuing a therapist to send AIW's crisis penguin too. So, once again, with a heavy heart, AIW's Crisis Penguins were donated and shipped to Rob Elementary School-age children to help them cope with another cold-blooded senseless elementary school shooting. 

 Sadly, school shootings are an American epidemic and the remedy to prevent these shootings is not an easy task. Unfortunately, school shooting tragedies seem to be a new staple to our society - many children are massacred and traumatized in American schools due to these televised shootings. Created by ill youths who did not get access to the mental health services they so desperately needed. As a result, our beloved children die in our classrooms as America tallies up one more heartless school shooting. 

 Angels in Waiting continues with our foundation's mission of recruiting nurses, to care for our medically fragile foster care population.  While infants and children are placed into the hearts and hands of our dedicated nurses. Many of these children, through our nurses' hearts, will also find their forever families.

 Providing Comfort /Crisis Penguins to Rob Elementary School shootings survivors was not its initial intention. Still, we are delighted to know our therapeutic toy is helping children in Uvalde, Texas, cope with another dark tragedy in American history.

 We understand donation funds may be tight with the rising cost of living, including gas prices and putting food on the table. However, if you can find a small donation amount for our projects, it would be extensively utilized to help more little Angels In Waiting thrive through the hearts and hands of our dedicated nurses.

 God Bless,

Linda West-Conforti.

Links:

• The Clip From CBS The Doctors

Sammy is graduating High School next week. My amazing nephew. He could have been forever lost in the Foster care system. I thank God for the remarkable opportunity my Sister Linda Conforti, a nurse, and her life-altering organization, Angels in Waiting, provided for Sammy and thousands of other little souls -who need a safe harbor to weather the storm life has thrown at them. Sensing the power of unquestioning love through the skilled hands of a dedicated nurse, they call Mommy. 

I remember as a baby; his Healthcare Team didn't have much hope for Sammy. Claiming he will deeply struggle his whole life. As a baby, we welcomed Sammy into our family with no limitations, challenges -yes, limitations -no. 

Sammy thrived in his world, addressing his challenges head-on and overcoming his bleak prognoses and challenges. Sammy is a bright, evolved, hard-working, sweet soul! As he graduates from High School, I marvel at Sammy's other milestones. He graduated from a bleak life-treating birth at 23-weeks gestational age, navigated through his mother's drug addiction, countless surgeries, painful medical procedures, and numerous Code Blues. Sammy graduated from the words of medical experts that gave him a dismal cognitive and medical prognosis. He even graduated from the cruel, judgemental eyes of others, the struggles of schooling in a system unsympathetic to his challenges and learning method.

How I wish I could attend all the other graduations of extraordinary souls, Angels In Waiting charity helped usher onto the graduation ceremony stages! 

So many success stories just from my sister's; Linda Conforti's home... Imagine the ripple effect of hundreds of other Nurses opening their homes and hearts to these medically fragile foster care babies, children, and youths. A domino effect that is truly amazing to witness! Love equals more Love. Charity equals more Charity. Hope equals more Hope. 

Aunt Cindy

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• Visit US

My wife and I are both registered nurses and have worked in the hospital for several years, unaware that a special, underserved population needed our nursing knowledge and skills; medically fragile babies/children in foster care. The program that allows preferential placement of medically fragile children into the homes of nurses was introduced to us by a friend. To our delight, we learned that the founder of this amazing program lived close to us in Southern CA.  Linda West, a registered nurse and the founder of Angels in Waiting (AIW). Ms. West is a strong advocate for medically fragile children and took her time to clearly explain the process and the steps that we needed to take for the approval to become a resource family home for these vulnerable at-risk children. The law for preferential placement of medically fragile babies into the homes of nurses was passed in California following the advocacy work of AIW under the leadership of Ms. Linda.

One day my wife received a call that every nurse foster parent awaits, with both anxiety and expectation. Every baby is unique, has specific psycho-social factors, unique medical diagnoses, and a myriad of other factors that make these calls very special. Fortunately, in our case, the social worker called about a 3-month-old baby whose identity was uncertain and his birth history unknown. The little Angel had been named John Joe! No one had claimed him, and no one had any information about his health history. His biological parent gave him up for adoption discretely. The baby boy suffered from failure to thrive issues and had severe abdominal complications. He needed a gastric tube to meet his nutritional needs at two days of age. My wife listened to the caller intently. She was faced with an immediate dilemma; was the family ready to take on another baby? Was the baby too ill to thrive or survive? Was the family prepared for the emotional roller coaster that comes with the lack of information, health history, or family dynamics? She requested time to discuss the options with me, promising the social worker a response by the end of that day. After careful consideration and prayer, we decided to explore the potential with hope and optimism. We made arrangements to meet the baby "John Joe," whose name was more of a placeholder than an identity.

It was a Sunday afternoon when I,  my wife, and our oldest biological daughter visited the baby at the hospital for the first time. It was love at first sight! Our hearts were open, right along with our home for the medically fragile foster care population. It was no longer a difficult decision; he was meant to come home with us. His demeanor was one of optimism, love, and charisma. He was happy; despite his painful abdominal abnormalities, he was a smiling, joyful, an enchanting little angel- who needed us. We could not resist. We knew we would adopt him right there and then -if we got the opportunity. Given the fact that his biological birth family was absent, he was already up for adoption.

We began the process for adoption, which involves consultations with the doctors, the department of children and family services, social workers, and specialty providers. We continued to visit our little Angel as his health stabilized enough for discharge from the hospital. The bonding started before his hospital discharge and will continue throughout his life. The adoption process takes a long time. As we follow instructions and work with the social workers, we care for Angel John Joe as his nurse-foster parents. He turns four years old this December, and we eagerly await for the adoption process to be complete. We can't wait to give him his forever family and our family's last name!

