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Five years ago, Guerline "Lina" Hope Cloutier came to the United States for a life-saving surgery and in the process became a part of the Raymond and Janet Cloutier family.
"She's doing really well," said Janet Cloutier today. "She's 5-1/2 years old. She learned to walk a little after her fourth birthday." Learning to walk is a milestone for Lina, Janet said, because she has a petite body that must support her head.
As a small token of their appreciation for the support given to the Cloutier family and Lina, the family is holding a celebration Sunday at Habecker Dining Commons, Huntington College, from 1 to 3 p.m.
Suffering from hydrocephalus, Lina was left to die in a Port au Prince, Haiti, orphanage when she was only 3 months old. She was "discovered" by a Huntington College professor and a physician during a January term mission trip to the Caribbean nation. The group began working on bringing the girl to Indiana for a surgical procedure to relieve the buildup of fluid on her brain.
When Lina first came to the United States for the surgery, she was barely able to turn her head from side to side let alone crawl like a typical 7-month old child. Since then, she has exceeded the family's expectations in many areas.
Lina was adopted by the Cloutier family of Warsaw.
"We really didn't have a lot of expectations five years ago because we didn't know how she'd do," Janet said. It has been neat, however, she said, to witness God's work in Lina's life. "She loves to sing. She has really good pitch." She began singing before she began talking, Janet said.
Lina attends preschool at Warsaw Christian School three afternoons a week, Janet said. The size of her head remains about the same as when she was operated on but her shunt is functioning perfectly. This stabilizes the pressure in her brain to normal levels. Her body has grown significantly, which reduces her disproportionate appearance.
Janet said Lina is developmentally at the 3-year-old level.
The Cloutiers have been to Haiti three times since adopting Lina. They went in January and took their two oldest children, Elisabeth and Kevin.
"It was really neat," she said. They spent time in Port au Prince helping with another missionary. The last week in Haiti, they worked in a medical clinic and school. "It was a really neat experience and we look forward to going back."
The first time they went to Haiti, Janet said, was to see where Lina came from and her heritage and culture. Each time they go, they get drawn more into the country.
The first time they went to Haiti to visit, they met a boy named James in the orphanage where Lina came from. They decided to adopt him but the adoption process took 13 months because of the Haitian red tape.
Janet said the celebration Sunday is because "we want to thank everyone who has been a part of Lina's life and praise God for" all he's done.
Besides Elisabeth, Kevin, Lina and James, the Cloutiers also have another son, Paul.
