Playing Catch Up

Wow, this month has flew by! So in my last post I asked for scissors, I found some. LOL Let me add that Twink will begin a second round of casting on January 6th. I ended up cutting off Twink's cast due to the fact that her fingers were sticking out farther than they should and she was able to use them. She started to use her left hand only and was getting upset when she could not use the hand as a whole. The casting has done wonders in more ways than one. Twink is now playing center based instead of turning to her left to do everything. She is using her right hand a bit more for some things but definitely more than before the casting. Best of all it has helped her speech. Wondering how? Well this is how it was explained to me. She was forced to use the left side of her brain and that is where her speech center is. So not only is she benefiting from the casting for her arm but it has propelled her speech. She has started to babble MUCH more and she has found the words mommom and daddy again. Twink's speech therapist is very encouraged as are we. As for the neurosurgeon who said Twink would never talk, poopoo on him! She does have to work on forming some of her words but it will come. She is also doing VERY well with sign language and we will continue to work with her on that.

We saw a new neurologist this afternoon. For the first time in a year we have found out the extent of Twink's damage from her stroke. The doctor we saw today was great and actually took time to explain things. I can't believe that the neurosurgeon and the neurologist we saw did not explain anything to us. When he came in the room he told us that he was shocked that Twink looked so well after reading her chart. He asked what our concerns were and I had told him about the seizures. He looked at the CD I had of all the scans of Twink's MRI's and her MRA. He then started to explain that Twink's left temporal lobe is completely damaged. That was the first time we had heard this. I believe he also said a portion of her cerebellum but I was still trying to wrap my brain around what I had just heard.

We are starting her on anti-seizure medication. It is needed and will always be needed. The damage is so great and she will always be at risk for seizures. I feel good about the medication selection he made. I know people think she is too little to start medication at an early stage in her life but it really is a matter of life or death. I've already had to do rescue breathing for her once I'd prefer to not do it again.

Overall we are extremely blessed. The doctor's very pleased at how well Twink is doing. He said that he expected her to do very well. Only God can work the wonders in our daughter like He has. I stand in awe of all that she has overcome. I thank God for blessing our lives with her sweet and not so sweet little self.

Thank you for listening and all of your support!

Merry Christmas!

As you can see by my lack of posting I've been very busy with holiday events. I wanted to post and let you all know that we are still here and I will resume posting to both blogs after the holidays. I'm sorry that I've not visited your blog but I promise I will when things return to normal. The children are doing great and I'll have a long update after Christmas.

If you could do me a small favor I would be so grateful. Two years ago on 12/26 I herniated a disc in my neck plus two bulging discs. I had a two level fusion a little over a year ago. The other day I happened to look down at the floor and I felt the same thing happen that happened when I herniated the disc. The pain has been pretty intense. Great news is that the appliance they put in is fine, no problem there. I go to the neurosurgeon tomorrow and I really need an MRI. Please pray that I can get an MRI without any problems (comp) and that what ever the problem is that it is an easy fix. I'm thanking you all in advance. :)

I'm looking forward to watching my children and enjoying Christmas this year. Last year we had only been home from China for 5 1/2 days and we were so exhausted and overwhelmed. This year Lia now knows what a family is next year I hope she will understand who Jesus is. :)

Metcha Day One Year Later

One year ago today on December 10, 2007 our family was forever changed! It was a change for the good. It was the day we met our Twink. I'm not sure I can put into words what this past year has been like with Twink. So many emotions, highs and lows. I knew from the moment I saw her that she was a strong little girl in so many ways. It might have been the fight she put on to get away from me on Metcha Day or the fact that she was walking that day. I was floored by her strength and to this day I am in awe of her.

Looking back over the last year I've seen this child who could barely sit up, not eat solid food, looked and acted very autistic grow into a beautiful little girl. We were going to doctors every other week if not weekly for awhile. I probably could have taken things slower but then I don't think we would be as far as we are right now. We have been blessed to have such a great developmental doctor who helps line up different doctors and therapies.

Twink joined our family and since that beautiful day none of our lives have been the same. Her siblings look forward to coming home from school and seeing her. You should see her sweet face when they walk through the door. She gets very excited and lets out a squeel.