We have age-appropriate honest discussions regarding his history, foster, and adoption journey. Even at this tender age, he knows he is loved, safe, and cared for. He has been an absolute blessing to our family. He blended in and attended all family affairs, including local and international trips. One of the family hobbies is traveling, and all our children have traveled more than most other kids their age. We took vacations to Hawaii, a Safari in Kenya, and several other local tourist destinations. John Joe is an excellent travel companion, despite his constant need for close monitoring and tube feedings. He receives therapy and other supportive interventions to foster optimum growth and his developmental milestones. He participates in age-appropriate social and family activities and is overall a thriving child.

You might ask where does Angels In Waiting come into play with all this? AIW is committed to recruiting nurses and supporting them as nurse foster parents. The approval process is rigorous and cumbered with bureaucracy. AIW holds the nurses' hand to ensure they receive correct and timely information on their approval progress. Sometimes AIW receives referrals for the children/babies who need the specialized care of a nurse, and AIW attempts to match the children with the most appropriate family. 

AIW continues with advocacy work to expand the program to more counties in California. AIW is a 501c3 organization and heavily relies on donations to carry out its mission. When you give to AIW, you participate in ensuring the most vulnerable humans in foster care are matched with the appropriate, well-prepared foster homes of nurses. The nurse provides parental and nursing care needed to reduce prolonged hospitalizations or placement into institutions. The program has resulted in higher adoption rates and shorter stays in foster care.

Links:

• Please Visit Our Website

That call from the special medical placement social worker almost always starts the same way, "Hi Mary, there is a baby that might be a good match for your family…. would you be interested in meeting her?" My last one was not any different.

The social worker attempted to summarize the story of Baby Sara, but about 2 minutes into the call, I knew little Sara had to come to our home. I knew she was a perfect match for our family. I answered yes. Sara needed a safe home. She needed to be cuddled and a good dose of love.

Most importantly, she needed a nurse. Her recovery was going to be a long road with potential twists and turns. She needed me.

Sara was an 11-month-old little girl who had been in the children's hospital for two months prior to the call. She had suffered non-accidental trauma, which is a nice way to describe physical abuse and violence. Sara suffered from brain damage from abusive head trauma, multiple fractured ribs, a fractured femur, and a lacerated liver. She was severely malnourished and very underweight. This precious angel had spent three weeks in the intensive care unit and four weeks in acute rehab. She was finally ready to be discharged from the hospital after two head surgeries to evacuate fluid and several abdominal surgeries. She had hydrocephalus. She had Incision wounds on her scalp that needed daily cleaning and dressing. She had lost almost all milestones. Sara could no longer sit independently or support her head upright. Her head was large in comparison to the rest of her tiny body. She could no longer suck on a bottle and was dependent on G-tube for nutrition. Sara was behind on her vaccines. Her recovery would require an intense, well-coordinated rehab program involving several specialists and therapists, including neurologists, gastrologists, and rehab medicine.

Before the trauma, Sara was developing like any other baby. She was crawling, starting to pull up on furniture to stand, bubbling and giggling. She was feeding from a bottle.

After Sara was born, she was discharged to her father. The mother had tested positive for drugs throughout the pregnancy. The father did not have a stable home and was staying in a motel. An altercation between the parents led to violence, and Sara was removed from the unsafe environment and placed with an aunt. Sara's abuse happened while in this first foster placement with a relative.

It sounds like a straightforward placement of a vulnerable child to a foster home, right?

Well, it has not always been so. It was not always a particular medical placement social worker calling a home of a pediatric nurse. It certainly was not straightforward 18 years ago when Sammy was born at 23 weeks gestation. But, it's nothing short of a miracle that he survived. And no, there was nothing like a law enabling preferential placement of medically fragile children to foster parents who are nurses!

Linda Conforti, founder and CEO of Angels In Waiting (AIW), did not get such a call. She just happened to be a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurse who was friends with the owner of the group home where Sammy was placed after 20 months of hospitalization. However, the events surrounding Sammy's health and adoption by Linda's family led to an epiphany. She knew that she needed to find other dedicated nurses to help her save as many medically fragile foster babies as possible, and Angels In Waiting was born.

Before AIW, it was incredibly difficult for CPS Social Workers to find appropriate foster placement homes for medically fragile children who need nursing care outside of the hospital. As a result, this led to prolonged hospital stays and placement into institutions. AIW recruits nurses who can provide both parental and nursing care to the children in a loving home until they are medically stable or find an appropriate permanent home. Many of these extraordinary nurses end up adopting the children. It has taken the focused and persistent advocacy work of Angels in Waiting to create a law that requires preferential placement of a medically fragile child to a foster home of a nurse. As a result, the medical social workers from the counties represented get access to the certified nurse foster parents that are licensed to care for these vulnerable children. AIW has collaborated with adoption and foster care agencies and the department of children and social services. To recruit nurses, train them, and create a system where the most vulnerable of babies who fall into the unfortunate state of needing to be in a foster home are matched and preferentially placed in a home of a nurse who is a parent as well as the child's nurse.

AIW, being a 501C3 organization, sorely depends on donors to support the ongoing recruitment, training, advocating, and support of nurses willing to be foster parents. But, unfortunately, they are often forced to take leave or stop working altogether to care for these children.
Your donation will be utilized in the ongoing projects that include and are not limited to:

Expansion of AIW's program is needed in more counties throughout California. We are recruiting and training more nurses. Marin County, located in the Northwest part of the San Francisco Bay area, has reached out and requested more nurses. Your donation will allow more nurses to confidently answer "yes" when that call comes.