At times I get overwhelmed with emotions. What if we had turned down this beautiful child out of fear of the unknown? I mean a brain cyst is pretty heavy stuff. I'm so thankful to our Lord who pointed us in all the right directions and who gave us faith to accept her as our daughter. I also am thankful that it was not until we returned home that we found out that she had a stroke in utero which caused her to have cerebral palsy. When one hears CP generally they think the worst case. Not knowing really how or what CP was I'm not sure how things would have turned out. Knowing me, I'm sure I would have done a ton of research and been OK with it but I don't know. I just think things worked out the way they did because HE knew. Thank you Lord, we could not have done any of this without you!

Look how far Twink has come! Oh and if you'd like to view our adoption video here you go.

This is the that I posted one year ago (a day Late)
December 11, 2007 (Day 5 and another summery of Day 4 from Cheri)

Wow, is all I can say. I sit here and watch this beautiful little girl sleep and she is just so precious! Yesterday was an amazing day! I thank God for answered prayers in so many ways! We walked into that civil affairs building with so much knowledge, thanks to so many friends on-line. We knew that Twink would not be thrilled to see us. When we walked in and saw her walking it was all I could do to keep from sobbing. I'm not sure how many of you reading know but Twink has an Arachnoid Brian Cyst that will need to be drained (surgery) when we return home. We were told she was not walking but knew that after the cyst was drained she may start. We planned on giving her the best home no matter what. We loved her from the beginning. Trust in the Lord! She does have weakness in her right arm but that too will come around after surgery with some physical therapy!

Twink reacted much like I had expected her to. She tried to push me away, threw herself backwards, hit me and pulled my hair. You could see how mad and confused she was. Her whole world was changing. Here she was in a room full of different looking people, speaking a totally different language who smelled different too. We were taking her from everything and everyone she's ever known. Imagine your two year old and how they might react if a stranger came and took them. When she cried you can hear how sad she is. It is so heart breaking.

She had two directors drive her to the Civil Affairs building in Kunming. What wonderful men they were. They were so excited and so grateful she now has a forever family. We have a physical address for her foster family so we can send pictures of her to them. I'm not sure if we can write to them or not but we'll see. They brought a gift for me to give to Twink for when she is older. It is a purse and their part of minority outfit. It is beautiful. They also returned the items we sent in Lia's care package. I'm not sure if she received them but they did take about 12 pictures or so. I think we are going to try and do the one hour photo place here so we can see what is on it.

Last night was very tough. She cried for a long time. I'm sure she is mourning all that she has lost. First her foster family now the orphanage, but things are getting better. The Count had some great bonding time with her last night. He had her laughing and giggling. Today has been really good until this evening. She loves to throw her self back. I can tell you my arms are pretty sore. We are not sure when she has a headache so I did give her Motrin. I also started her on her antibiotic because she was tugging at her ears pretty good. She is taking a "nap" right now. I think we'll have to do something about that! I would love it if she slept from now until morning. Yesterday she woke back up from her nap at 8pm just like the director said she would. She is sleeping a bit longer tonight. She hates the crib so I will probably take that down and split the bunk beds up.

We have some beautiful pictures of her from today! She loves her daddy! Some times he can't even leave the room or she gets really upset. She really has taken to both of us. She'll pick which one she wants when. We went to a Buhdist Temple today. It was beautiful! After that we went to a tea ceremony and tasted different tea. Some tea from this area, some tea from other parts of China. I LOVE tea. Even The Count liked some of the tea. Lunch was AMAZING!!! We went to Pizza Hut! Hahaha It tasted so good and just like it does at home.

I've been fighting migraines since we've been in China. They are starting to get pretty bad and I have all of my meds with me. One of my travel buddies Kathy is also having problems with them so if you could keep us in your prayers that would be great. Please keep the babies in your prayers for their adjustments to their new strange ;) parents.

I must add, Twink is much bigger than I expected her to be. She fits in to some of her 24 month clothes but they are big in the waist and a little long. The 18 months will probably fit great in the pants but not in the shirt. I think she may even have the same size foot as Spitfire. My guess on her weight is that she is between 28-30lbs. She is beautiful and we are so blessed to be her parents! China is such a beautiful country!

Tomorrow we will be going to the Stone Forest. It is suppose to be amazing! I can hardly wait. Well she is up so I must go!

Cheri~

Scissors Anyone?

Twink did not have therapy with her private OT last week due to our crazy schedule and for the fact they never gave us an appointment. I'm not really sure where I would have fit it into our crazy week so I am a bit relieved. I have tried to call twice this week to get her in but I have not received a phone call back and I'm rather frustrated. This cast is not working for the shear fact that her fingers are sticking out too far. I'll take a picture and show you just what I'm talking about. She can do just about anything she wants with it. She can pick up a book, a crayon, and so on. The only thing it is doing is making her angry that she can't hold on to some thing with her whole hand.

If I do not get a hold of some one today or tomorrow I am cutting the stinking thing off! She did great with the first casting but they really did a poor job with this one. :( This mommas patience is wearing thin.

On a positive note the casting has forced Twink to use the right side of her brain and her speech has picked up. She is babbling much more and the other night she busted out with the word owl. Why she can say owl and not momma is beyond me. Owl comes out as clear as day and I do have that one on video! :) Look for that video on the main blog. Sorry I've been so scares but last week and this week are busy weeks for us. I'll write more soon.

Frustrated!

Can the cast come off yet!?!? Ok, Twink's frustration level this week is at it's peak. Did I mention MY frustration level is at it's peak? The little one has figured out that she can use her casted fingers to do things that she couldn't the last two weeks. You see they didn't bring the cast down as far on her finger tips this last time so she is doing a wee bit more with her left hand.

She is still using her right hand which is awesome. Actually she is using both hands which is even better. That is actually the goal for this whole thing. I do believe that it may take another series of casting in the future but we will see. Twink's right thumb still gets tucked and I wonder if it's because she held it in that position for so long. We actually have some elastic tape to use that helps pull the thumb out instead of her big bulky splint.

The good thing, we should have the cast off for Christmas! We see her developmental doctor in two weeks. We will then see if she needs AFO's (special braces for her feet/legs). They PT wanted to give her a couple more months of actually walking. Twink as of LATE November has only been walking for ONE year. I'm sure she will need them as nothing has change and in her last report from her regular PT her muscles have actually become worse.

I learned a secret from someone somewhere along all of this. I keep a binder with all of Twink's medical recorders in them. All of her tests, her reports, and early intervention. It has become very helpful for having it all at my finger tips. She has so much going on and so many tests that it just easier to say well here is this and here is that. So that is my tip of the year! LOL

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Off To China

Well this care package is anyway! ;) I used Ann at Red Threads this time. I can now say I have used the three major sites that offer their services for this type of communication for adoptive families. I must say I really love Ann! She is extremely friendly and super fast! I wanted to send an update to Twink's orphanage as our one year anniversary is coming up. She called Twink's orphanage and the nanny that answered said she remembered Twink. She asked how she was doing and was excited to know that there would be pictures coming! :) Twink's orphanage is not very large.

I pray that we receive a response. I have asked for her finding add. If they can not give me the original I have asked for a copy. Please pray that we will receive one or the other. Twink's orphanage has been very giving. When I sent her a care package while in China they took all sorts of pictures of her with everyone. I have pictures of nannies, directors, and most important her foster parents! So with that I am praying that we receive some kind of response.

Decorating

We have been Decorating for the holidays here at our house. One of the things we do every year is put a tree up above our front door every year. We place white lights and silver bulb ornaments on it. Then under the tree we place empty boxes that are wrapped in colorful paper. It add cheer to out foyer and also our landing upstairs.

The day we pulled all of items out to do this Spitfire placed a bow on Twink. Twink was loving it. Spitfire placed another on her and Twink puffed her chest out and went to show off her new items. I thought for $1.97 why not just place all of them on her and buy a new bag. She thought Spitfire was trying to take one off and backed up and shook her head NO. These are the pictures we took of her after we finished placing all the bows on her. Excuse the boxes, we had not wrapped them yet.